Can you really eat anything if you practice Intuitive Eating?
Asked by nagely12 on Aug 30, 2009
in Weight Maintenance
I'm trying to find new methods to maintain without having to stress myself with counting every single calorie. I've seen you mention Intuitive Eating several times, but I don't understand. How will I not gain weight eating my "forbidden foods"? For example, my family goes out to eat every weekend (pizza, hamburgers, tacos, etc), can I go with them, eat this junk food until my hunger is satisfied, and not gain weight?
Answer
The trick to Intuitive Eating is to eat what you want, when you are hungry, and to stop when you are satisfied. (Satisfaction is not the same as stuffed.) Lots of people eat pizza and hamburgers yet are not overweight, and so what gives? They blend "What do I want?" with “What do I need?". They might combine one or two pieces of pizza with a tossed salad dressed with oil and vinegar to create a more balanced meal. They eat slowly in order to read the subtle signal of satisfaction, and since they know they can eat pizza again whenever they want, they do not stuff it in as if it’s their last meal. Read Intuitive Eating and keep food logs in retrospect while you practice. You will see that your calorie intake falls into line when you fully embrace the program.
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