To wonder why people don’t seem to know about intuitive eating?

[sunshineonmywindow20]

I keep reading the plentiful diet/weight loss threads on Mumsnet - a range of approaches come up - low carb, fasting, calorie counting, WW, slimming world etc

But no one ever mentions intuitive eating, and I wonder why? I’ve been on numerous diets and for me it’s BY FAR the best way I’ve found to reconnect with my body, improve my relationship with food and -yes - lose weight.

I guess it isn’t always explicitly directed/marketed as a diet/weight loss tool, but for me that’s why it’s so good! It’s about enjoying food more (!) and moving towards your natural set weight, which might not be skinny, but for many people will mean they lose weight by eating in tune with their bodies (eating when hungry, eating slowly/mindfully, stopping when full).

But there are no banned foods, no rules beyond the above, it’s a happy process that encourages self acceptance and a healthy, life long change. Books wise there is a wide range - Susie Orbach, Paul McKenna, Beyond Chocolate, many more.

Diets are scientifically proven not to work long term and trap people into a cycle of misery... AIBU to recommend this to others looking to change their relationship with food? I promise I am not connected to it commercially or otherwise in any way

Surely everyone knows that you're supposed to be eating healthy food, when you're hungry and not overeat

It's not some secret or revelation!

My body intuitively ingests about 3000 calories a day. I gained a stone in 2 months the last time I ate reasonably healthy food when I was hungry and kept it at that. I feel genuinely hungry long after most people are full.

I have tried intuitive eating, but I actually found it harder work than dieting . I don't have an off switch with food. I have gained so much weight in lockdown. I am now trying healthy eating, avoiding snacks and sugary stuff. It isn't a diet per se, but I do need to think about health as well as what I fancy, or I tend to make the wrong choices. I think it's also because I don't like cooking very much anymore, (used to love it, but it's stressful with young dcs), so if I have the option, I will just eat what is easiest.

Once you are down to a weight you are happy with, stick to the keto meal but add in other things to maintain but keep those things low carb.

That's literally the opposite of intuitive eating.

Intuitive eating has no rules. No 'low carb' no 'stick to keto'.

I mean, I think it's a nice idea but lots of people have lifestyles where it doesn't really work that way.

Busy schedules, set lunch breaks, long commutes, emotional eating problems, shift work etc. all stop people from eating intuitively. Not everyone works jobs where they can just stop what they're doing because their body is telling them they need to eat a banana.

Whereas a lot of other diets can fit around your life. If you calorie count, for example, you can eat your 400cal lunch at 11.30 or 2pm - it doesn't matter because you're still eating the same foods. Or if you intermittent fast (which is what I do) you can schedule the eating window for when you know you'll have time to cook and eat.

I do agree with you that ideally it's a great way of eating but I think human lives are a lot more complex than that.

@SandieCheeks well yes! But people get mixed up between comfort eating, intuitive eating, overeating... it should be simple but often our body’s signals are interfered with by our emotions - or - chiefly - by diets!

Those saying that intuitively they want to constantly eat sweets and wine - I’m no expert but I think that would be classed as ‘mouth hunger’ or emotional eating rather than intuitive eating. But also - and this is key I think - nothing’s banned, so if your body really wants chocolate or a burger or whatever that’s ok! It’s just a balanced diet ultimately, maybe it should be called ‘normal’ eating but that’s definitely not a marketing term , and comes with its own baggage I can see...

Maybe people just don't label it like that?

People who eat what they fancy when they fancy it, in the appropiate portion size, and who stop eating when they are full?

It's just not as snappy. And not necessarily something you'd start a thread about if it came naturally to you. In which case you probably wouldn't be on the weight loss boards in the first place.

But yes, I read a book along those lines about 25 years ago, lost about 3 stone, and didn't put the weight back on as so often happens after "successfully" dieting.

@vanillandhoney - there is that convenience/timing factor which I have found hard at times. Eg last night I wasn’t hungry at family meal time so I just had a drink (a G&T!) and sat with them. Or I sometimes carry oat cakes or something around in case I get hungry.

I also interpret ‘eat whatever your body is asking for’ as ‘within the parameters of what I have available’ otherwise it would be way too expensive!

I intuitively live off cola, crisps and chocolate biscuits.

Obviously the cola and chocolate have sugar in, which grows, which are 2 of my 5 a day. Chocolate also has cocoa beans in, again something that grows, so that's the third. I can probably count the potatoes in the crisps as the fourth, so if I have an occasional apple then that should be fine shouldn't it?

I'm not 100% sure what an intuitive eater is but I think I've been one all my life, I only eat when I'm hungry, I dont over eat and I eat anything I like, have always been slim, have also eaten this way through times of poverty, so not sure it's just for the 'privileged'

@Witchend

I intuitively live off cola, crisps and chocolate biscuits.

Obviously the cola and chocolate have sugar in, which grows, which are 2 of my 5 a day. Chocolate also has cocoa beans in, again something that grows, so that's the third. I can probably count the potatoes in the crisps as the fourth, so if I have an occasional apple then that should be fine shouldn't it?

Also, isn't cola made of vegetable extract? You should start one of those wellness websites. Practically a health guru you are .

I’ve not heard of this
I’d be interested in hearing more ,and how it’s helped you op

I’d love to be able to do this but I just don’t have the self control. If I’m not dieting I eat an ungodly amount of crap and my portion sizes are ridiculous. The only thing that works for me is low carb as that for some reason has taken away my body suddenly acting like it’s starving to death when I haven’t eaten for a couple of hours. I’m starting to think that it’s sugar crashes that cause it.

Because some of us have such a screwed up relationship with food/our bodies that we dont know how (and learning sounds terrifying!).

For instance, I have no idea what a portion should be, unless I weigh and measure it out. I cant just look at a plate and say "that's the right amount of food".

There is a book by Scott Baptie called “101 ways to lose weight and never find it again” it’s great. There is also “eat what you like and lose weight for life” by the fitness chef another sensible book (also full of pictures lol) I would recommend both for a healthy balanced lifestyle.

@LadyPrigsbottom
Glad you agree

[quote sunshineonmywindow20]@vanillandhoney - there is that convenience/timing factor which I have found hard at times. Eg last night I wasn’t hungry at family meal time so I just had a drink (a G&T!) and sat with them. Or I sometimes carry oat cakes or something around in case I get hungry.

I also interpret ‘eat whatever your body is asking for’ as ‘within the parameters of what I have available’ otherwise it would be way too expensive![/quote]
I think convenience and timing plays a huge part in why this doesn't really work for a lot of people.

I used to work a job where I was out of the house 8am-7pm. Breakfast was whatever could be eaten at my desk. My lunch break was only 30 minutes long and I didn't get to pick what time I had it, so lunch had to be quick to heat/eat, and filling. I finished at six, had an hour drive home, and by the time I'd showered and sat down it was 8pm - I was famished and ate something quick and easy. Health and listening to my body didn't really come into it to be quite honest

I couldn't just stop my job to have a snack at 11am because my body told me I needed one. And I had to eat on my lunch break because if I didn't, it would be another 7-8 hours before I got the chance to have something else.

I totally agree with @P0lka - I follow a lot of people mentioned on this thread and love the idea of IE and am trying to embed the principles in my DS but years of eating disorders mean that it's not for me (and not really recommended for me either).

@Macncheeseballs yes agree - Paul McKenna just says it’s about learning to eat how thin people naturally eat (personally I don’t like his emphasis on thinness but have found his book/app helpful otherwise)

@P0lka I felt the same - but it is liberating once you realise you can listen to your body’s signals and not any external measure. The books I’ve mentioned - eg Susie Orbach’s On Eating - go through it step by step, and are specially for people with a screwed up attitude to food

Personally I’ve had very disordered eating in terms of both underrating and overeating at points in my life, and this is the only way of eating that helps with this.

So what you're really asking is why don't people just eat normally? Surely if it was that easy then there wouldn't be a diet industry.

@foamrolling I think the issue is we have to re-learn how to eat normally, because of how our culture uses food emotionally and because of the diet industry (which just makes it worse!)

Well my body intuitively wants to live off junk food and Sauvignon blanc. I don't think it would work too well

Ditto! A disciplined approach is the only way for me, sadly!

[quote sunshineonmywindow20]**@foamrolling* I think the issue is we have to re-learn how to eat normally, because of how our culture uses food emotionally and because* of the diet industry (which just makes it worse!)[/quote]
I think you're missing a big point here.

The way lots of people live means they can't just eat when they're hungry. Lots of people work shifts, or work jobs where their break is either at 2pm or not at all, for example. So they eat at 2pm because it's the only chance they have to stop all day.

I used to be starving on my commute home but eating while driving along winding country roads in the dark wouldn't be the greatest idea! So by the time I got home and sorted, I was even more hungry and just grabbed something quick, easy and filling.

It's very easy to say "listen to your body" but not everyone has that kind of luxury. I now work for myself and I'm very lucky that I can fit my work around mealtimes if I want to, but very, very few people are able to do that long-term.

Almost everyone I know who is slim and doesn't diet does intuitive eating without realising. It's largely based on being able to a) know what is in your food b) being able to afford food which is healthier c) knowing how to cook said food d) having time to cook said food e) having time to reset the body into a pattern of this good eating behaviour f) doing a daily walk, even if it is to work or around town at lunch.

If you look at it this way you can see where some pitfalls are for many people. It certainly beats drinking chemical shakes and lusting after fructose but isn't attainable for many who need it - shift workers, truckers and people in MH institutions or prisons.

I think the issue is we have to re-learn how to eat normally, because of how our culture uses food emotionally and because of the diet industry (which just makes it worse!)

I agree with that OP. People really don't seem to have a healthy attitude towards food any more - they label it either "good" or "bad" and many seem to go from one diet fad to another. The diet industry has a lot to answer for. When I worked in an office so many of the female staff were permanently on some sort of diet, and couldn't eat this, or couldn't eat that - it was ridiculous.