Intuitive eating challenge :) - Any one?

Shouliveshappy · May 2015

Anyone planning and stopping to calories count / macro count and to progress towards intuitive eating?

I believe at some point everyone should

It's a matter of when you are ready to stop letting the numbers get to your head. If you have been recording / counting long enough, i believe this will help you to have a better relationship with food. Of course, tracking once in a while just to get an idea of how much you are eating is great! But it shouldnt allow this to control your life.

So who's up for this challenge!

1. Shouliveshappy

Sarasmaintaining · May 2015

The whole 'intuitive' eating concept makes me cringe. I've read Tribole and Resch's book, and have done quite a bit of research on the whole idea, but I'm not convinced that it will actually work long term. What I do know what works-recording and counting calories. I've been successfully maintaining my weight loss for over two years now, and I got to this point by being mindful of my calorie consumption. I have an excellent relationship with food, the numbers don't 'get to my head', and the tools I use for maintenance don't control me, they help me accomplish my goals.

If it works for you then great, but I'm going to keep doing what I know works for me, and that's recording/counting calories

I wish you luck for long term success!

eta: OP I'm a bit confused-I assumed you were already in maintenance by the way you worded your post, but your profile shows you haven't lost any weight yet. You think you're going to actually lose weigth without being intentional about your calorie consumption/deficit? Yeah, good luck with that

DataSeven · May 2015

I don't think I could intuitively eat at a deficit. For me that requires planning and structure.

Shouliveshappy · May 2015

I've already lost the weight

I didn't use mfp when I was losing, I actually started mfp when I'm in maintenance mode (which is currently). I am not forcing anyone to jump onto the bandwagon. Im just sharing what I feel, and if there's anyone out there who would like to join me, we can motivate each other and keep everyone in check. After all I assume majority of everyone here uses the app to count calories, but in any case, if there was anyone who would like to stop counting, we are here for support.

angelexperiment · May 2015

How long is this challenge? I did something similar with the primal blueprint and it had no cal counting. It worked well. I think I am at a point I know my portions pretty well and I think Imay be able to do it

lemurcat12 · May 2015

I can eat at maintenance without logging, I believe--I've done it before, I've been doing it off and on this year--but I don't consider that intuitive eating, because I have to be mindful about it and monitor my portions and eating times and so on. Not in a way that's burdensome, but at least so as to make sure I continue to care. Eating to hunger cues doesn't work for me and I think it's actually false to claim that it should work for all humans. Humans are evolved to be able to eat when food is available during a time in which you'd go through periods where food wasn't available. All cultures tend to have rules that determine when and how people eat. So for me it works better to simply try to eat according to cultural cues and my own ideas of what's healthy and nutritious and the right amount for me.

Some people probably can eat intuitively and not get fat, but they probably wouldn't have been as prone to gaining weight as I am.

Sarasmaintaining · May 2015

Shouliveshappy wrote: »

I've already lost the weight I didn't use mfp when I was losing, I actually started mfp when I'm in maintenance mode (which is currently). I am not forcing anyone to jump onto the bandwagon. Im just sharing what I feel, and if there's anyone out there who would like to join me, we can motivate each other and keep everyone in check. After all I assume majority of everyone here uses the app to count calories, but in any case, if there was anyone who would like to stop counting, we are here for support.

Ah that makes more sense, from what I've read about IE it's more for maintenance than the weight loss phase

Vune · May 2015

I'm going to work toward mindful eating when I get to maintenance. Maybe when I'm about 6 months into maintenance and have more of an idea of the things I'll be eating in different seasons with my budget. Until then, I'm planning to weigh and measure my food at least 360 days out of the year.

cwolfman13 · May 2015

I spent 9 months logging and keeping a diary while dropping 40 Lbs...for me, it was akin to training wheels on a bike...it was a great learning tool, but eventually I knew I just wanted to ride.

Over the course of the past 2 years I have maintained, done a bulk, and cut without logging. I maintained easily without logging for a bit over a year and then started a bulk last fall...given that I was successfully maintaining, I knew that all I needed to do was add in a couple snacks to get me into a surplus. I did log for a week or two into my subsequent cut because I was accustomed to eating a surplus for about 6 months so I needed some assistance in making that transition...but once I had a good idea of what my cut looked like it was no biggie to stop logging.

I do think people have issues with "intuitive eating" or issues when they stop logging because they stop paying attention. For myself, this really isn't an issue...and really I think it's not an issue for me because I'm focused on my health and fitness and living a healthful lifestyle...so I do the things that one would do to be fit and healthy...my weight control is simply a bi-product of that good livin'

yopeeps025 · May 2015

Intuitive eating I feel is more for maintenance than for weight loss or weight gain. I know I notice that maintenance eating without counting calories is very easy to be done.

kingnarsis · May 2015

I did that once, it was semi-accurate at the beginning and slowly my eyes started lying to me. it is not what you eat but the volume/weight becomes inaccurate

Need2Exerc1se · May 2015

I've been losing by intuitively eating for months so it wouldn't really be a challenge for me. What exactly is entailed in your challenge?

lemurcat12 · May 2015

cwolfman13 wrote: »

I do think people have issues with "intuitive eating" or issues when they stop logging because they stop paying attention. For myself, this really isn't an issue...and really I think it's not an issue for me because I'm focused on my health and fitness and living a healthful lifestyle...so I do the things that one would do to be fit and healthy...my weight control is simply a bi-product of that good livin'

I think this is right. I just have a hard time calling it intuitive eating or eating to hunger cues since for me that's not what I do. I continue to pay attention to when and what and how much I eat, using my mind's understanding of what's appropriate there, vs. pure hunger cues/desire to eat.

When things are going well there shouldn't be much difference, as I also find that everything works together so long as I am living a healthful lifestyle, but there still are times when it's mind over matter.

I think this is consistent with intuitive eating as many understand it, but sometimes the rhetoric seems to suggest that in a natural environment even of plenty, like we have, humans wouldn't overeat without some kind of issues about food (diet culture is often blamed), and I don't think that's true.

Shouliveshappy · May 2015

angelexperiment wrote: »

How long is this challenge? I did something similar with the primal blueprint and it had no cal counting. It worked well. I think I am at a point I know my portions pretty well and I think Imay be able to do it

There's no time frame. Just listen to your body

in fact, I am planning on doing this for life! Actually it should not be a challenge, this is how I think we should be living. I definitely can't see myself tracking for the rest of my life! Hell no. I also know my portions well and I know what are my goals. Hence the only way is to really nourish my body and stop putting a number to it. I just want to be happier

Shouliveshappy · May 2015

cwolfman13 wrote: »

I do think people have issues with "intuitive eating" or issues when they stop logging because they stop paying attention. For myself, this really isn't an issue...and really I think it's not an issue for me because I'm focused on my health and fitness and living a healthful lifestyle...so I do the things that one would do to be fit and healthy...my weight control is simply a bi-product of that good livin'

Yup I agree! The whole point of why I was once fat is because I was not eating in moderation. Essentially taking my body for granted.

But now that I've learnt to be healthier, I believe that it's natural for me to also know that I should treat my body with respect and feed it well. Good food most of the times, but when i crave for oily food or sinful desserts, I will just make the 'calories allowance' for it either on the day itself, or the days after. I believe everything in moderation.

Soopatt · May 2015

I don't see weighing my food and portion control as an onerous thing - it is just a tool. We humans can be quick to get down on ourselves about not doing things the "natural way". We feel that we are doing it wrong if we do not opt for natural birth and for eating intuitively - adding a layer of virtue to those activities which they do not deserve, in my opinion.

Why do we never hear of anyone keeping time (hours and days) "intuitively"? Should I feel bad for wearing a watch to make it to a meeting on time or looking at a calendar to remember an anniversary? Should I control by body temperature "intuitively" too and give up jerseys and clothes? Should I control my reproductive ability "intuitively" and stop using birth control? Would it make me a better or stronger person to reject THOSE tools?

Our food is manufactured, processed, easily available and affordable - we no longer have to work as hard for it as we once did so we now have tools to manage our intake. Why be ashamed and bothered by that?

Intuitive eating challenge :) - Any one?

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