LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. –
Are you a chronic dieter? Are you tired of trying the traditional diet approach to weight loss? Have you done the "yo-yo" dieting in which you lose five or 10 pounds and then gain it back, plus some?
If you answered, "Yes" to any one of these questions, you need a better handle on hunger and satiety and a satisfying approach to weight loss, known as intuitive eating.
Intuitive eating is a process in which one learns what the body wants, when it wants it, why it wants it and how much it should have. Keep in mind, however, intuitive eating is not a fast track to weight loss.
Many of the traditional approaches to dieting have created food as an enemy, avoiding anything "bad." These "evil foods" may cause dieters to lose a sense of control because foods are forbidden. Research shows that the more dieters "deny" themselves of something, the more they thought about it and craved it.
Intuitive eating looks at one's inner cues, such as the sense of hunger, sense of fullness and each level in between. It assists dieters in correcting obstructive habits affecting weight management; it is a wise-eating approach utilizing three steps.
Observe. Determine why you are eating. Are you at a place that has conditioned you to eat, such as the movie theater, mall, car, or on the couch? Are you eating because you are tense or in a stressful situation?
Gauge. Rate hunger on a scale from 1 to 10. Being critical when you are not really hungry, but you are still eating, or why you have let yourself get to a state of ravenous hunger, and you cannot stop eating.
Let go. Break bad eating habits. For example, many people grew up with the "eat everything on your plate" mentality. We know this is not a good habit, but may still encourage it without thinking. Next time you sit down to a meal, I challenge you to leave at least one bite of food on your plate. Do this even if you could finish it off and still have room to eat more.
Learning about your habits, breaking the bad ones and encouraging the good ones are all part of intuitive eating and developing a life-long balance of food and weight.