What is intuitive eating?

Imagine if the only expert you needed to listen to about what to eat is you. Intuitive eating is the concept taking the wellness world by storm because it’s makes you the expert on you.

We are excited by this concept – at Slendier we are all about people bringing their happy self to the table. So, anything that encourages us to get in touch with what our bodies need is worth exploring.

So, how do I start?

It seems that we need to learn to trust our bodies. To do that, we need to identify the kind of hunger we’re experiencing – and that can be hard. Some of us eat even when we’re not hungry; it can be from habit, or to please your Mum who has been cooking all day, or because you’re watching a mukbang on YouTube or…. well you get it.

So really getting in touch with why you’re eating is key. According to healthline, the kinds of hunger are:

Physical hunger. This biological urge tells you to replenish nutrients. It builds gradually and has different signals, such as a growling stomach, fatigue, or irritability. It’s satisfied when you eat any food.

Emotional hunger. This is driven by emotional need. Sadness, loneliness, and boredom are some of the feelings that can create cravings for food, often comfort foods. Eating then causes guilt and self-hatred.

And then?

With kindness in your heart and no judgement in your mind start keeping a journal of your eating behaviours and attitudes. When you eat, ask yourself if you’re experiencing physical or emotional hunger.

If it’s physical hunger, rank your hunger from 1–10. If you are a “1” you are starving and would practically eat anything not nailed down. If you are a “10”, you are stuffed full and couldn’t fit in another thing (so not hungry at all!)

Then after you eat, repeat the ranking. What’s your number now?

The idea is to eat when you’re hungry but not starving (so about a 3 or 4), and then to stop when you’re comfortably full — not stuffed (so about an 8).

What if it’s emotional hunger?

Good question. There might be a need for emotional help or support. If you have the time and money, you could explore counselling. There are some amazing online counselling services who might be beneficial in a time of social distancing.

Otherwise, intuitive eating has 10 key principles that are so empowering. The principles range from:

• Rejecting the diet mentality
• Make peace with food
• Honour your health with a gentle nutrition approach

Where can you go for more information?

If you’d like to explore intuitive eating further, you can check out these resources:

• The Original Intuitive Eating Pro. The website of Evelyn Tribole . Evelyn is the co-author of the original book on the topic and you can buy her book and find more information about intuitive eating on her site.
• Geneen Roth. Her website features helpful articles and videos, plus a link to an online class.  Geneen is kind, warm and funny – we think you’ll like her style.

Have a good food day everyone.

Team Slendier