Intuitive eating

katem999 wrote: »

I see calorie counting as a way back to intuitive eating, reminding me how much food I actually require for my ideal weight, how much hunger is normal, what portions will realistically sate me. Once I'm back on track and have 're-educated' myself, I plan to rely on intuitive eating rather than a calorie counting app.

I second this... I'm trying to pay more attention to my internal cues, and eat when I'm hungry, within my calorie goals, rather than just eating because the food is there, or I'm bored, etc. Also hoping to not have to track of calories for the rest of my life… Though, I will if I need to – just hoping I won't have to!

^^^ What they said! I am calorie counting to lose weight and to see what an appropriate amount of food for a day is. If it is meal time and I am not hungry - I do NOT eat. If I feel like I am starving to death before a meal, I work in a snack. But I am not allowing myself to eat out of boredom or sadness or even happiness. I am paying attention to my hunger levels. I am acknowledging how I feel after various meals.

French toast is one of my favorite meals, but I haven't had it in quite a while b/c I spend hours and hours afterwards feeling very thirsty. I feel thirsty after eating a lot of bread or a whole bagel. And so I have cut back on those foods. I feel satiated and full for a long time after a meal high in protein and fat - so I eat full fat cottage cheese for breakfasts now.

I am hoping once I get to goal weight, I can continue to eat the same meals without having to weigh every pretzel twist and every squirt of mayo - that I can pay attention to hunger cues.

Yes. Also read Geneen Roth and Breaking Free from Emotional Eating

I can't do it. I need rules in place (like no snacking) in order to maintain my weight without counting calories.

harpsdesire wrote: »

I'm hoping that counting and tracking will help me internalize what and how much my body really needs. Right now my intuition is pretty out of whack with reality.

I do practice something like it in that I give myself some wiggle room-- I don't eat if I'm not hungry, even if that means I end up under calories, and on days when I just MUST EAT (if I can truly say it's hunger and not cravings/boredom/whatever), I give myself permission to have a little extra, provided it's low-cal nourishing food and not junk.

I eat back exercise calories only if I feel I need to on that particular day. I usually don't (in part because I mainly walk and I think MFP is waaaay too generous on the calories they give you for walking!)

This is my approach/philosophy, too. To gain the weight, I believe I was actually ignoring my intuition that I should not be eating as much as my husband, who is 8 inches taller than me! Yikes!

I eat intuitively. I use MFP to track things other than calories like fiber and protein and exercise.

girlviernes wrote: »

dieselbyte wrote: »

My guess is "intuitive" eating is what got most people here in the first place...

Well your guess is misguided. Intuitive eating is about paying close attention to your hunger and satiety signals and definitely does not include overeating. Most people who are here are regularly taking in more food than the body is signaling for.

I like intuitive eating as a concept a lot. I'm not convinced it is the best way to lose weight, however, because the body is designed for homeostasis so those hunger and satiety signals are most likely to keep you maintaining your weight rather than losing weight. I do think it is helpful to pay attention to those signals and use them as another source of information.

No, my guess isn't misguided. "Intuitive" eating is the latest buzzword, nothing more. Hunger signals are a poor cue to determine whether you need to eat, or stop eating for the matter. Dependent on weight, leptin and ghrelin hormones will be out of whack, and provide even worse hunger cues. And your bolded statement serves to do nothing but invalidate your initial comment.

dieselbyte wrote: »

girlviernes wrote: »

dieselbyte wrote: »

My guess is "intuitive" eating is what got most people here in the first place...

Well your guess is misguided. Intuitive eating is about paying close attention to your hunger and satiety signals and definitely does not include overeating. Most people who are here are regularly taking in more food than the body is signaling for.

I like intuitive eating as a concept a lot. I'm not convinced it is the best way to lose weight, however, because the body is designed for homeostasis so those hunger and satiety signals are most likely to keep you maintaining your weight rather than losing weight. I do think it is helpful to pay attention to those signals and use them as another source of information.

No, my guess isn't misguided. "Intuitive" eating is the latest buzzword, nothing more. Hunger signals are a poor cue to determine whether you need to eat, or stop eating for the matter. Dependent on weight, leptin and ghrelin hormones will be out of whack, and provide even worse hunger cues. And your bolded statement serves to do nothing but invalidate your initial comment.

Not at all. There is a big difference between maintenance of weight and weight loss. One is a process of homeostasis and the other is a process of change. I will agree that there can be hormonal dysregulation especially with excess visceral fat - again, that is a state where weight is already elevated and the goal is weight loss. The average healthy person can maintain a remarkably stable weight through intuitive eating.

girlviernes wrote: »

dieselbyte wrote: »

girlviernes wrote: »

dieselbyte wrote: »

My guess is "intuitive" eating is what got most people here in the first place...

Well your guess is misguided. Intuitive eating is about paying close attention to your hunger and satiety signals and definitely does not include overeating. Most people who are here are regularly taking in more food than the body is signaling for.

I like intuitive eating as a concept a lot. I'm not convinced it is the best way to lose weight, however, because the body is designed for homeostasis so those hunger and satiety signals are most likely to keep you maintaining your weight rather than losing weight. I do think it is helpful to pay attention to those signals and use them as another source of information.

No, my guess isn't misguided. "Intuitive" eating is the latest buzzword, nothing more. Hunger signals are a poor cue to determine whether you need to eat, or stop eating for the matter. Dependent on weight, leptin and ghrelin hormones will be out of whack, and provide even worse hunger cues. And your bolded statement serves to do nothing but invalidate your initial comment.

Not at all. There is a big difference between maintenance of weight and weight loss. One is a process of homeostasis and the other is a process of change. I will agree that there can be hormonal dysregulation especially with excess visceral fat - again, that is a state where weight is already elevated and the goal is weight loss. The average healthy person can maintain a remarkably stable weight through intuitive eating.

Reading comprehension and context seems lacking. The OP posted this in a weight loss thread. My initial comment was about intuitive eating and weight loss. You are arguing maintenance of weight. Again, your statement does nothing but invalidate your argument that my guess is "misguided".