Mindless eating. We’ve all been there.
Most people turn to dieting as a means to lose weight, but this avoids the underlying problem of not taking time to actually enjoy food. Multiple studies analyzing different genders and age groups have concluded that dieting leads to increased likelihood of eating disorders, body dissatisfaction and obesity!
The very thing people are trying to avoid or correct may actually be caused by dieting.
Before you get depressed and run to the freezer for a pint of ice cream... there is a solution.
Stop dieting and make peace with food.
That’s where the principle of intuitive, or mindful eating, comes into play. We have taste buds for a reason! The concept of Intuitive Eating was developed as a means to promote the enjoyment of food while listening to the body’s cues of hunger and satiety.Severe restriction of diet inevitably leads to frustration, deprivation, binging and subsequently guilt and shame. Focusing on enjoying food, allows an individual to enjoy all aspects of food using all the senses (sight, smell touch and taste). This gives time for the body to send signals of fullness. Intuitive eaters tend to have a lower BMI, have better self-esteem, improved cholesterol levels and are less likely to have disordered patterns of eating.
Here is the gist of the 10 principles of Intuitive eating. (See www.intuitiveeating.org for more details and references)
Reject dieting. The cycle perpetuated by diet only leads to failure. Never eating dessert again is not realistic. You may stick with it for awhile, but you have one cookie and shame yourself into eating the entire pan, since you "already blew it".
Honor your hunger. If you’re hungry, eat! Don’t focus so much on eating a certain number of calories as this can be flawed. Your body will let you know when to eat and if you pay attention, it will tell you when to stop.
Make peace with food. Food is not the enemy. Think of food as providing nourishment, nutrients and health. But, food is also meant to be enjoyed. Choose foods you know will provide good nutrition, but also something you can enjoy.
Enjoy food! Take time to savor not just the taste of food but also its sight and smell. Capturing this whole experience takes time, which allows your body to send those signals to your brain telling you when you're full.
Respect your fullness. Eat slowly and only till satisfied. If you stop eating when you feel full, in 20 minutes, you will feel overstuffed. Stop eating at the point of satisfaction and satiety will follow soon thereafter.
Honor your emotions, without food. Don’t stuff your feelings down with food. Explore your feelings and address them in an appropriate way. Journaling is a great way to start this process as is talking with a friend or psychologist.
Love your body, the way it is now. Rolls, cellulite, flab and all! Work towards change but don’t hate! Enjoy what makes you unique and celebrate the changes you see in your body as you pursue healthy eating and exercise.
Exercise for how it makes you feel, not only to lose weight. Exercise can help more than just improve your physical appearance or risk for disease. It also improves mood, sleep and stress. Find an activity you enjoy and do it often!
Respect yourself by honoring your health. Move your body and watch what you eat for your health. Your body will respond in time.
Putting these principles into practice will take time, but a great way to start is to begin journaling. Don't stop just at what and how much you eat. Before a meal ask yourself, "How hungry am I?" Rate your hunger on a scale from 1 to 5, 1 being not at all, 5 being ravenous. As you practice this, you'll find that sometimes you're not actually hungry but something else triggered your desire to eat. Or maybe you went all day without food and now you're at a 5. You can plan better next time to make sure your hunger doesn't get out of control, which will prevent the likelihood of overeating at your next meal.
Then as you sit down to eat, really enjoy your food, with each bite consciously feel the texture in your mouth, the taste and smell. Pause frequently throughout your meal to allow each of your senses to work. Allow your body to tell you when you are full and listen to it. After your meal rate how full you are from 1 to 5, 1 being not at all full (still hungry) and 5 being uncomfortably full. Again, as you track this, you will be able to see the circumstances around eating too little or too much and come up with strategies to fix it.
I saved the best principle for last: Forget perfection, work towards steady progress.
The lifestyle you have now didn't happen overnight, so changing it will take time. Small changes add up. It’s what you do MOST of the time that counts BIG.
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