For anyone who has ever struggled with a conventional diet rigid with rules and restrictions on what you can eat and when you can eat it, the Intuitive Eating diet might sound very attractive. The guidelines of this eating philosophy are about as strict as the cool mom who smokes weed with her high school-age children — #bestmomever.
Much like the name suggests, it asks that you consciously feel your way through hunger cues and cravings while giving you permission to eat what you want when you want. The general constraints evident in every other conventional diet are absent.
Even though this hamburger served up by Burger Bistro has the regular buns replaced by glazed donuts, according to Intuitive Eating, if I want it, then f–k it, why not?
A better name for Intuitive Eating would be the F–k It Diet: Even though this hamburger served up by Burger Bistro has the regular buns replaced by glazed donuts, according to Intuitive Eating, if I want it, then f–k it, why not?
After reading through the book “Intuitive Eating: A Revolutionary Program That Works,” one gets the general sense that this method of eating is designed for those who have given up on accomplishing any real weight loss goals. And according to the book’s authors, Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch, that’s a good thing.
The authors articulate that we each have our own unique genetic blueprint that determines our natural body type. And rather than focusing on trying to be built like an “America’s Next Top Model” contender, we should instead make peace with food and focus our energy on self-acceptance.
What happens to many people attempting to lose weight is what the book beautifully illustrates and defines as the “dieter’s dilemma.” It all starts with the desire to be thin, followed by restrictive dieting. Next come cravings, reduced self-control, lost self-control combined with overeating, and finally the regaining of whatever weight was originally lost.
Anyone who has ever gone on a sugar-free diet for any extended period of time can relate to this process. Hyper-restrictive dieting can cultivate a nasty psychological effect that results in a circular pattern of extreme discipline followed by extreme overindulgence, also known as binge eating.
For years, South Beach-based nutritionist and wellness blogger Tara Milhem found herself trapped in the vicious cycle described by the dieter’s dilemma until she discovered Intuitive Eating. She explains, “Before I would more or less be a recluse, afraid to go out and socialize with friends because that generally meant eating and drinking things that I thought would make me gain weight.” There was an overall lack of mind-body connection. “I would run crazy miles on the treadmill even when my body begged me to stop. I would eat, but never very much.”
This is exactly the type of behavior that the principles of Intuitive Eating are against. Exercise should be done with the intent of enhancing your well-being and not viewed as a mandatory punishment to rectify your sins of chewy chocolate chip cookie consumption against the revered God of Abs. (Turns out he doesn’t really exist.)
Initially, Milhem had to seek the help of another nutritionist and psychologist, who helped her learn how to eat intuitively. “The first thing I had to do was drop the idea of labeling foods as good or bad. I allowed myself to eat whatever whenever. Sure, this was going to lead to inevitable weight gain, but I had to accept that as part of the process while retraining my mind on how to eat, and loving myself again.”
Ice cream, pizza, French fries. Nothing was off limits.
If we are to get anywhere in life worth going, the rules can’t be “Do whatever you want, whenever you want.”
After she freed herself to eat anything she wanted without all of the guilt, she surprisingly found herself not wanting those foods as often. “I regained my life back and lost a lot of the weight I had put on in the initial months of liberating myself from dietary confinement.”
Her current motto is: “Don’t miss out on 99 percent of life with the hopes to weigh 5 percent less.”
For anyone looking to get started on the Intuitive Eating track, Milhem recommends to first write out on a piece of paper a list of any preconceived notions one may have about food and dieting, then throw them out the window, literally and figuratively. “This is meant to be something that is now your life and lifestyle. It’s how you will eat forever. That thought is very liberating.”
To eat intuitively, you must reject the wild claims and empty promises inherent in the 6-pack-in-6-weeks diet programs. What matters most is the relationship with your body and not worrying about what people are going to say about it, because it’s your body.
So what next?
Eat what you want, enjoy every guiltless bite, and be happy with the way your body looks. If that’s all you want, the Intuitive Eating diet works flawlessly, but it stops there.
If you want to look average, then go on an average person’s diet and eat whatever the hell you want. However, if you have concrete weight loss or physique goals, then definitive actions need to be taken that control your appetite and guide your food and exercise selection.
The message of Intuitive Eating is self-acceptance and self-awareness, but what seems to be lost is self-discipline and self-control. What else in life do you leave to the whim of your intuition and expect positive results? Goals are generally accomplished by having and following a plan. A plan requires structure, and structure comes from rules.
If we are to get anywhere in life worth going, the rules can’t be “Do whatever you want, whenever you want.”
Do you manage your finances intuitively? Probably not.
I’m sure the intuitive desire is there to blow all your money on Italian luxury items and Michelin-starred restaurants. Caviar and Dom Perignon for breakfast to go with those free-range, organic-grass-fed $15 eggs, but unless you are a relative of the Trump family, this is probably not going to make its way into your reality.
You most likely have money for your 401(k) automatically deducted, presumably other types of investment accounts, health insurance, emergency savings. In these instances, you are restricting your spending to accomplish a financial goal.
The same measure of discipline should be applied to your health and physique. If you have specific physique goals, you need to eat with intent and make conscious decisions to bring you closer to those goals. Whether it is counting calories, watching your carbohydrate and sugar intake, or eating Paleo, all of these mechanisms have the framework in place to help guide you toward weight loss.
And yes, they come with restrictions.
Restrictions are necessary for balance. Although Intuitive Eating suggests otherwise, eating calzones until you spontaneously discover the desire to eat salads just seems very unlikely.
So follow your intuition: Are you going to be happier following Intuitive Eating, or would you rather apply some discipline and eat a salad?
Brandon Drenon is an elite Tier 3+ fitness and nutrition coach in New York City based out of Equinox. Prior to becoming a personal trainer, Brandon was a varsity athlete at the University of Texas and a fashion model in New York City. He received his personal training certification through NCSF and has received his nutrition certification through Precision Nutrition.