The question I always get asked is:
Will I lose weight with the intuitive eating approach?
I want to first say that I totally understand this concern. We live in a society that praises weight loss and is constantly encouraging it! Even doctors tell us we need to lose weight to be healthy. So, if you want to lose weight – I hear you and I totally get it! It is very difficult to let go of this desire!
At the same time, let me ask you:
- How many times have you dieted and tried to lose weight?
- How did you feel when you were on a diet?
- You might have felt good receiving compliments, but were you really happy? How long did you spend thinking about food and your diet? How did you feel about yourself when you “messed up” and did not follow the diet?
- Also, how long did you keep the weight off?
We know from research that losing weight and then gaining weight is not good for our health, which is what happens 85% of the time that someone goes on a diet to lose weight.
So, what can we do?
First I want you to know, I am not anti-weight loss, but I do not like the idea and do not encourage the pursuit and focus on weight loss.
What is the difference?
If someone has healthy behaviors, is tuning into their body’s needs and loses weight as a result – their body must feel comfortable at that weight and that is healthy for them.
However, others can also have healthy behaviors, tune into their body’s needs and not lose weight – their body must feel comfortable at that weight that it settled at.
Focusing on weight loss, is not setting a goal that is in our control because:
Weight is not a behavior.
I like to focus on behaviors that we can control such as:
- Eating when we are hungry
- Eating nutritious foods
- Eating meals that make us feel nourished and satisfied
- Tuning into when we feel full
- Finding other ways to cope with our emotions
- Being more physically active
- Getting enough sleep
Learning to eat intuitively will allow your body to get to a weight that it is comfortable at. Just like our bodies like to stay at a certain temperature, they also like to stay at a certain weight – which we can’t predict or control.
What is one behavior you can control that you want to work on this week?
Nutrition Reframed by Dvora 