An intuitive approach to nutrition is increasingly being recommended as opposed to dieting. We talked about what it is and how intuitive eating helps to change the attitude towards your own body. Anna Korytina has been following this approach for six years now and tells you what to expect from yourself and those around you if you decide to give it a try.
You will learn to be in the moment
The basic principle of intuitive eating is to eat slowly and deliberately, so this can help slow down those who are tired of the intense rhythm. The principle of mindful eating has been practiced by Buddhists for centuries. New York Times regular contributor Jeff Gordiner recounts a tradition he encountered in a Buddhist monastery: New arrivals are given a few raisins or tangerines and asked to spend ten to twenty minutes contemplating, contemplating, and leisurely eating. This practice will seem meaningless to those who are always in a hurry, but being in the moment is a special art that helps to make more conscious not only food, but also life in general.
Intuitive eating is a way to learn how to eat outside of dietary thinking. You will begin to separate food from old dietary rules and look at it through the lens of satisfaction. Constant diets lead to the fact that, looking at food, a person asks himself: “How many calories and carbohydrates are in this ? If I eat this, what should I not eat afterwards? Am I good or bad today? If it’s bad, it’s all to hell, I’ll still eat chocolate and ice cream. ” With intuitive eating, you just look at the food and ask, “Do I want to eat this?” Other factors can also be taken into account, but it all starts with this question.
You wo n’t eat fries 365 days a year
If you have been on diets before , after switching to intuitive eating, you will feel euphoria – finally, everything is possible! But the brain has already become accustomed to a similar state between diets and has learned the order: you eat more of this now, because soon there will be no sweets again. How do whatever was your forbidden fruit – cheeseburgers, French fries, pizza, – practicing intuitive power, in the beginning you will pass through a phase when you absorb them in large numbers. It’s scary, but it definitely goes away. Because when everything is possible, you understand that neither cheeseburgers nor chocolates are going to go anywhere , which means you don’t need to gorge on them like on the last day.
Perhaps you will type weight (or maybe not)
Either you will lose weight, or nothing will change. Intuitive eating is not about weight. You can not create a neutral relationship with food and focus on losing weight at the same time – these are opposite goals. Of course, changing your eating habits will sooner or later lead to changes in your body, and if your weight is really above normal, then you are likely to lose weight.
With a high probability, society will have to resist – you will be condemned, for example, for deciding to live with a physiologically normal weight for you. In dietary culture, it is customary to put pressure not only on yourself, but also on others – and admitting that you eat everything can mean that you will become a black sheep. Get ready to defend your position or just stop paying attention to comments.
You will stop eating until the end
Many of us have been taught since childhood that the plate should be left clean – and therefore not eating a couple of bites can be psychologically uncomfortable. It is always a shame to transfer food, but overeating will definitely not help those who are starving. So I have to get used to leave on a plate meal when you are already fed up – and with time to get used to the new size of the servings.
You will begin to understand yourself better.
If emotions do not jam, it is necessary to deal with them in other ways: in their number can be walking, meditation, sports, presentation of ideas on paper, music or chat with friends. In addition , intuitive eating is an ongoing process, as opposed to performance- oriented (often unattainable) diets . And when you stop striving for a far-fetched result like a certain weight or size, you can better listen to your own desires and interests.
Conscious consumption is a wonderful unloading for the brain, because when you eat you start thinking about food, and not about financial statements. Of course, food is a source of energy and nutrients, but it should also bring pleasure and give you the opportunity to pause in business, relax, and communicate with loved ones. Chances are, returning to work after a full break will be more productive than eating lunch right in front of your computer screen.
You will gradually turn into a gourmet
It is not a fact that you will become a real gastronomic critic, but you will definitely start to better understand food and your own taste preferences. By focusing on what you eat, you will learn to choose the best and most delicious for yourself – and you will stop throwing everything that comes to hand into your mouth.
You will get rid of constant feelings of guilt.
The world is afraid of food – one of its basic needs. We divide it into “good” and “bad”, although in reality there are no sensors in the stomach or intestines that recognize that it is celery or a burger in front of them . Scientists do not get tired of repeating that there are no uniquely harmful products (if you do not take spoiled, poisonous, or something that you personally have a severe allergy to) and, conversely, superfoods – it’s all about the balance. On the intuitive power begin to understand that no remorse, you can eat and candy, and ice cream – when you have them really want.