A series of studies attempted to determine how dieters and non-dieters differ when presented with food. In one experiment, two groups were asked to rate different foods. They were told they could try cakes, cookies and nuts; Halfway through the trial they were given a chocolate pudding.
At the start of the trial, the dieters initially ate less, but after drinking a shake; the results were reversed. People decided their diets were already ruined and ate more than the control group.
Although it was expected that dieters would behave in a certain way, their actions were counterintuitive. The desire to overeat was exacerbated by the perception that they had already broken the diet. Researchers call this process of breaking the diet, overeating, and then returning to the diet the “devil” effect.
Studies on the “screw it” effect inspired Evelyn Tribole, a California dietitian, to propose intuitive eating as a healthy way of eating. This dietary approach, which establishes that it is best not to diet, was developed and made known through the book Intuitive eating: returning to natural eating habits which is now in its fourth edition.
According to some health professionals, dieting is bad advice; Instead, it is better for people to learn to eat intuitively. Intuitive eating teaches people to eat what their body asks for Unlike other diets, one of its fundamental principles is that you can eat anything, without gaining weight.
The intuitive diet has no restrictions, but it does not mean that we can eat without any type of awareness. In fact, it involves reconnecting with our body to understand its true needs.
The eating habits of most of us are not based on our dietary requirements, but are strongly influenced by customs, the environment, advertising and increasingly by social networks. Thus, the intuitive diet is a challenge because it consists of unlearning and stopping listening to external influences to determine for ourselves what we need to eat. Furthermore, on the other hand, other difficulties are added to eating intuitively, such as daily obligations, which leave us little time to listen to ourselves and our body.
Although this may seem like an unattainable challenge, if you look at it, babies and young children eat intuitively, that is, when they are hungry and stop when they are full. They also don’t eat anything they don’t like, although this would have to be qualified, since they themselves are not able to get food, so some learning is necessary when we are little and offering different foods, these being the most natural possible.
Typical phrases such as “if you eat everything, you will be bigger”, “don’t leave anything on the plate” or others that force us to eat certain types of foods considered healthier, for example: “bananas are good because they have a lot of potassium.” ”, they greatly influence our perception of food.
Although spread with good intentions, these tips They make us pay more attention to what is told to us from the outside at mealtime than to what our body transmits to us Ultimately, this leads us to believe that some unhealthy foods are good for us, even though our body tells us otherwise.
It is increasingly common to go to different professionals to improve our diet or do it through books or social networks. Unfortunately, many of these good intentions end up with meaningless diets based on food restrictions, fasting periods, and macro and calorie calculations.
This type of diet takes us even further away from the bodily signals that our body sends us. This is one of the main reasons why most of these diets have high rates of failure and relapse, in addition to causing long-term weight gain. Likewise, it is important to note that any diet that imposes some type of restriction has the risk of acting as a trigger for an eating disorder.
The intuitive diet assumes that the body naturally knows what it needs in terms of food and nutrition By listening to hunger signals and interpreting them correctly, a person can automatically eat healthier, without thinking too much about it and without feeling like he is dieting.
How to apply intuitive eating to your lifestyle?
As we have seen, intuitive eating requires that we detach ourselves from a series of preconceived notions about food and diets. Its main goal is to educate us to pay more attention to our body’s responses to different foods, instead of applying some restrictive diet, counting calories or following trends.
There are a series of principles that serve as pillars in intuitive eating Specifically, ten, although its main promoter Evelyn Tribole insists that it is better not to apply them all at the same time and go little by little on the path of learning to eat in an intuitive and healthy way.
1. Reject diets
Although there are many different diets that are presented as healthy – when it comes to losing weight – it is best to avoid any type of diet permanently. Additionally, anyone who has tried any miracle diet will know why they are not a viable option in the long run. Ignoring our body’s needs in a strict and systematic way does not bring any benefit, in fact, the opposite usually happens: we end up leaving the diet and more frustrated than when we started it. It is necessary to listen carefully to our body and understand the foods you ask us for along with the nutrients they provide
It is perfectly natural to feel hungry. Hunger is the body’s way of telling us that we need energy. It is also important for both our mental and physical health to have access to quality nutrition at all times. If we only allow ourselves to eat a salad or fruit throughout the day – while craving other foods – it can lead to unhealthy habits, such as bingeing on high-calorie food when we get home.
From this point of view, it is better eat when we are hungry and learn to stop when we feel full Alternatively, we can use common sense to determine when we have eaten enough.
3. There are no prohibited foods
Avoiding certain types of food can cause a significant drop in happiness. Accept this fact and make peace with pizzas, chocolate and soft drinks and incorporating these foods into our diet from time to time is the solution to stop obsessing about them. When someone tells you not to want something, it’s natural to want it more, even if it’s not the best for you.
By prohibiting ourselves from eating certain foods, we increase our need for them, despite not having previously desired them. Once you apply this principle, you will realize that you don’t want to eat chocolate in the morning, at noon and at night, but only from time to time.
4. Challenge your food critic
Diets can teach us to judge certain foods as good or bad. By making a list of all the ideas we have around food, we can discover the restrictive rules that we have imposed on ourselves over the years and that we have internalized For example, some people avoid carbohydrates at night, while others never eat dessert. Others focus on counting calories throughout the day.
Paying attention to these rules can make it harder to focus on what we eat consciously. The goal of this exercise is to raise awareness about how food rules and control can interfere with intuitive eating.
5. Feeling of satiety
By paying attention to the feeling of hunger, you can avoid eating too much or too little. There is a balance point between the feeling of hunger and satiety. When we eat, it is best to stop when we feel pleasantly satisfied, but not full. The goal is to find a middle ground This means always maintaining an appetite that is not urgent, but not feeling full either.
6. Enjoy food
Enjoying experiences is another way the body releases endorphins, this includes food. It is more satisfying to eat a food that we really want to eat and will enjoy rather than one that we reluctantly consume because we think it is healthy.
Taking time to eat is important for fully appreciate foods and flavors Distractions should not interfere with mealtime and we should focus on each bite.
7. Separate emotions from food
Intuitive eating requires understanding the difference between emotional hunger and real physical hunger. Eating out of sadness, loneliness, frustration, boredom or also as a reward is common. This phenomenon is known as emotional hunger: food can produce feelings similar to affection. For example, eating sugar can make us happy in the short term because it releases dopamine. Sweets are often used as a quick fix for temporary anxiety However, this way of coping with emotions leads to unmet needs in the long term, and after a while we feel worse than before eating.
8. Respect our body
It is important when relating to food, to appreciate the body we have, recognizing all its abilities and strengths and assuming that beauty standards are impossible to achieve. These are established by comparing someone’s appearance with something they cannot have. It is foolish to make judgments based on external appearances; Likewise, no one should tell someone to wear a size that their body is not suited for. To connect with our intuition, first we must recognize and embrace our reality
9. Move consciously
It is often heard that sports and physical exercise are fundamental parts of a healthy diet and life. However, just like forcing yourself to eat certain types of foods that we don’t feel suit us, exercising without pleasure will not lead to lasting results.
It is important that the exercise we decide to do is fun and motivating You shouldn’t start with high-intensity workouts or endless gym sessions. Instead it is better to try something that we enjoy and that we can do regularly, such as a bike ride or a long walk, it can also be the gym but progressively. Then we can gradually increase the pace as we get used to it and find pleasure in it.
Other options that improve body awareness include yoga and tai chi. These psychophysical approaches involve movement, posture, breathing, calmness, and a positive attitude. And they encourage open communication between mind and body.
10. Health comes first
Practice intuitive eating does not mean forgetting the basic principles of nutrition Having a solid understanding of food and what it gives us will give us a significant advantage when it comes to trusting intuition. Certain foods contain the nutrients our bodies need, while others simply have high palatability. Thanks to this knowledge, we can make informed decisions with a lot of room for maneuver when it comes to eating.
