Intuitive eating: a new relationship with food, or another fad diet?

Have you ever dieted? Ever food restricted? Ever thought about being thinner? Ever compared yourself to others? If you answered yes to any of those, this article is for you.

You might have different reasons for reading this article. It could be that you have heard about ‘Intuitive Eating’ and want to learn more, or it could be that you really want a change and are tired of your relationship with food. To connect with your body and become friends with it again can be life changing in so many ways .

How is our relationship with food formed?

Eating behaviour shown on social media platforms appears divided, with many influencers sharing their exercise and restrictive eating behaviours and others showing how they indulge in food. 

A current trend that populates social media is ‘What I eat in a day’. Again, social media appears divided with some showing very restrictive eating behaviours whilst others showing how they indulge in foods that would be classified as less healthy.

It’s possible that you might be very impressed by the fitness enthusiasts, but also love those that indulge in foods and embrace their curves. This results in a confusing mindset about what lifestyle is optimal. Do you start one more diet or do you love yourself for the size you are? Those who are unhappy with their weight will often gravitate more towards restrictive eating and exercise plans, as the desire to lose weight is stronger than the acceptance of the body that they have. Comparing ourselves to social media influencers, family, work colleagues and friends can result in ‘fat’ shaming ourselves.

In fact, the desire to be thinner will result in many of us engaging in a diet at some point in our lifetime. Despite there being a lack of evidence to support the effectiveness of diets, one in four will diet in their lifetime. According to a poll conducted in the UK, the average person will diet 126 times in their lifetime, with the typical diet only lasting only six days before being abandoned. Fad diets fail because they can be hard to stick to.  

You are stuck in a diet loop known as the dieter’s dilemma.  You have the desire to be thin, you embark on the next diet, it’s tough to stick to and cravings kick in, and you give in only to gain the weight you lost at the beginning. What’s worse is that the only thing you have lost is a little more of your self-esteem.

Obesity: the reality

Obesity is also an increasingly common problem in Northern Ireland. The latest data shows that one in four adults (27%) and around one in 16 children (6%) are living with obesity in Northern Ireland.  A report that examines a whole systems approach to obesity prevention in Northern Ireland was published in 2023.  The report comes as the Department of Health prepares to draft a new obesity prevention strategy in 2024 to replace its predecessor, ‘A Fitter Future for All 2012-22’.

We are unique

The diet culture pretends to be about promoting health and wellbeing but instead actually causes harm.  Striving to be healthy is a concept that is generally accepted, however, when you try to be stick to a strict diet, you ultimately fail and are left back at square one.  This impacts negatively on how you feel about yourself and can lead to any subsequent diet failures becoming more difficult to accept. Will one more diet work? Or should you embrace the size that you are?

A little bit of brain science

So, what do should you do? You want to lose weight and be healthier, but when you restrict food all you can think about is food.  What a difficult position to be in.

What is intuitive eating?

Overall, the shift from dieting to intuitive eating will challenge how the food you eat makes you feel. The challenging part comes from untraining yourself to all the ‘diet’ advice that exists out there. It encourages you listen to that wonderful body and brain of yours that is always trying to communicate with you.  So, start small, from a place of kindness and acceptance and allow yourself to heal from the ‘diet’ mentality.

Summary

It appears that ‘intuitive eating’ is not another fad diet. The concept of rejecting the diet culture and heading towards the ‘intuitive eating’ world where body acceptance and inner peace are the priority is attractive. Now might be a good time to challenge yourself in a new way, by ditching the diet books and learning more about intuitive eating.

Intuitive eating: how to get started

1.Plan to prioritise your own health.

2.Resist from starting another diet.

3.Read material on Intuitive eating.

4.Read the article on Brain health (this will help you along the way)

5.Celebrate your body, you are unique and wonderful.

6.Keep a food journal and write about what time you eat, what you eat and how you felt before and after you eat.

Intuitive eating and wellbeing: keep exploring

Find out more about intuitive eating and wellbeing from these free courses.