Intuitive Eating
Are you fed up with diets? Have you had enough of feeling guilty every time you reach for that favorite chocolate treat? All those strict dietary regimens are taking their toll. And these overwhelming rules are the exact reason diets rarely work. They can, however, have a negative impact on your psychological health and well-being. Intuitive eating is different.
It is aimed at changing your relationship with food without forcing you to count calories or remove specific foods. Want to know what makes intuitive eating special? Here, you can take a closer look at the basic principles of intuitive eating. Take a look at the facts about intuitive eating below to find out more.
What Is the Intuitive Eating Approach?
Intuitive eating is an eating style designed to help you make peace with all kinds of foods. Compared to typical diets that forbid you from eating certain consumables, intuitive eating inspires you to pay attention to the body and enjoy what feels right.
It can be linked with:
- less food obsession
- better contentment & self-esteem
- improved body image
- lower odds of emotional & disordered eating
- decreased stress
Now, that doesn’t mean you can munch on stuff all the time with no end. On the contrary, you should tap into your body’s natural ability to let you know when you are full or hungry. The idea is simple – eat when you are feeling hungry and stop when you are full. (1)
Intuitive Eating for Stress and Better Mood
Why is intuitive eating better than dieting? Deliberate dieting has limited long-term success in managing weight. Depending on how strict the food restrictions are, it can lead to binge eating and weight cycling. Dieting is all about the perception of thinness being better.
So, you end up suppressing your body’s needs and feelings to eat the “allowed” kind of food. Intuitive eating encourages eating in accordance with satiety cues and hunger. It shifts the attention from bodyweight to wellbeing, making it more beneficial for physical and psychological health, research shows. (3)
Intuitive eating is not a weight reduction diet. You use it to develop a healthy and positive attitude toward body image and food. People who want to focus on self-care, improve their mood, and curb stress can do so by making thoughtful food additions to their eating plans.
How Does That Work?
To reap the benefits of intuitive eating, you need to trust your intuition. That means learning to differentiate between emotional and physical hunger. Emotional hunger is hunger driven by your emotions. (3)
Whenever you are feeling stressed, bored, sad, or lonely, the body creates food cravings that are satiated by comfort foods. Physical hunger is different. It is a biological urge to supply the body with all the necessary vitamins, minerals, and nutrients. (4)
When the stomach is growling, you are irritable or exhausted; that’s when it is time to replenish your nutrient intake. Right after eating, you can feel satisfied and happy. Intuitive eating is based on this physical hunger instead of the emotional one.
So, is intuitive eating worth it? If you are eager to reject the diet mentality and still be healthy, intuitive eating can come in handy. It can make for a worthwhile long-term tactic.
References
1. https://www.webmd.com/diet/what-is-intuitive-eating
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6360478/
3. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/quick-guide-intuitive-eating
4. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23962472/
