Search Weight Loss Topics:

Home » Long Term Weight Loss » How to master intuitive eating during the toughest time of the year – Inverse

Staying sane and healthy through the marathon of holiday meals can be maddening. However, one anti-diet could be the key to eating mindfully, even when youre surrounded by sugar cookies and judgmental relatives.

Its called intuitive eating. Created as a response to dieting culture, intuitive eating is defined by a simple philosophy: Listen to your body and do what makes you feel good.

Remember, nobody can possibly know what your body feels like. Nobody knows what hunger feels like to you, what satisfaction feels like, dietician Evelyn Tribole, one of the original champions of intuitive eating, tells Inverse.

Inverse rounded up the best tips for avoiding holiday shame cycles and keeping up intuitive eating into the new year. Underling all of the advice is a mantra shared by Tribole: Its important to enjoy and connect with food.

Intuitive eating emerged in the 1990s, popularized by Tribole and co-author Elyse Resch in their book, Intuitive Eating: A Revolutionary Program That Works. The book outlines ten core principles of intuitive eating:

These principles boil down to trusting yourself. Intuitive eating doesnt stress good or bad foods, exercise quotas, or meal plans. Intuitive eating, unlike most diets, values emotional and physical health.

Research suggests the approach leads to positive body image and emotional functioning in women, as well as improved long term health outcomes. It has also been shown to help mitigate eating disorders, binge eating, and emotional eating.

People eating intuitively report finding joy in food again, putting away their scale, and rejecting diet culture. A 2013 review of peer-reviewed intuitive eating research found that, on average, intuitive eaters have improved self-esteem, less repeated loss and regain of weight, and a decreased preoccupation with food.

The approach asks people to use interoceptive awareness the ability to detect inner body sensations to discover what and how to eat. Tribole says that its important to remember that youre the expert of your body. You know what tastes good, what feels good, and what your history is, not someone else.

Eating brings people together during the holidays, but that doesnt mean you have to consume every appetizer or dessert thats thrown at you. Intuitive eating means eating when youre hungry and stopping when youre full.

Letting go of internal boundaries around certain foods can be hard: When theyre allowed to eat anything, many people fear they will go straight for the dessert table. And while Tribole admits that, sure, some people do gravitate towards previously off-limit foods, that desire passes after a few days.

One of the principles of intuitive eating is making peace with food, Tribole explains. That principle is based on research around habituation, which posits that the more you have of a food, the less exciting it becomes. By day three or four of holiday festivities, you remember pumpkin pie is just pie.

Tribole advises that, when hitting the holiday buffet, dont go in blindly. Instead, tune into what your body really wants, be present, and take a deep breath before filling your plate.

If you dont want the macaroni and cheese your cousin made, make a plate to take home or ask for the recipe, Tribole recommends. No need to have a full serving just to be polite.

Just because someone is pressuring you doesnt mean you have to say yes, Tribole says. Its not your job to make someone happy.

Before sitting down for a meal or hitting a holiday cocktail party, avoid common mistakes like going in hungry. According to Tribole, thats one of the worst things you can do because when youre ravenous everything sounds extra good and theres a sense of urgency tied to eating.

Instead, eat normally and stay present in your body throughout the meal or function. Tribole wishes people would check in with their bodies the way they check their phones constantly. She advises that you stay aware of what you want, and avoid getting swept up by the opinions of others, by asking questions like am I going to feel good when I finish this?

Unfortunately, the holiday season can lead to communication landmines, like constant diet talk or relatives remarking on weight loss or gain.

Tribole acknowledges that tuning out weight stigma and judgment is a major piece of intuitive eating that can be both liberating and scary. Ideas around body image and food are baked into our psyches from a young age. However, intuitive eating can be a tool for dismantling these sometimes harmful ideas.

If you cant shut down diet talk, guilt talk, body talk and all that kind of stuff, leave the conversation, Tribole says.

She cautions that most diets fail and come with harmful psychological side effects. Intuitive eating is one way to break out of the shame spiral and stay positive about your body and the food you eat. Remember, one day of eating isnt going to make or break your health, Tribole stresses.

After all, she says, the holidays are good practice to be kind to yourself.

Read the rest here:
How to master intuitive eating during the toughest time of the year - Inverse

Your Full Name
Your Email
Your Phone Number
Select your age (30+ only)	30313233343536373839404142434445464748495051525354555657585960616263646566676869707172737475767778798081828384858687888990919293949596979899100101102103104105106107108109110111112113114115116117118119120
Select Your US State	Select Your StateAlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWashington,DCWest VirginiaWisconsinWyoming
Program Choice	Select Your ProgramInjectable HGHInjectable TestoteroneInjectable SermorelinInjectable Weight LossInjectable HCG DietInjectable Vitamins
Confirm over 30 years old	Yes
Confirm that you resident in USA	Yes
This is a Serious Inquiry	Yes
Message:

Home » Long Term Weight Loss » How to master intuitive eating during the toughest time of the year – Inverse