Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Intuitive Eating

There are many things that I could talk about in terms of weight loss but it largely boils down to intuitive eating. There are not many diet and food books that dietitians like me endorse but this is one that I highly encourage reading. You can read more about it here http://www.intuitiveeating.org/. If anything, go to the website and look at the 10 principles.

Intuitive eating is essentially learning to understand and respect your body. It focuses on having a healthy relationship with food. No more saying there are “good” foods and “bad” foods. There are just foods and you can eat and enjoy eating all of them.

It teaches you to follow your own bodies’ hunger and fullness cues. You eat when you are hungry and stop when you are full. It sounds simple but learning to recognize when you are actually hungry and full takes some time. It teaches you the lifestyle changes we want. It helps you cut down on the amount you eat without feeling deprived or hungry.

Intuitive eating is definitely a change in thought for most of us but it works. How do I know? Because I have done it myself and encourage all of my clients to become an intuitive eater themselves. When I started the program I wasn’t looking to lose weight but wanted to develop a better relationship with food. Within 6 months I lost 15 pounds just be learning to recognize my internal cues.

Over the next few weeks I will help you explore some of these intuitive eating principles more closely. In the meantime, check out the book or at least look at the website (http://www.intuitiveeating.org/) and let me know what you think.