Is intuitive eating as interesting as it sounds? Let’s examine the good and the bad!

Keto diet, Paleo diets, how many such diets do you know of and have tried, in order to lose weight and achieve a certain body type popularized by the mainstream media? 

Every other day we hear of some new kind of diet that villainizes a certain group of food and assures us that it is a fool-proof method of losing unwanted weight. The latest addition to this list is 'intuitive eating.' 

Is it another fad diet for losing weight that has no scientific evidence behind it? The simple answer is no. 

In this article, we will find out what Dietitians are saying about intuitive eating and how it fares against the other popular diets like Keto and Paleo that are so popular worldwide. 

Let us start with understanding what intuitive eating is.

What is intuitive eating?

Also known as mindful eating, intuitive eating is all about listening to your body and eating when you are hungry. Unlike marketing gimmicks that propel dietary myths labeling food as good and bad, intuitive eating does not limit food type and instead focuses on physical and psychological well-being. The goal is to practice instinctive eating tendencies depending on what the body wants and when the body wants it. 

It is much like how babies and animals eat. They don’t worry about the time of the day or the portion of the food and instead eat when they are hungry, whatever tickles their taste buds, and till they fill full. It is, after all, how nature intended us to be. 

The word intuitive eating was first coined by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch in 1995 as a title of a book they authored. The 10 principles of intuitive eating according to Tribole and Resch are as follows:

1. Reject the diet mentality - Say no to diets that promise weight loss and make you feel like a failure when it doesn’t work for you.

2. Honor your hunger – There is no ‘wrong time’ for eating. Whenever your body tells

you, it needs feeding, that’s the right time to eat.

3.  Make peace with food – There is no ‘good’ or ‘bad’ food, unlike what the fad diets

specify. Just eat whatever you are craving at the moment and what brings you satisfaction.

4. Challenge the food police – Ignore the food police, even if it’s your inner voice, that dictates what you should eat. 

5. Discover the satisfaction factor – Find pleasure and satisfaction in eating.

6. Feel your fullness – Listen to your body when it tells you that you are no longer hungry and listen to it when it does. 

7. Cope with your emotions with kindness – Eating to cope with emotions will only lead to more negative emotions like feelings of guilt. So, deal with your emotions kindly by letting yourself feel and giving yourself the space to recover.

8. Respect your body – Every ‘body’ is different, respect that and accept your own body with dignity.

9. Movement – Feel the difference – Don’t force yourself to workout because you want to lose calories, instead move and embrace how it makes you feel. 

10. Honor your health – Gentle nutrition – Make healthy food choices while also honoring your taste. It will not only make you feel better but also contribute towards keeping you healthy. 

This is all there is to intuitive eating. If you follow the above 10 principles, you can easily practice it. 

What are fad diets?

Fad diets are so-called because they usually trend for a particular period before some other type of new diet comes and takes its place. 

The main difference between fad diets and intuitive eating is in how they treat food and eating. Fad diets focus on weight loss whereas intuitive eating is all about well-being, both physical and mental. In simple terms, intuitive eating and fad diets are polarizing topics with complete opposite practices and goals. 

So, which diet should I follow?

There is no straight answer to the question. At least we can’t give you one because it depends on a number of factors like your medical history, your health goals, and so on, and a diet plan that works wonders for someone might not work for you. 

For example, Keto is a very popular fad diet and while many celebrities swear by it, Nutritionists warn against following Keto for a prolonged time. For one thing, Keto cuts down the intake of a large group of foods, which have important roles to play in keeping us healthy. Following Keto for a long time can lead to cardiac issues, kidney problems, and more. 

The other very worrying side effect of fad diets is deteriorating mental health. According to an article published in behavioralnutrition.org, “Dieting may not be the cause of eating disorders, but it is often a precursor. The National Eating Disorders Association reports that 35% of ‘normal dieters’ progress to pathological dieting and that 20-25% of those individuals develop eating disorders.”

Eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorders are serious, life-threatening problems that affect around 25% of teenage girls in India, according to a report published in Scroll.in

Intuitive eating, on the other hand, works towards eliminating this exact problem. Instead of focusing solely on weight, calories, and BMI, it addresses emotional health, mental well-being, and physical wellness. 

Having said that, it is also true that intuitive eating is still in its infancy and more research is required to know how it works for people with obesity who also have comorbidities like diabetes and hypertension. Weight loss for such people is not about meeting societal standards of beauty but a question of life and death. And, for most parts, intuitive eating might not work for them because according to a report published in ScienceDaily, obese individuals do not receive ‘fullness cues’ in the same way that a normal weighing person does. 

Hence, while intuitive eating is great for individuals with a tendency of having eating disorders, it might not work for everyone. In fact, Dietitians recommend DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) and Mediterranean diets for people with diabetes, since numerous studies have proved their efficacy in preventing and controlling the disease. 

Final words

There is no clear-cut answer to which diet is best for you and whether intuitive eating is the answer to eating disorders or if it is better than all the fad diets. It all comes down to what your body needs as an individual. The best course of action is to consult a registered Dietitian and Nutritionist, discuss your medical history and your personal health goals before embarking on your dieting journey. After all, food is not your enemy.