As a behavioral health provider, you know that success can look different for each person. It is not an all-or-nothing approach.
Diet is an important part of a healthy lifestyle, and nutrition can have a real impact on our mental health. But many of our beliefs and habits regarding diet can be unhelpful and even harmful.
Enter intuitive eating.
What is intuitive eating?
Often called an “anti-diet,” intuitive eating rejects the idea that weight loss should be the primary focus of our eating habits. It does not count calories or avoid specific foods.
A person who practices intuitive eating has let go of an ideal diet, body shape, or weight. He or she has permission to enjoy food emotionally as well as physically. This person stops eating when satisfied, and understands that food will be available again later.
Is there science behind intuitive eating?
Feelings of hunger or fullness come from the hypothalamus responding to stimuli. These include blood sugar levels and the amount of food in your stomach. Other cues include an empty feeling in the stomach, fatigue, or grumpiness (getting “hangry”).
The limbic part of the brain, which involves emotions, complicates things by connecting eating with feelings. This can encourage us to comfort or distract ourselves with food when we have uncomfortable emotions.
Intuitive eating aims to follow the body’s natural hunger signals, instead. This may be healthier than strict diets, which often fail. People on diets may have significant weight fluctuations, which can be more harmful in the long run.
In contrast, intuitive eating has been associated with less disordered eating and better self-image. Research suggests that intuitive eating is associated with better glycemic control in adolescents with type 1 diabetes.
How do you practice intuitive eating?
Steps to take toward more intuitive eating include:
- Make a list of foods you consider “forbidden,” and why. Give yourself permission to start trying them. (This does not apply to foods that are medically harmful, such as with an allergy or intolerance.)
- Pay attention to your body’s individual hunger cues.
- Practice eating mindfully, taking note of the smell, taste, and texture of the food. Consider how the foods make you feel, and whether you really enjoy them.
- Pause while eating to check in on where your feelings of hunger and fullness are. Give yourself permission to stop if you feel full.
Think about the rules, conscious or unconscious, that you may have developed around eating. What might happen if you bent these rules?
Consider why you crave certain foods. Are you looking for comfort? A distraction? Are you responding to a different feeling besides hunger, such as thirst or boredom? Are there other ways you could satisfy that craving besides food?
For example, a person may crave a favorite comfort food, but does not feel the usual hunger cues. He may realize that he is not really hungry, but anxious, and will look for another way to ease his anxiety. Another person may realize that she has been eating at noon not because she is hungry, but because it is the conventional lunchtime. She may start eating at a different time, when she feels truly hungry, making the meal more satisfying to her.
Addressing physical health, including diet, is an important part of behavioral health. Healthier eating habits may help improve client outcomes.