18 Feb Intuitive eating–Yes or no

The way many of us eat now is certainly NOT intuitive. Here are some examples. We follow guidelines from authorities. Yo-yo dieting is common. We count calories and choose non-nutritious foods because of their low calorie count. We restrict ourselves until we can’t take it anymore and then we binge. Some of us curse our food by saying “I know this isn’t good for me.” Hunger is ignored. Taste is downplayed as unimportant: skip salt, nibble on rice crackers. Whew. There must be a better system. Maybe that system is intuitive eating.

I’m New Orleans Health Coach and we love to eat here in New Orleans. We savor every bite. Yes, we also fall victim to being unintuitive with our food. But I believe that we can want to eat healthy food that tastes good and is good for us.

What is intuitive eating?

The idea is to tune into your body’s signals of what it needs to thrive. Forget diets and expert advice. Let your body be the expert. Forget judgment and “should’s”. Realize the food police are not coming to get you. Food is not the enemy, it’s nourishment. Pay attention to when you feel hungry and when you feel full. Focus more on your health than on losing pounds.

The first question you might ask is: Does intuitive eating work? As with almost any health strategy, results are mixed. Some lose weight and some don’t. But most people find less stress and better health. That certainly makes it worth considering.

What could go wrong?

Suppose you crave junk food. Hey, we all do. I give in occasionally. We know that junk food will keep you overweight and unhealthy. Should you listen to your body when it seems to want donuts?

Fun fact: wheat is addicting. The molecules of wheat affect your brain that way. Yes, that’s why a bowl of pasta is so satisfying, at least at the moment. And maybe you can’t resist cookies. Which leads me to say that sugar is also addicting. Your brain on sugar lights up on a scan like your brain on drugs. Sugar is probably the least nutritious choice you could make. And the more sugar you eat, the more you crave, not unlike an illegal drug. It’s similar with wheat. Dairy also tends to be addicting. The most tempting foods are probably some combo of wheat, sugar, and dairy. These are not the most nutritious choices. Rarely does someone crave a stalk of broccoli or a piece of celery.

Maybe you crave chips. However, anything that’s in a bag or box at the grocery store has been processed. Processing tends to make food lose flavor, especially if fat is removed. So flavors are added back in. And the food industry has gotten too smart for our own good. They create franken-foods with enhanced flavors. They want to make their food addicting–then you’ll buy more. That’s why you can’t eat just one chip. So intuitively eating a bag of chips means you’ve eaten non-nutritious “food”.

What about meal times?

Part of intuitive eating is to eat when hungry, and not when you’re not. That could mean that you eat meals any time of day, instead of traditional times. However, people tend to become hungry at habitual times of day, whether they need more food or not. If you usually eat lunch at noon, then you tend to feel hunger at noon. Your meal times also help set your circadian rhythms. So if mealtimes vary widely each day, your sleep could be affected. And eating within 3 hours of bedtime means you’re digesting when your body should be repairing and regenerating. Maybe not a good idea to grab a snack while watching TV in the evenings. Keeping to regular meal times can have benefits.

Another issue with eating when you’re hungry is that some people are always hungry. I used to be like that. When your blood sugar tends to run high, you can get hunger. If you eat a meal high in simple carbs, your blood sugar spikes and crashes and that makes you hungry. If you get a bad night’s sleep, you’re hungry the next day. Hunger like this doesn’t necessarily mean you need more food. It means you need to improve your food choices and sleeping habits.

How to make it right

We should use common sense and listen to our body wisdom. Just eat real food–that should be our motto. We can honor our hunger, and listen to our intuition, but choose real food, not junk. Good choices are vegetables, meats, eggs, nuts, and fruits. Nature is not so dumb that it created food that’s bad for us. But the food has to look like it did in nature. A piece of bread looks nothing like a stalk of wheat, but carrots look exactly like what was plucked from the ground. Maybe we can get in a habit of eating well and enjoying it, and move away from restrictive dieting.

So I practice a bit of intuitive eating myself. I’m the cook for my family. I enjoy that role because it gives me control. So I make what I want to eat. I follow my cravings. But I only follow my cravings for real food. For example, I make a vegetable soup for my dinner most nights, because I love the taste and find it satisfying. I decide which vegetable to cook based on what seems good to me. So I tend to vary the colors of the vegetables. There are health benefits from eating the rainbow. When I choose a protein to eat, I tend to vary that as well, based on what I feel like eating. And variety helps me get more of the nutrients I need.

So you have to figure out how to pull all these thoughts together for yourself. And if you need help, I’ll gladly talk it out with you. I’m a board certified health coach and I teach health coaching. I’m qualified to be your ally on your road to becoming healthy and slim. Contact me.

Comments: Have you tried intuitive eating?

Intuitive Eating: definition

Dr. Axe: Intuitive eating

Food Babe: Natural flavors

Cnet Health: Addicted to sugar

Healthline: Meal timing for diabetes

Wheat is an opiate

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