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Make no mistake; intuitive eating isn’t about losing weight. Intuitive eating is a non-diet method to help people recover from chronic dieting. You may be tired of all the diet programs promising you will be losing weight in two weeks, or perhaps you were able to lose weight, only for it to return after a while.
Therefore, if you have searched for a new way to manage your weight or find an answer to why most diets don’t work for you, that’s great. Intuitive eating is also intended to help you build a healthier relationship with food by contacting your body’s internal signals rather than external diet rules.
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What Transpires with Intuitive Eating?
If you are being honest, you probably want to try intuitive eating because you still want to shed those unwanted pounds. Well, it can happen.
However, it’s not about losing weight because you may also gain weight or stay in your current size. That’s why it is essential to set the right expectations. If you don’t, you could get disappointed if you keep weighing yourself and do not see the change you want through the scale.
Remember that intuitive eating is all about the following:
- Appreciating your body, whether you are slim or on the cuddly side.
- Eating more nutritious food.
- Enjoy the food you eat without feeling guilty afterward.
- You should become more motivated to move your body and enjoy any physical activity you do rather than dread exercises you don’t want to do.
- Avoiding binge eating.
- Improving your health and wellness.
Widespread Misunderstandings About Intuitive Eating
If you learned about intuitive eating on social media, chances are you’ve got a shortened definition of what it truly is. There are common myths you might have encountered.
1. It’s A Hunger or Fullness Diet
It’s not. It’s more than recognizing when you are hungry and stopping from eating when you are full. Instead, it is getting more accustomed to when you become too hungry or full and learning from those situations without feeling guilty or ashamed.
2. It’s About Eating All The “Banned” Foods Anytime You Want
Initially, it can feel like you’ll eat ice cream or chocolates whenever your intuition signals for food. What happens if you deprive yourself of many “forbidden” foods during your dieting days? But eventually, that restricted food will become more regular and less idealized.
3. It’s Simply a Fad Diet
Much of the confusion around intuitive eating is caused by the term “non-diet approach,” often perceived as a fad diet. Intuitive eating is about healthy lifestyle changes for general wellness, chronic disease management, and improved energy. The ‘Non-Diet Approach’ also covers mindful eating.
What Is a Perfect Weight?
Why intuitive eating isn’t about weight loss because of your set weight, it’s the weight point your body wants to be for it to function optimally. Based on the set weight point theory, if you honor your eating intuition, your body will return to its set weight, where you’ll feel best physically and mentally.
It’s about letting go of the food rules, starving yourself or feeling deprived of the food you want, and forcing yourself to exercise excessively.
Therefore, you might notice some weight gain during the early days of your intuitive eating, but you could lose weight overall over the long term.
Losing Weight Should Not Be Your Goal in Intuitive Eating
Losing weight shouldn’t be your goal for practicing intuitive eating. Anything that targets weight loss results is a form of dieting, so it defeats the purpose of practicing the principles of intuitive eating if that’s your goal.
Intuitive eating allows you to follow your body’s intuition on what you want to eat and when you have fed yourself sufficiently. If you have been dieting chronically, intuitive eating is your recovery plan.
That’s why, if you intend to use intuitive eating for losing weight, you shouldn’t be. You need to follow all the principles of intuitive eating. You can’t just choose one or two rules and call it intuitive eating.
Intuitive eating isn’t about losing weight, and if that’s your primary purpose of trying this ‘non-diet approach,’ you will more than likely be setting yourself up for disappointment. You may not get the outcomes that you want. Intuitive eating is getting freedom from diet rules and instead taking cues from your body.
DISCLAIMER: All content on this website is presented solely for educational and informational objectives. Do not rely on the information provided as a replacement for advice, diagnosis, or treatment from a qualified medical expert. If you are pregnant, nursing, or have any preexisting medical concerns, talk to your doctor before using any herbal or natural medicines.
References
- Mann, T., Tomiyama, A. J., Westling, E., Lew, A. M., Samuels, B., & Chatman, J. (2007). Medicare’s search for effective obesity treatments: Diets are not the answer. American Psychologist, 62(3), 220–233. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.62.3.220
- Van Dyke, N., & Drinkwater, E. J. (2014). Review article: intuitive eating: a review of the literature. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 114(10), 1597-1609. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2014.07.020
- Linardon, J., Tylka, T. L., & Fuller-Tyszkiewicz, M. (2021). Intuitive Eating and Emotional Eating: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 54(6), 904-920.
- Schaefer, J., & Magnuson, A. (2014). A review of interventions that promote eating by internal cues. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 114(5), 734-760. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2013.12.022
