Over the course of our lives, we have all tried at least 10 new weight loss diets or food trends. From the Atkins diet of the 90s to theKeto Diet, which is becoming increasingly popular these days. In fact, there are so many types of diets that you can quickly lose track. Unfortunately, 90% of diets fail and less than 1% of women worldwide manage to lose weight permanently. What if we told you that you can eat anything you want and still stay healthy? That there are no “good” or “bad” foods? Intuitive eating is the exact opposite of any diet and focuses on the connection between our body and mind. You learn to eat mindfully and without feeling guilty. Find out in our article how you can learn to eat intuitively, what the basic principles are and the numerous health benefits!
The diet mentality is firmly anchored in the minds of many women. Constantly counting calories, weighing our food or eliminating certain macros from our diet - all of this has a negative impact on our psyche and cannot work in the long term. According to a study conducted by Body Image magazine, only about 15% of women are satisfied with their weight. Giving our body what it demands is not only healthy, but makes us happier. Rather, intuitive eating is described as an anti-diet and there are no guidelines about what or when you can eat. There is no calorie counting or forbidden foods, but there are 10 basic principles that make up the core philosophy of this method.
Intuitive Eating – How exactly does it work and is it healthy?
Being able to eat chocolate, chips or pizza and still stay healthy – just sounds too good to be true, right? But eating with pleasure takes a lot of practice and it can take a while to get there. In reality, we were all born intuitive eaters. Think about babies, for example - they cry when they are hungry and stop eating when they are full. Whether through diets, advertising,social mediaor for other reasons - the majority of us have forgotten how to pay attention to our own body's signals over time. The concept of intuitive eating was introduced in 1955 by nutritionists Elyse Resch and Evelyn Tribole. The anti-diet is primarily aimed at reconnecting with our body. Suddenly no food is healthy or unhealthy anymore and there is no one but us who decides what and when we eat.
Listen to your gut feeling
Intuitive eating involves eating only when you are truly hungry and only until you are full but not stuffed. The concept involves a long-term change in our eating habits and our subconscious plays a crucial role in this. If you want to learn intuitive eating, it's best to start from scratch. Forget everything you've ever learned about calories and diets. Whether consciously or unconsciously, this information influences our eating behavior and not in a good way. Numerous studies have shown that intuitive eating is much healthier compared to restrictive diets. Since there are no specific recipes, nutrition plans, or strict instructions, it can be a little confusing at first. Therefore, it is important to know your body and the difference between hunger and appetite. Intuitive eating is not directly about weight loss, but rather a healthy relationship with itNourishment – both physical and psychological.
The first thing you should know is the difference between physical hunger and emotional hunger. When we are really hungry, our body sends us signals that it needs food - our stomach starts to growl, we start to feel tired or irritable. Emotional hunger, on the other hand, is when this feeling is driven by different emotions or boredom. Every time before you eat, ask yourself whether you are eating because you are hungry. If the answer is no, then don't do it. Eating intuitively is a long journey and it takes a lot of work to get to a place where we can let go of the diet mentality. We have to make a big emotional leap and let go of the desire to control our weight.
The 10 basic principles of intuitive eating
As already mentioned, there are no don'ts with intuitive eating and it's all about having a healthy relationship with our body and eating habits. The 10 basic principles of the diet are intended to support people on this long journey and help them work for and not against their bodies.
- 1. Get rid of the diet mentality. –Numerous studies have already confirmed several times that no diet works in the long term. Rather, they lead to cravings and make us feel like failures once we have eaten something “forbidden”. Clear your mind of these thoughts and throw away all the magazines and books that give you false hope that you can lose weight quickly and healthily.
- 2. Honor your hunger and pay attention to your own hunger signals –Hunger is not your enemy - it is a completely normal, biological process. Our body knows best when it needs energy in the form of food. Ignoring these signals can lead to cravings, followed by binge eating and guilt. So always eat when you are hungry - regardless of whether your last meal was 1 or 6 hours ago.
- 3. Make peace with food –Stop the food fight and give yourself unconditional permission to eat whatever you want. When you are on a diet, certain foods are labeled as forbidden and unhealthy and completely removed from your diet. But if you ever give in to the desire, it can lead to overeating and feelings of guilt. Once you know that you can treat yourself to some chocolate or a piece of cake at any time, you free yourself from this vicious circle and all these treats slowly lose their appeal. Of course, you may resort to it more often during the transition phase, but the craving for fast food and sweets will slowly disappear. To learn intuitive eating, ask yourself the following questions after every meal: Did I enjoy it? Am I full? How do I feel after eating?
- 4. Challenge the Food Police –The food police are all those voices in your head telling you that it's okay to eat less and that some foods are bad for you. The upper principle, “Making Peace with Food,” is about giving yourself physical permission to eat anything. When it comes to the food police challenge, however, you should learn to give yourself emotional permission to do so. Only by banishing these thoughts can you develop natural and satisfying eating habits.
- 5. Pay attention to your satiety signals –Intuitive eating is not just about eating when you are hungry, but also stopping when you are already full. But recognizing the feeling of fullness is actually not that easy and it can take a while before you can feel it again. It usually takes around 20 minutes for your body to recognize that you are full. Therefore, it is important to take your time and just focus on the meal. Take short breaks every now and then and ask yourself how full you are on a scale of 1 to 10.
- 6. Pay attention to the satisfaction factor –Eat everything you love! First, ask yourself what you want to eat, not what you should. Enjoying every single bite will boost your confidence and make you feel more satisfied and happy. Eating intuitively also means learning to make every single meal a truly enjoyable experience.
- 7. No emotional eating –Chocolate or ice cream because you're sad or a bag of chips as a reward after a long day at the office - does that sound familiar? Many people use food to cope with certain feelings or to distract themselves from problems. Fear, anger, loneliness and boredom are emotions that we all experience throughout our lives. Food might comfort you for a brief moment, but it won't solve your problems or make those feelings go away. Find other healthier ways to deal with your emotions. Emotional eating can often lead to overeating and trigger feelings of guilt.
Intuitive eating is designed to help you accept and love yourself and your body
- 8. Respect your body –Your body is as unique as you are and you have to accept that. Just as a person with a size 38 shoe could not expect to squeeze into size 36 shoes, it is also futile to have such expectations about height. Respecting your body starts with recognizing everything it does for you. So stop tormenting him with diets. Focus on the following 3 aspects: love, connection and care. Love is loving yourself even when you wish your body was different. Connection and care is about being on the same team with your body and giving it what it asks for.
- 9. View exercise and sport as something that is good for you –Everyone knows that sport and exercise are healthy. However, intuitive eating is not about finding the exercises that burn the most calories or the most fat. Strenuous and extreme training as well as hours on the treadmill or cross trainer are now a thing of the past. Instead, choose a sport that you enjoy and energizes you.
- 10. Stay healthy with a gentle diet –Food should taste good and you should feel good and not guilty after eating it. Reach for foods that nourish your body while satisfying your taste buds. A bar of chocolate or a few cookies won't make you fat or sick overnight.
WhichIntuitive eating offers advantagesfor our health?
According to numerous scientific studies, intuitive eating can impact both our emotional and physical health. Research links the diet with increased concentration and more energy. When you stop worrying about food, you can focus much better on other priorities in life. Here are the most important advantages at a glance:
- Improved cholesterol levels
- Higher self-esteem and satisfaction
- Improved metabolism
- Better body image
- Lower rates of emotional eating and food cravings
- The food tastes better
