Do you often put yourself under pressure when eating, studying calorie information and lists of ingredients and only eating sweet things with a guilty conscience? Perhaps an intuitive eating approach would help you to feel more relaxed and to enjoy what you are eating. But what does “intuitive eating” actually mean? It is based on the belief that we can take account of our personal needs and trust our own bodies. The body absorbs the amount of food that it needs. Mindfulness and a healthy “feel-good weight”, rather than diet madness, could be the answer! We think this is a really good idea and today we share with you the most important facts about intuitive eating.

1. Listening to your gut

With intuitive eating, there are no strict rules to obey or no foods that are off limits. Instead, we relearn how to listen to the natural signals that our body gives us when it is hungry or full. In fact, young children are the best role models in this regard. They are intuitive eaters from birth. They eat when they are hungry and stop as soon as they feel full. They really don’t care about calories or other restrictions. But, as adults, we gradually unlearn this innate behaviour. We allow ourselves to be guided by learned conventions, we treat ourselves to a dessert only as a “reward” after having a salad and we divide foods into “good” and “bad” foods as a matter of course. It can take a while to free ourselves from these thoughts and to engage with a more intuitive style of eating. So let’s listen to our “gut feeling” and eat when we need to instead of starving ourselves. Is your stomach rumbling? Do you feel tired? Then rather than trying to suppress the hunger with a glass of water, try simply eating something. Your body needs energy and will guide you.

2. Feeling pleasantly full

How does it actually feel to be full? Find out how you can better recognise this natural feeling again. This will help you to learn how to eat more consciously and more mindfully. Forget about typical thoughts, such as “I need to clear my plate” or “today, I’m just going to eat half a slice of cake”. Typical signs of fullness are a pleasant and comforting feeling of fullness, a reduced appetite and a slight feeling of fatigue. Tip: During your next meal, consciously take your time, concentrate on your gut and ignore the smartphone and TV while you are eating.

3. Seeing food as a friend rather than an enemy

A helpful step on the way to intuitive eating is a positive attitude to meals. Rather than focusing on calories and nutrients, engage all your senses on the pleasure of eating. How does the meal taste? How does it feel to bite into a crunchy apple, luscious chocolate cake or wholesome wholegrain bread? How satisfied did the meal leave you? Eating means pleasure and enjoyment. Anyone who thinks that without constant moderation we would definitely polish off any amount of sweet things, is wrong. The opposite is the case: if nothing is forbidden, you won’t suffer from cravings. And by freeing yourself from strict rules, you can enjoy your food without feelings of guilt. How liberating!

4. Eating is just one part of the bigger picture

Anyone who is on social media cannot fail to miss supposedly perfect influencers with disciplined nutritional plans and countless tricks for losing weight. Sometimes it helps, however, to step back from the constant speculation about the “right” diet. Be conscious of the fact that your eating behaviour is just oneaspect of a healthy lifestyle. For all-round well-being, sufficient exercise, social interaction, enough sleep, low levels of stress and a positive attitude also play a crucial role. So don’t think about whether your dessert needs to be offset by more exercise or whether it was a good idea to add that extra portion of dressing to your salad. Your body does so much good every day – relax and build a good team with it.

 

Time for enjoyment!

Your Dole Team