dynamics when we are in a social setting . 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 Many of them show that the energy , mood , and choices of the group all influence us .
The reality is that often times humans will change their order to conform with the group . For the person who picks what they want and sticks with it … GREAT ! But for every one of those people , there are 10 who either avoid ordering what they wanted to eat in order to fit in with the rest of the group ( especially in women dominated groups ), or didn ’ t even realize that they were subconsciously influenced by their social setting … Still consider that intuitive eating ???
Lastly , have you ever noticed that it is a lot easier to eat more and drink more when eating out with family or friends ? I struggled so much with this part when I followed intuitive eating because I wanted to engage fully in the conversation and dynamic of the group but ended up only half listening because I was trying to monitor whether or not I was full .
True food freedom to me is knowing all of these factors and bringing some logic in the situation to help me out . For example , knowing how to ballpark portion sizes frees me up from constantly worrying about my fullness level and allows me to engage in the conversation because I just stop when I know I ’ ve had a portion and re-evaluate how I ’ m feeling in about five minutes .
This practice allows me to en- 39
gage fully with my surroundings and experience the present moment instead of constantly doing an internal check to see where I am at fullness-wise . Now I want to reiterate that this is not a diet mentality … I give myself full permission to keep eating if I am still hungry , but I use my knowledge to support me in situations where hunger / fullness are hard to gauge and I can be easily influenced by the group dynamics . On to reason # 3 …
3 . IT DOESN ’ T TAKE INTO ACCOUNT EMOTIONS OR MENTAL STATE .
I ’ m sure you have experienced stress at some point in your life . Did it have an affect on your appetite ? I ’ m guessing your answer is “ uh , definitely !” A major beef that I have with intuitive eating comes in this area .
To me , the program completely disregards the effects that our emotions and mental states have on our food choices and appetite .
For example , when I was in treatment for anorexia and I was super depressed , I would have absolutely told you that I was not hungry . According to intuitive eating , that would mean that I should just not eat , but , at the time , I was severely underweight and needed to eat to survive , regardless of hunger / fullness .
Have you ever been so stressed out that you just lose your appetite ? Intuitive eating would say that you just refrain from eating , but your body needs good fuel to function optimally , no matter how stressed you are . I remember when my dad had a heart attack . We took an overnight flight to Michigan and the last thing I wanted to do was eat . If I had listened to hunger / fullness , I would have been depriving my body of essential fuel . In that instance , intuitive eating went out the window and I needed to rely on my logic instead of my body cues .
What about if you are physically hungry and need food but you have had a crappy day at work ? Do you think the emotions you are feeling are going to sway what you feel like eating ?? YES ! So would you say that is intuitive eating because you are eating what you want or would you say that is emotional eating ?
While some form of emotional eating is A-OK every now and then , doing it every single night is definitely not good for your body and soul .
I ’ ve had clients who are totally confused because they think that they are just making intuitive food choices instead of using food to soothe their emotional state . This is why intuitive eating is great in theory but sometimes just doesn ’ t work .
Studies show that stress affects how we eat and the food choices we make . 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 So I definitely feel for every single person who has tried to eat intuitively but couldn ’ t understand why they were unable to stop eating to their fullness cues or were confused as to whether or not their food choices were according to the plan . Now for reason # 4 …