Intuitive Eating Might Not Be What You Think

In our recent Expert Insights main features, we’ve looked at two fairly opposing schools of thought when it comes to managing what we eat.

First we looked at:

What Flexible Dieting Really Means

…and the notion of doing things imperfectly for greater sustainability, and reducing the cognitive load of dieting by measuring only the things that are necessary.

And then in opposition to that,

What Are The “Bright Lines” Of Bright Line Eating?

…and the notion of doing things perfectly so as to not go astray, and reducing the cognitive load of dieting by having hard-and-fast rules that one does not second-guess or reconsider later when hungry.

Today we’re going to look at Intuitive Eating, and what it does and doesn’t mean.

Intuitive Eating does mean paying attention to hunger signals (each way)

Intuitive Eating means listening to one’s body, and responding to hunger signals, whether those signals are saying “time to eat” or “time to stop”.

A common recommendation is to “check in” with one’s body several times per meal, reflecting on such questions as:

• Do I have hunger pangs? Would I seek food now if I weren’t already at the table?
• If I hadn’t made more food than I’ve already eaten so far, would that have been enough, or would I have to look for something else to eat?
• Am I craving any of the foods that are still before me? Which one(s)?
• How much “room” do I feel I still have, really? Am I still in the comfort zone, and/or am I about to pass into having overeaten?
• Am I eating for pleasure only at this point? (This is not inherently bad, by the way—it’s ok to have a little more just for pleasure! But it is good to note that this is the reason we’re eating, and take it as a cue to slow down and remember to eat mindfully, and enjoy every bite)
• Have I, in fact, passed the point of pleasure, and I’m just eating because it’s in front of me, or so as to “not be wasteful”?

See also: Interoception: Improving Our Awareness Of Body Cues

And for that matter: Mindful Eating: How To Get More Out Of What’s On Your Plate

Intuitive Eating is not “80:20”

When it comes to food, the 80:20 rule is the idea of having 80% of one’s diet healthy, and the other 20% “free”, not necessarily unhealthy, but certainly not moderated either.

Do you know what else the 80:20 food rule is?

A food rule.

Intuitive Eating doesn’t do those.

The problem with food rules is that they can get us into the sorts of problems described in the studies showing how flexible dieting generally works better than rigid dieting.

Suddenly, what should have been our free-eating 20% becomes “wait, is this still 20%, or have I now eaten so much compared to the healthy food, that I’m at 110% for my overall food consumption today?”

Then one gets into “Well, I’ve already failed to do 80:20 today, so I’ll try again tomorrow [and binge meanwhile, since today is already written off]”

See also: Eating Disorders: More Varied (And Prevalent) Than People Think

It’s not “eat anything, anytime”, either

Intuitive Eating is about listening to your body, and your brain is also part of your body.

• If your body is saying “give me sugar”, your brain might add the information “fruit is healthier than candy”.
• If your body is saying “give me fat”, your brain might add the information “nuts are healthier than fried food”
• If your body is saying “give me salt”, your brain might add the information “kimchi is healthier than potato chips”

That doesn’t mean you have to swear off candy, fried food, or potato chips.

But it does mean that you might try satisfying your craving with the healthier option first, giving yourself permission to have the less healthy option afterwards if you still want it (you probably won’t).

See also:

I want to eat healthily. So why do I crave sugar, salt and carbs?

Want to know more about Intuitive Eating?

You might like this book that we reviewed previously:

Intuitive Eating – by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch

Enjoy!