Intuitive eating

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you should check out the book intuitive eating. It's basically what you are doing! You can enjoy your food and still lose weight! No banning "bad" foods

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  • Jruzer
    Jruzer Posts: 3,501 Member
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    I thought intuitive eating was the antithesis of calorie counting.

    From Wikipedia:
    Intuitive eating is a nutrition philosophy based on the premise that becoming more attuned to the body's natural hunger signals is a more effective way to attain a healthy weight, rather than keeping track of the amounts of energy and fats in foods.
  • 68myra
    68myra Posts: 975 Member
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    Thanks for the idea. I'll look for the book. Although, I must admit I've gone off and on sugar enough times to know, for certain, for MY body (&mind), it is truly "bad". Just an observation.
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,135 Member
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    My body wants food all the time, except when it's sleeping. I can't trust my body to tell me when to eat, so I go by the clock and what I've written down in my food diary.

    I admit to being envious/jealous of people who can follow their body's cues on when to eat and not have to bother with the mundane stuff like keeping a food diary.
  • ElizabethKalmbach
    ElizabethKalmbach Posts: 1,416 Member
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    zyxst wrote: »
    My body wants food all the time, except when it's sleeping. I can't trust my body to tell me when to eat, so I go by the clock and what I've written down in my food diary.

    I admit to being envious/jealous of people who can follow their body's cues on when to eat and not have to bother with the mundane stuff like keeping a food diary.

    I have this same issue in both directions. I'm pretty well resigned to logging my food for life, as my appetite queues are utterly unreliable. Some days I'm too nauseated to eat more than 500 calories. Other days I'm too tired to move much and my calorie usage drops dramatically for MONTHS. I can average my consumption over a week, but I have to log to keep an eye on trending.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
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    I haven't read the book, but this is how I eat. I don't ban foods, but some foods are severely restricted. But this seems intuitive to me. I intuitively know that I can't eat a rack of baby rack ribs very often and expect to lose weight.
  • peachyfuzzle
    peachyfuzzle Posts: 1,122 Member
    edited June 2015
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    I tried intuitive eating, and I ballooned up to 320lbs. Doesn't work well for me. :(
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
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    zyxst wrote: »
    My body wants food all the time, except when it's sleeping. I can't trust my body to tell me when to eat, so I go by the clock and what I've written down in my food diary.

    I admit to being envious/jealous of people who can follow their body's cues on when to eat and not have to bother with the mundane stuff like keeping a food diary.

    In my experience, there is more to it than what your body wants. It's more about learning what your body needs, and how to separate want vs need.
  • QuilterInVA
    QuilterInVA Posts: 672 Member
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    Intuitive eating - I think that's what got us all over weight in the first place.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    I guess I eat intuitively...I don't log (for the past 2 years+)...I eat well...I've been able to maintain, deliberately gain, and cut again...I didn't read any book or anything like that.

    I also spent 9 months logging which taught me a lot...no way I could do what I'm doing now had I not spent that time learning.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
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    Intuitive eating - I think that's what got us all over weight in the first place.

    Nope, not me. I gain weight when I stop eating intuitively. When I start eating for pleasure and not paying attention to what (and how much) my body really needs. When I eat intuitively weight control is not a problem.
  • karyabc
    karyabc Posts: 830 Member
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    :# yesss, i will not settle! I want the whole package; since day 1 i already chose that i will not log for life, currently only doing it when i rarely do it is when i can, when im in the mood and most of all the majority of time out of curiosity.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    Tried intuitive eating once - hit my heaviest ever weight.

    My hunger signals don't match my actual needs. What "feels" right is actually a calorie surplus leading to about half a pound a month weight gain.

    Probably a coincidence but calorie calculators / formulae agree roughly with my intuitive level, not my actual maintenance level.
  • salad_bar
    salad_bar Posts: 66 Member
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    I'm a intuitive eating success story. I lost 10 lb with intuitive eating, but it was challenging. You really do have to pay close attention to what your body is saying to you. Yes it's fine to go eat a burger and fries, but how do you really feel after that? Intuitive eating also recognizes overeating, or eating past the point of satisfaction. That can be difficult when stress comes into play.

    Different things work for different people :)
  • auntfuthie
    auntfuthie Posts: 4 Member
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    I am reading "Intuitive Eating" right now and it is blowing my mind! Trying not to eat by the clock and really listen to what my body wants. Did so today and was under my goal. It is weird.