Top

Stop dieting, focus on intuitive eating

A non-diet approach that helps you carve a good relationship with food and physical activity, experts weigh in

Constant dieting and obsessing over your weight can take a negative toll on your well-being. Try ‘Intuitive Eating’ a mindful ‘non-diet’ approach that encourages eating and helps you carve a good relationship with food and physical activity.

The goal is to foster healthier eating habits while yet not falling prey to guilt or stress that could hop around the idea of eating certain foods. By being mindful of what you eat, you can manage weight, enjoy a variety of food options and incorporate exercise to keep you on the go.

Fodder For Soul

One may wonder how ‘intuitive eating’ is different from any other diet. Long story short: Intuitive Eating does not require calorie counting or food tracking. It doesn’t restrict you entirely from engaging with food but rather nudges you to focus on the quantity consumed and the choice of meal opted for. “In today’s world, we are overwhelmed by endless dieting advice, from calorie-counting apps to rigid meal plans which end up in us creating a stressful relationship with food,” explains Ruchi Sharma, Nutrition and Lifestyle Coach, Eat Fit Repeat.

She asks, “What if there was a way to eat that didn’t involve measuring portions or obsessing over the weighing scale?” Intuitive eating is an approach where the focus is primarily on listening attentively to your body’s internal cues inclusive of ‘fullness signals’. Ruchi opines that intuitive eating promotes mindfulness allowing you to eat what your body truly needs without the added pressure of tracking macronutrients or measuring each grain that enters your tummy.

Ankita Gupta Sehgal, Dietician and Nutritionist, Nutrition Matters, says, “Intuitive Eating is all about honouring your body’s signals, ditching restrictive rules and cultivating a healthy and go-to relationship with food.” Such an approach encourages self-compassion and body acceptance, shifting one’s focus from weight loss to overall well-being.

A Mixed Bag

Stuti Bit, a Digital Marketer, Mumbai shares snippets from her journey with intuitive eating. She talks about having a family history of diabetes and thyroid. For a long time, Stuti was obsessing over different diet plans and workouts. “It’s all about eating in limits when you’re hungry, stopping when you’re full and not obsessing over calorie counting or strict diet rules.” She adds, “I’ve become more mindful about making healthier choices. Intui-tive eating makes the whole ‘weight loss- staying fit’ journey easier in many ways.”

Deepa Lakhwani, a senior associate, who shifted from being a non-vegetarian to a vegetarian, argues that humans are herbivores and not carnivores or omnivores. “Many would disagree with this and term humans as omnivores because they have been habitually wired to live in social circles and adapt to consumption behaviour from those at home,” she says. Ruchi claims intuitive eating helped maintain her weight. “It also helped me maintain a healthy weight and a positive relationship with food without much stress,” says Ruchi.

Food Policing

Food policing usually refers to the many unstoppable thoughts and dialogues more often than not sending you on a guilt trip, terming foods into categories of being ‘good or bad.’ Intuitive eating on the other hand calls for a more compassionate and neutral perspective. It helps you appreciate and dive in deeper to understand the role each food item plays and allows you to select your meals accordingly. Stuti, who detested dry fruits as a child, has now included them in her meals. A handful of dry fruits provides her with enough nutrition and helps tackle her hunger pangs.

Avoid Overeating

While intuitive eating may seem all peppy and easy, there could be temptations. Ankita cautions saying, “Eating smaller regular meals and snacks during the day can help regulate blood sugar levels and prevent strides of excessive hunger. Pay attention to your hunger and fullness cues and stop eating at once when you feel satisfied, not stuffed.”

Stress and emotional triggers lead many people to overeat. So, identify emotional triggers and have healthier options stored in your food kitty. To avoid overeating, it is essential to have a meal balanced with fibre, protein, and other healthy fats. Some options here could be vegetables and whole grains that help increase levels of satiety, with protein adding that boost to keep one’s hunger in check.

Ruchi says, “It’s more about slowing down, seeing and smelling your food and then eating in a parasympathetic nervous system state as compared to eating mindlessly while on the go or binge-watching.”

It is important to understand how you perceive food and consume it. Intuitive eating is paying attention to our body’s signals, honouring your hunger, but stopping eating when you are full.

Intuitive Eating Tips

• Learn about Nutrition: Try to understand macronutrients (proteins, carbs, fats)

• Exercise Regularly: Pair intuitive eating with physical activity that could include strength training and daily movement.

• Stay Hydrated: Thirst is often mistaken for hunger- make sure you’re drinking enough water throughout the day.

Intuitive Eating Benefits

• Improved relationship with food: By shunning away restrictive rules, you can develop a more relaxed and enjoyable relationship with yourself.

• Reduced stress and anxiety: Constant pressure of controlling eating habits is done away with allowing you to enjoy meals.

• Increased self-awareness: Helps you become more aware of hunger cues

• Improved Body Image: Helps in managing weight and cultivating a positive body image.

Intuitive Eating is all about honouring your body’s signals, ditching restrictive rules and cultivating a healthy and go-to relationship with food.” — Ankita Gupta Sehgal, Dietician and Nutritionist, Nutrition Matters


( Source : Deccan Chronicle )
Next Story