Welcome to the Harmony Shift blog! I am glad you found us. So, today we are going to talk about intuitive eating. Some of you may have never heard of it and some might have, but we are going to explain the difference between intuitive eating and mindful eating and what exactly is intuitive eating and what it looks like. We will dive into some of the benefits and some of the risks. Let’s look at this “diet” a little closer.
What is Intuitive Eating
Intuitive eating is actually a very simple idea. It basically means that you make peace with all types of food. You see, unlike traditional diets that restrict or “ban” certain foods, intuitive eating requires you to stop looking at food as “good” or “bad.” Instead, listen to your own body and eat what feels right for YOU. You might think this means you can and should just eat whatever you want, anytime you want. No! That’s not the case. Experts say intuitive eating means that you tap into your body’s natural ability to tell you when you’re hungry or satisfied. When you eat intuitively, you also let go of this crazy idea that you need to lose or gain weight to look a certain way. The whole idea here is to help you focus on foods that work best for your physical and mental health.
Some Principles of Intuitive Eating
- Eat when you’re hungry. Well, that’s a no brainer! Trust your body and make sure to give it permission to eat. But eat a variety of foods to get the nutrients it needs. Don’t ignore your hunger pangs.
- Pay attention to fullness. When you eat, you are supposed to “check in” with your body to see your fullness level and see if you need more to eat.
- Choose foods that make you feel good. The theory here is that if you deprive yourself of certain foods this will trigger certain cravings and lead to binge eating.
- Reject the “diets”. So, with intuitive eating, you are supposed to reject all of the other so-called diets and eat what your body wants, and don’t restrict yourself of foods because you might not be getting the proper nutrients it needs.
Some benefits that have come from people on the intuitive eating plan is that researchers have found they have a lower BMI and higher self-esteem. However, according to one dietician, it could lead to an imbalance eating and confusion as to what does feel “balanced “mean? As adults we are always faced with a number of social and emotional eating triggers on a daily basis, and it can be difficult to weed out which messages are coming from our bodies and which ones are coming from our brain. My opinion is that you need to respect your body and listen to your hunger pangs but be educated with your food choices. As many of my readers know, I am not a big fan of any diet or special eating plan. I am one that believes in educating yourself on what is healthy and what is not. What your body needs and what it doesn’t. eating “balanced” means different things to different people. Also, when you work shift work this way of eating might not work for some people, but it might for others.
Differences
So, what are the differences between mindful eating and intuitive eating? Although mindfulness is the trend these days, it’s hardly a new concept. Ideas like the non-judgment, patience, and living in the present moment stretch back to ancient Buddhism. As more and more practitioners have embraced this mindful eating in recent years, its basics have become more mainstream. Although, mindful eating is not a trademarked diet program per se, and there is no absolute consensus about which activities or principles define it, mindful eating involves harnessing present-moment awareness before, during, and after eating. This can involve multiple practices. Some of these principles include practice gratitude, savor your food and use all five senses, take smaller bites, eat slowly, and minimize distractions while eating just to name a few.
Mindful eating is very general in terms of the way you eat, intuitive eating is more specific. Such as intuitive eating aims to free people from the confines of damaging beliefs and establishes a judgement free way of eating. It basically teaches people to eat in response to physical and satiety cues but be aware of your emotions while eating too. There is an overlap between the two, but mindful eating and Intuitive Eating are by no means mutually exclusive. While several of the Intuitive Eating principles have some of the same features of mindfulness, practicing mindfulness doesn’t necessarily mean that you will automatically incorporate the principles of intuitive eating. Both philosophies address the ways our mental state can influence our food choices, and both ways will encourage similar actions such as tuning into feelings of fullness while eating and experiencing pleasure in meals and snacks.
They can both help reduce feelings of stress about food in different ways. Mindful eating does this by limiting distractions during meals, while Intuitive Eating incorporates mindfulness and other tools to reconnect with the body while rooting out negative beliefs about the body and food.
Ok, so in conclusion, I personally think that they are too similar in nature and principles to accurately say whether one is better than the other. I personally believe the dieticians in 1995 that can up with the Intuitive Eating plan got most of their principles from mindful eating that has been around for centuries and reworded it a little and made it more specific. If you follow either one of these eating plans, please let me know. I am curious to see how it effects your shift and what have you noticed is the biggest benefit. As always, I have a few spots left if any one is interested in me helping them with their shift. Whether you are trying to feel more balanced, energy, more sleep, just let me know.
I hope you live a happy and healthy life,
Until next time,
Darren
Harmony Shift 