Inutitive eaters??

spaingirl2011 · May 2012

Hi Everyone!

I've been reading some books on intuitive eating (eating when you're hungry and stopping when you're full-- as well as eating what you crave and what your body needs). Is/has anyone else trying/tried this? I don't want to have to constantly feel like I have to measure and count calories when my body intuitively knows what it needs (it's just my head that tries to override my body! lol).

I'd be interesting in finding like-minded people and hearing others' experiences.

Thanks all!
~Allison

yaddayaddayadda · May 2012

If I ate only when I was hungry, I would be eating A LOT!

If I ate what I crave, I would eat mashed potatoes with lots of butter, macaroni & cheese, steaks, ice cream, brownies, and LOTS of chocolate!!

If I was an intuitive eater, I would be FAT!!!

Sorry... just saying:noway: :noway:

runnercheryl · May 2012

I couldn't do it. Especially not to start out. When I first decided to become healthy, I was eating around 4000 calories a day, all of which were junk. I didn't know HOW to listen to my body.

Now, I do understand my body but still can't imagine trusting it. It still craves pizza regularly, and one medium pizza (which I could still almost demolish) would in many cases put me over my calories for the day. Sometimes I crave nutrients, but sometimes I'm craving specific foods. I haven't stopped myself having any foods as I've become healthy, but I much prefer to enjoy them in moderation. If I wasn't paying attention to the calories in them, I could probably still by the most calorific pizza in the shop fairly regularly, rather than going for a lighter option!

Ironically, if I forced myself to eat healthy foods, but only when hungry, I'd probably under-eat fairly regularly. I eat more than I'm hungry to keep my calories up.

Hope it works for you, but it wouldn't for me.

spaingirl2011 · May 2012

See, I actually left MFP for a very long hiatus because the constant calorie tracking was making me anxious. I didn't feel like I could eat a cookie because if I tracked it, then I'd see how many calories I'd consume, feel really guilty, deny myself cookies and then eat an entire package because I really wanted *one* cookie.

Part of doing intuitive eating is to have a healthy relationship with food so that I can learn how to say "enough is enough" without feeling like there's a food police on MFP.

That was the goal here.

Thanks for your thoughts.

lelstar · May 2012

I haven't tried it but I would suggest that while the basis behind it is probably good that maybe you need to look at what it is in the foods that you are craving. EG I know I crave cheese the week after my period - I need calcium. I crave chocolate all the time - I'm supposed to be on magnesium. I think those diets/lifestyles need to be applied to when people didn't eat so much processed foods.

Maystar80 · May 2012

I've had periods of doing this with success and periods with failure.

the hard thing about this is that it depends on how you're feeling in life in general. when I was happy and things seemed to be going all good and I had a busy routine, etc, I ate intuitively and healthily and ended up losing. but when the routine gets thrown off track, or a new addition comes into your life (such as college or a boyfriend) intuitive eating might not work so much because external factors might get you to eat more junk than normal.

what happened to me is that since i went a while without worrying about calories too much (I always still considered them, just not as much) I forgot about counting calories and eating right and I didn't have any shields up against the evil junk food/overeating forces. keeping track of your food and exercise keeps you honest to yourself. or at least that's how I feel about it.

Vailara · May 2012

It doesn't work for me. Partly because of the inconvenience. I can often only eat at certain times of the day. But also because my "intuition" seemed a bit off.

I watched the Horizon programme "The Truth About Fat" (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01dzfgb), and it explained that the hormones which control hunger and satiety tend to be out of whack in fat people. Apparently, we don't get the extremes of feeling hungry and feeling full - we're constantly a little bit hungry or a little bit full. Our "intuition" isn't working properly.

I know just what you mean about counting calories, though. That brings its own psychological baggage. I would love to somehow be able to go back to how I ate when I was slim and didn't have to think about it.

Meg_78 · May 2012

Eating intuitively was what led me to being quite underweight in the first place. Being on MFP showed me that even though I was eating fairly healthy, I was also eating a lot of naturally low cal foods (veggies YUM) and not enough naturally high cal foods I still loved pasta and rice and bread and everything, but I think my portion sizes were never huge. My metabolism is much faster than I thought, So although I never thought I'd be one that needed to track my calories, It turns out I sort of do, esp now that I started exercising, I need to make very sure I eat back what burn otherwise there would be nothing left. Intuitive eating for me is to eat clean and healthy and quite light calorie wise, and it has been a struggle to push against that some days.

darrensurrey · May 2012

If I ate only when I was hungry, I would be eating A LOT!

If I ate what I crave, I would eat mashed potatoes with lots of butter, macaroni & cheese, steaks, ice cream, brownies, and LOTS of chocolate!!

If I was an intuitive eater, I would be FAT!!!

Sorry... just saying:noway: :noway:

That's my initial thoughts.

I think it's possible to eat "intuitively" if you adopt certain eating habits such as only eating if you're actually hungry (and not thirsty!), eating the right foods so we're not hungry 5 minutes later (low GI food), eating slowly (actually putting down the cutlery between bites while you're chewing - I think it takes about 30 minutes for the brain to register "full")... problem is, when we're in a rush, we just wolf down everything as quickly as possible.

spaingirl2011 · May 2012

You all make great points.

I think what I'm really looking for is balance. I don't want to freak out over half a cup of ice cream, but I don't want to overestimate portion sizes (like I've been doing for years). I love to exercise, but I don't want to under eat or overeat. I want a healthy relationship with food so I'm trying a combination of intuitive eating (really paying attention to hunger signals) and keeping up with calories to make sure that I'm nourishing myself.

Oy. Wish me luck!

spaingirl2011 · May 2012

If I ate only when I was hungry, I would be eating A LOT!

If I ate what I crave, I would eat mashed potatoes with lots of butter, macaroni & cheese, steaks, ice cream, brownies, and LOTS of chocolate!!

If I was an intuitive eater, I would be FAT!!!

Sorry... just saying:noway: :noway:

That's my initial thoughts.

I think it's possible to eat "intuitively" if you adopt certain eating habits such as only eating if you're actually hungry (and not thirsty!), eating the right foods so we're not hungry 5 minutes later (low GI food), eating slowly (actually putting down the cutlery between bites while you're chewing - I think it takes about 30 minutes for the brain to register "full")... problem is, when we're in a rush, we just wolf down everything as quickly as possible.

This is definitely a problem I have-- eating too quickly. I've been using the app "80 Bites" to keep myself from eating too quickly and I find that I do fill up on far less!

darrensurrey · May 2012

If I ate only when I was hungry, I would be eating A LOT!

If I ate what I crave, I would eat mashed potatoes with lots of butter, macaroni & cheese, steaks, ice cream, brownies, and LOTS of chocolate!!

If I was an intuitive eater, I would be FAT!!!

Sorry... just saying:noway: :noway:

That's my initial thoughts.

I think it's possible to eat "intuitively" if you adopt certain eating habits such as only eating if you're actually hungry (and not thirsty!), eating the right foods so we're not hungry 5 minutes later (low GI food), eating slowly (actually putting down the cutlery between bites while you're chewing - I think it takes about 30 minutes for the brain to register "full")... problem is, when we're in a rush, we just wolf down everything as quickly as possible.

This is definitely a problem I have-- eating too quickly. I've been using the app "80 Bites" to keep myself from eating too quickly and I find that I do fill up on far less!

Take time out to enjoy the texture and flavour of each bite you put in your mouth. Notice the different flavours that might come out as you chew on different parts of the food on the plate. Notice how the texture might change as you bite through the food.

PaleoPath4Lyfe · May 2012

If I ate only when I was hungry, I would be eating A LOT!

If I ate what I crave, I would eat mashed potatoes with lots of butter, macaroni & cheese, steaks, ice cream, brownies, and LOTS of chocolate!!

If I was an intuitive eater, I would be FAT!!!

Sorry... just saying:noway: :noway:

Intuitive eating is for clean eaters that don't have those starchy cravings and such. So the potatoes and steak would be ok.

I eat intuitively instead of counting calories and have much better success. Then again my way of eating is fat, protein, vegetables, fruit, sometimes dairy, nuts and seeds. (In that order)

kitinboots · May 2012

My brain knows too well the calorie content of most foods to stop calorie counting all together.
Personally I can take a lot of good out of intuitive eating, but I also know that at times I'm too distracted. When I travel, for example, I might not be hungry for a whole day just because my mind is elsewhere, and I don't think that is good. I like eating 3-6 meals at reasonable intervals.

Inutitive eaters??

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