Intuitive Eating

When making changes to your intake for health reasons, it is helpful to understand your body and what it is trying to tell you. Over time people lose their hunger and satiety cues due to overeating, forgetting to eat, adhering to a schedule, or a number of other reasons. Young children instinctively know when they are hungry and stop when they are full, while adults have a more difficult time comprehending these cues and are more likely to overeat. But how does one become in tune with their body’s cues? Intuitive eating has been part of more research and gained popularity by not only looking at changes to intake, but how the person interacts with it as well.

You start to think about food, is it hunger or something else? Assess how you feel - do you want to eat because you are stressed or bored. Do you recognize the sensation of hunger? Recognizing how you are feeling before eating will help familiarize yourself with hunger cues, and may decrease overeating. Even being aware of other emotions before eating may be helpful. If you are irritable or having difficulty focusing you might be too hungry and not have recognized earlier hunger cues. Being aware of how you feel when you are hungry may seem obvious to some, but others may have confusing signals due to stress.

Satiety cues can be more difficult to recognize because the brain needs time to catch up with the digestive tract. Eating slowly can be very helpful assessing satiety and fullness. Every few bites put the fork down and assess how you feel. Ask yourself questions like - “Am I enjoying this meal?” “What flavors are coming through?” “Am I satisfied?” You want to make sure you have enough to keep you full but comfortable, avoiding the discomfort and bloating from overeating.

Intuitive or mindful eating aims to appreciate and focus on the food being consumed. “The Last Orange on Earth” activity created by the University of Wyoming is a great activity to learn how to get the full effect of food and be mindful during a meal. The goals of this activity are to experience taking time to savor food, and comprehend the importance of taking time to eat food. Understanding that food can be an experience rather than just fuel. And creating an appreciation of food, becoming mindful with each bite. This is done by experiencing every aspect of the food - texture, flavor, smell, and emotion of your interaction with the food.

Creating a healthy lifestyle does not happen overnight, change and learning happens after a long period of time. But if you are looking to avoid overeating, or lose weight, being able to understand your hunger and satiety cues could be helpful. It is important to understand your body and be satisfied with the food you are nourishing it with. Take your time during meals to appreciate the food, taste the flavors, and check in with your body every few bites.

“10 Principles of Intuitive Eating.” Intuitive Eating, 19 Dec. 2019, www.intuitiveeating.org/10-principles-of-intuitive-eating/.

“Are You Really Hungry? How to Your Understand Hunger Cues.” Penn Medicine, 7 Apr. 2020, www.pennmedicine.org/updates/blogs/health-and-wellness/2020/april/how-to-understand-hunger-cues#:~:text=Hillman%20explains%2C%20%E2%80%9CIf%20you',feel%20like%20for%20the%20future.

Dennett, Carrie. “Intuitive Eating: Four Intuitive Eating Myths - Today's Dietitian Magazine.” Today's Dietitian, Apr. 2020, www.todaysdietitian.com/newarchives/0420p12.shtml.

“Unlocking Intuitive Eating.” PA Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics, Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics, 17 Feb. 2021, eatrightpa.org/members/blog/unlocking-intuitive-eating/.