If not dieting, then what? An Introduction to Intuitive Eating…

Dieting, or following a FAD diet in order to loose weight simply doesn’t work. You lose weight initially but then cannot maintain the strict eating rules and regain all the weight back plus some. Dieting also increases your risk of disordered eating, a poor relationship with food, binge eating, depression, anxiety, nutritional and metabolic issues and weight gain!

If dieting is not this great for us, then what’s the alternative?

Well I’m a non diet Dietitian and I help my clients stop dieting, stop restricting, eat intuitively and fuel their body adequately. Our bodies really do know what and how much to eat if we can actually tune into, trust and listen to them. (This is hard when we have been so conditioned to eat what someone else tells us is ok to eat).

So what is intuitive eating?

In 1995, Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch coined the term intuitive eating in their book: Intuitive Eating: A Revolutionary Anti-Diet Approach.

Intuitive eating, a philosophy of eating in which allows you to follow your internal hunger and fullness cues as a way to guide your eating. Under this philosophy, you are the expert of your own body not a diet that imposes guidelines about what to eat and when.

There are 10 principles of intuitive eating:

1.Reject diet mentality

2.Honour your hunger

3.Make peace with food

4.Challenege food police

5.Discover satisfaction factor

6.Feel your fullness

7.Cope with emotions with kindness

8.Respect your body

9.Movement- Feel the difference

10.Honour your health- Gentle Nutrition

(I’ll go into these in more detail in my next blog, for now i just want to make you aware of them)

What are the benefits of intuitive eating?

There are many benefits including: Improved self-esteem, body image, overall quality of life, mental health, cholesterol, digestion, metabolism and physical health. Reduced disordered eating, emotional eating and stress. More satisfaction with food.

When we eat intuitively, we learn to listen to our body and honour what it needs. We don’t focus on intentional weight loss and restriction of foods. Once we start eating intuitively our body shape/weight will settle where it needs to settle. We can monitor our health via more important factors that are not weight related Eg blood tests, energy, bowels, consistency with movement, improved eating habits and more.

If you’d like to start reading in more detail about Intuitive Eating, I’d suggest obtaining the book above or checking out the website below:

https://www.intuitiveeating.org/10-principles-of-intuitive-eating/

Otherwise, ill be back next month with part 2!

If you know that you’d like to get started with learning to eat intuitively then this is exactly what I teach in my 3 month coaching program. Check the link below for more details:

https://adelaidenutrition.com.au/nutritionandmindsetcoaching

Cheers

Mattea Palombo

Accredited Practising Dietitian