Intuitive eating...is it right for you?

Let me start off by saying that the number one "style" of eating or dieting culture you should be following is the one that includes whole sourced foods, with a minimal processing life, and makes you feel good, perform well, and stay healthy. Nothing that enters your body should ever be of detriment, only of positive supplement.

However, dieting culture is massive in our modern social climate and it is important to address the certain styles that may have warrant looking into. I plan to talk about the ketogenic diet as well as intermittent fasting in the next few blogs, but for today I wish to touch on "intuitive eating".

I couldn't tell you when the craze came into focus, but I can say that intuitive eating has quite literally always been around. In its simplest form some would call it...hunger. Belly rumbles, head starts to ache, and all you can think of is getting some grub. Well, maybe that's not the case for everyone, but hunger is our natural signal to eat. Intuition, being the inherent feeling of need or action is what drives our biological input of the hunger signal. Followed exactly as was just stated, acting on hunger, intuitive eating can be quite beneficial. No snacking, adherence to set eating windows or guidelines, reduced intake overall. However, where the lines blur is when we take the current modern approach to intuitive eating, That being, I crave...i'm hungry...I want donuts = I eat what I crave...I eat because I am hungry...I have a donut. I promote indulging in things we love, by all means please do, but things have stretched too far in this domain of dieting culture, where we see too many people care free, eating away like arseholes because someone has told them it's ok to eat what you want when you want. Basing their principles on "i'm feeding the body what it wants". This is false! I cannot speak for everyone, but a commonality has arisen that this train of thought is faulty due to most practitioners acting on appetite rather than on hunger.

I'll state it again, acting on hunger signals is crucial, natural, and the right approach. Acting on appetite is a faulty approach.

Hunger = bodies natural signal for nourishment.

- Rarely has specific food related cravings

- Stomach rumbling '

- Tired / lethargic / slowed down

Appetite = Craving for specific foods, typically of processed or high caloric nature

Brought on by:

- Boredom

- Laziness

- Visual or verbal queue

- Memory related to that food

Acting purely on appetite will lead to weight gain, potential cessation of activity, and the down turn of your goals of losing weight or maintaining good health. In no ways do I explicitly believe all people doing "intuitive eating" are performing it inaccurately, but I do believe that vast majority are being lead to approach IE as a "want to eat it? You eat it!" approach.

No matter the diet or style of eating you choose, the fundamental principles of nutrition must be held in place. Whether you cut carbs, fats, or proteins, you still must adhere to the laws of nature. Calorie deficit = weight loss, caloric maintenance = weight maintenance, and calorie surplus = weight gain. There is nothing more simple than that!

For those potentially looking into IE, by all means go for it...I find myself doing it without intention on many occasions, but that's because I feed my hunger not my appetite. Remember the basics of nutrition (E-Book in Shop) and apply them to any and all diets you wish to follow.

You gently feed a fire wood to keep it burning. Though throwing gasoline on it may bring a great deal of immediate excitement, it's short lived and only kills the flame.

"Progression is built through consistency and tested by passion"

JB

This picture sums up the right approach!