How many times has someone asked you, “You’re really not going to finish that?” Or, on the flip side, asked “Wow, I can’t believe you finished all that food.”
How many times have you punished yourself for eating that last slice of cake? Or patted yourself on the back for not eating it?
These reactions – though not usually intended to be hurtful – can seriously affect the way we view our food, and can hurt our relationship with it. Think about it: You don’t punish yourself for needing to use the restroom a certain number of times each day, so why would you punish yourself for being hungry?
Enter the practice of intuitive eating.
“If we started focusing on (our food) and being more mindful about what we’re doing and how our bodies respond, I think that could go a long way with having a better relationship with our food,” says Laura Poland, RD, of Westerville-based Dietitian in your Kitchen. “I focus with my clients more on a lifestyle and, as part of that lifestyle, one of the things we talk about is being more mindful and being more present; not having guilt over foods they’re eating.”
Intuitive eating isn’t a diet. It’s the idea that, rather than excluding certain foods or food groups from our diet, we should listen to what our body is telling us. If a certain type of food – dairy, for instance – doesn’t make us feel good, we should cut back on eating foods within that category. If we’re hungry, don’t put it off; quench the hunger with something that makes you feel good, like fruits or vegetables. By that same token, it’s important to recognize how much food you really need, and if you’re eating so much that you feel exhausted and sluggish, eat less next time.
This may sound too good to be true, and while more research is certainly needed, preliminary studies suggest intuitive eating not only leads to lower BMI and improved cardiovascular risk, it also improves intuitive eaters’ relationship with food, and encourages longer-term behavioral changes. A 2005 study published in the Journal of American Dietetic Association analyzed two groups of chronic dieting obese women; one group ate intuitively, another group dieted. While the dieting group lost more weight initially, they ended up regaining all the weight they’d taken off. Though the intuitive eating group maintained weight, women in the group reported an improvement in self-esteem, metabolic fitness levels and had healthier eating behaviors.
Part of intuitive eating is eating when you’re hungry. When we put off eating, despite feeling hungry, Poland says, we’re much more likely to overeat, and are apt to binge on less healthful foods. Instead, if we eat as we begin to get hungry, we’re more likely to eat the right amount of foods, and foods that are more healthful.
In order to monitor what makes you feel good, gauge your hunger level and keep your body feeling good about what’s being consumed Judy Loper, Ph.D., RDN and executive director of the Central Ohio Nutrition Center, Inc. (CONCI), suggests keeping a food intake journal. Determining what constitutes “true hunger” is key, as our bodies are easily tricked into craving food despite not actually being hungry.
“How do you feel when you feel like you really want something to eat?” says Loper. “Is your stomach growling, does it feel empty? Or do you feel fine, but you’re just watching a commercial come on TV that stimulates you? By recording it, (patients) are more aware of what they’re doing.”
Because eating – and overeating – has become so easy due to meal delivery services and because food is a major part of our culture, Loper says the biggest challenge for many CONCI patients is following through with set nutritional plans. But, she promises, if the patient follows quality advice and makes the necessary behavioral changes, they’ll see results.
“After they get good education, looking and their motivation and making the proper behavior changes – sometimes those changes don’t come at once,” says Loper. “There are baby steps in making the behavior changes. I think the questions they want to ask (such as) ‘What do I want to eat’ (and) ‘How hungry am I’ are very important.”
A major part of what makes intuitive eating different from dieting is that it is not a one-size-fits-all plan. That means Loper and Poland’s jobs are more difficult, but it also means patients are given a plan modified for their lifestyle; not the other way around.
“Most people, what they really want is to be healthier,” says Poland. “When you start to frame it as wanting to be healthier, that’s when you can start letting go of the scale and realizing that your body feels better – and that can be different for everyone.”
At the end of the day, the most important part of intuitive eating is when the client or patient goes home and implements the plan. However, with rampant misinformation surrounding nutrition, it can be difficult to implement that plan when one is supplementing his or her education with advice from the internet. Loper recommends going to sources from physicians in the field or registered dietitians.
“There is a lot of misinformation out there, so I think education first from reputable sources is important,” says Loper. “The good news is, in the last probably 10 to 15 years, people are more aware of their diet or weight. I think there is better awareness, and I think that’s positive.”
The way we think about diets and weight management may be slowly changing. However, Poland says, if you have concerns about your weight, diet or the way you feel throughout the day, it’s best to make an appointment with a registered dietitian.
“If you have something wrong with your tooth, you’re always going to go to the dentist,” says Poland. “Why is it so different with our diets?”
Amanda DePerro is a contributing editor. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
