INTUITIVE EATING

Eat when you're hungry. Stop when you're satisfied. It's easier said than done. This post will give you the information you need to control how much and how often you eat to curb hunger all day long. If you've ever been interested in intermittent fasting (IF), intuitive eating (IE) is a great way to start (stay tuned for a future blog post on IF)!

What is intuitive eating?

In short, intuitive eating (IE) is a method that helps you eat enough to fuel your hunger without overeating and, most importantly, without counting calories. The secret to success is learning how your body signals both hunger and satisfaction.

Between hunger and satisfaction, a state hunger is much easier to identify. If your stomach growls, your energy levels are low, or you become agitated (aka, hangry), you are probably hungry. The most natural reaction to hunger is to eat! But how much should you eat? There are so many factors that make answering that question mindless, such as labeled serving sizes, the size of a dinner plate, a restaurant's portions, the size of a soda can, and so on. The trick is to forget the status-quo and listen to your body's natural responses to food to determine when you are satisfied.

When am I satisfied?

To be a successful intuitive eater, you should actively ignore preconceived notions of needing to feel "full" after a meal. Satisfaction comes long before fullness and I define my personal satisfaction as "no longer hungry". There is no post-meal bloating, no stomach tightness, and absolutely no discomfort. In fact, the feeling of satisfaction after eating is like having no feeling at all--you are neither full nor hungry.

After eating to satisfaction, there is an amazing window of about 4-5 hours where you are energized enough to perform an intense workout, dig into your work, or run errands without needing a snack or feeling the effects of hunger.

But eating only to satisfaction is an extreme change in most people's habits, which makes it incredibly difficult. When is the last time you ordered a sandwich and only ate 1/3 of it? Or went to a party and only had one hand full of chips? Ten sips of a milkshake? Ask yourself, when you sit down with a bowl of ice cream, how much do you need to consume before your "craving" is satisfied? For me, it was a lot less than I was putting in my bowl.

The best way to determine when you are satisfied is to continually search for the disappearance of hunger as you're eating and, as soon as you are no longer hungry, put the fork down. To discover your personal balance between hunger and satisfaction, use some of the helpful tips below:

Helpful tricks to discover satisfaction

• Use a smaller plate

• Order from the kid's or lighter-portions menus

• Replace half a sandwich with fruits or veggies

• For a meal you cook often, separate it into one more container than usual (if the meal usually serves 4, separate into 5 resealable containers)

• After 10, 15, 20, and 25 bites, evaluate your hunger. Stop eating when you are no longer hungry.

• This one is fun: eat ice cream out of the tub (do not scoop into a bowl), and stop as soon as your craving is satisfied. Evaluate your satisfaction after 5, 6, 7, 8, and so on bites.

• Do another activity while eating (clean, read, fold laundry, have a conversation with your coworker or spouse, etc.). This will slow down your eating and help you determine when you become satisfied.

What are the benefits of intuitive eating?

Most new intuitive eaters experience some weight loss. This is primarily the result of consuming less calories. You eat less because you are listening to your body's responses to food, allowing you to consume only calories that are required to fuel your everyday activities. When you are not eating, your body is processing food you have eaten or using energy stores in your body until your next meal.

Intuitive eating also helps to stabilize insulin levels. Insulin spikes after a meal and dwindles down as your body is processing the food. Eating less results in a smaller spike, and intuitive eaters often consume smaller meals throughout the day, promoting insulin stability.

Most importantly, intuitive eating gives you the freedom to control your meals and mealtimes rather than letting hunger control you. You will become less reliant on meal times, snacks, while maintaining your energy levels throughout the day!

Intuitive Eating -------> Intermittent Fasting

If you've ever considered intermittent fasting, you should first master intuitive eating. There are many styles of intermittent fasting, but in it's most popular form, you fast for 16 hours, while allowing yourself to eat for the remaining 8 hours in the day. The transition into intermittent fasting is easiest for people who can gauge their satisfaction level on the fly, changing meal sizes and times within their 8 hour window based on their activity level (and thus hunger) during their fasting period. Stay tuned for a future blog post on intermittent fasting!

As always, consult your physician before taking any advice from an online environment! Remember, health and happiness happen on purpose #HappyOnPurpose #HealthyOnPurpose