Intuitive eating helps lower , control blood sugar, and reduce weight. So, rather than relying on an expert, it’s your body that teaches you how to lose weight or feel better. Why is it becoming a new trend to listen to our own desires?
The Antithesis of Dieting
Intuitive is about consuming food based on feelings of hunger. To learn this, one must connect with their body, focus on personal needs, and find alternatives to . Anxiety, bad habits, cultural influences, and destructive traditions hinder an intuitive approach to eating, which is the conscious practice of eating what you want when you need it.
The term that describes this new approach to food was first used in the book “Intuitive Eating: A Revolutionary Anti-Diet Approach.” The concept’s authors, Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch, encouraged people of all weights to establish a connection between their bodies, minds, and food, moving away from a focus on weight loss, dietary rules, and notions of food being good or bad.
What truly matters is the feeling of or fullness, as theorists of intuitive eating have concluded. Throughout life, various factors unrelated to our actual need for food influence our eating habits. Interestingly, this doesn’t start at birth: infants actually eat intuitively. A baby cries to signal a desire to eat and calms down once their hunger is satisfied.
Like animals that eat until they feel full and leave food they don’t need, a baby stops eating regardless of whether there’s still formula left in their bottle. Unlike adults, young children don’t have anxious thoughts about food. The essence of intuitive eating is to restore a natural relationship with food. In adulthood, this can be achieved through the cultivation of conscious consumption.
Eliminating Deficiency
Before deciding to adopt a responsible approach to eating, it’s important to understand the pros and cons of intuitive eating. The first advantage is the physiological nature of this method. Research has shown that intuitive eating positively impacts the body compared to dieting. Scientists attribute this to the fact that intuitive eating does not restrict food choices or impose a specific diet as a model.
Without guidelines, people typically choose a more varied . This, in turn, diversifies the gut microbiome, which has a positive effect on health. The emotional and psychological benefits are significant: the fewer restrictions there are, the higher the level of happiness. Intuitive eating significantly reduces psychological stress, as it does not categorize food as healthy or unhealthy, allowing enjoyment of various foods without guilt.
Without the burden of shame and anxiety, those who practice intuitive eating typically maintain moderation and do not . Studies show they have a lower body mass index compared to those on strict diets. After all, the pounds lost on a strict diet return in 97% of cases after a while, while intuitive eating serves not as a means to lose weight but as a way to live normally.
Researchers have also found a positive impact of intuitive eating on biochemical markers—blood sugar, cholesterol, and blood pressure levels. Observations indicate that overall health improvement through intuitive eating contributes to weight normalization and leads to weight loss when the body needs it. Dietary changes should be implemented alongside a shift away from “diet” thinking.
Respecting Hunger
Just as there is no universal suitable for everyone (each body is unique, with its own metabolism and individual food and micronutrient needs), intuitive eating can be considered highly personalized, depending on personal dietary needs. To identify these, one must discover their true preferences and not deprive themselves of favorite foods.
The second step is to learn not to ignore hunger, as dieters often do. To eat intuitively, one must recognize feelings of hunger as a genuine response from the body to unmet needs. Hunger deserves respect, emphasize the authors of the intuitive eating book. When assessing fullness on a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is very hungry and 10 is overstuffed, one should stop at around 7 or 8.
To avoid missing the moment to stop, eat slowly, chewing thoroughly and avoiding distractions. You shouldn’t read, write, browse the internet, or eat in company, as this diverts attention and hinders awareness of fullness. The goal is to stop eating as soon as discomfort from an empty stomach passes. Food should be a conscious response to the body’s request.
Eating is a biological necessity, but it can also be a source of pleasure. The creators of the intuitive eating concept encourage people to try to consume foods they enjoy. It’s important to treat yourself well—feeding your body nutritious food in adequate amounts. There’s nothing stopping you from rejecting arbitrary restrictions on acceptable foods and the timing of meals.
Causes of Overeating
from food can bring about positive changes. One should be grateful to nature for the ability to be active and enjoy life. Intuitive eating is about reconciling with calories rather than fighting against them. However, automatic eating should be resisted. People often overlook their dismissive attitude toward food: eating habits account for 95% of daily actions, which are unconscious. It’s crucial to learn to observe your habits.
To make a change, individuals must track “unjustified” eating, as this often hides the reasons for unnoticed overeating. Understanding what prevents you from solely responding to your body’s signals can help you transition to intuitive eating. It’s essential to distinguish between hunger and what’s known as “emotional appetite,” where food soothes us, allowing us to feel calmer.
Emotional appetite can be triggered by factors such as:
- financial problems;
- work-related stress;
- relationship issues;
- poor health;
- inability to control emotions.
Food does not help cope with despair, anxiety, longing, sadness, resentment, loneliness, fatigue, or stress. On the contrary, suppressing emotions through impulsive eating often adds to anxiety, leading to regret over overeating. It’s no secret that overcoming physical hunger is usually easier than addressing negative emotions: in a state of nerves, one can “swallow an elephant” and later feel ashamed of how much was consumed.
Returning to Yourself
By avoiding food as a means to cope with emotional problems, you can take the first step toward intuitive eating. Over time, it will become easier, and eventually, eating based on feelings of hunger will feel like a natural process. The habit of consuming “bad” food will gradually fade away, as a person who listens to themselves will notice which foods make them feel better and which make them feel worse.
Constantly eating fast food will not appeal to the body, as quick meals create a sense of heaviness. Those who practice intuitive eating gradually introduce new, safe foods into their diet, guided by physical well-being and energy levels. Intuitive eating ignores social pressure and unhealthy traditions while encouraging an active lifestyle.
Everyone has the right to refuse to follow the examples of those around them and consume advertised products if they do not align with personal dietary needs, the authors of the book “Intuitive Eating…” note. To resist external influence, it’s helpful to consider responses to potential questions about food choices. This way, you can explain that you are listening to your body, which currently desires something different.
Researchers confirm the shift in among new generations, who are rejecting their parents’ eating styles as unsuitable for themselves. This includes avoiding certain foods, reevaluating meal timing and caloric intake, and reducing the number of dishes at lunch or dinner. Intuitive eating is a way to care for oneself by choosing a food consumption system that restores trust in the body’s inherent wisdom.
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