The thinking is that it's relatively easy to manipulate weight within a 20 - 30 pound range, but once we get out of that range, we're fighting Mother Nature.
I had never heard that but this is exactly my case. I have never been overweight just at the upper level of the normal range. I maintained my weight in the 120's until I moved to the UK for two years. I maintained my weight there in the 140's. During the last 4 years I have been losing really slowly to the 120's again.
To lose those 20 pounds I started cleaning my diet and practicing healthier habits. I now remember that those habits were the ones I had when I was at high school and first years of uni. I always make breakfast at home: freshly squeezed orange juice, toasts with tomato and ham and coffee and I do not eat anything else until lunch. I try to eat fruit between meals. I eat a lot of veggies, legumes, fish, I follow what you call a mediterranean diet. I drink my water, love to exercise, walk a lot. Some weekends I indulge with my friends but always come back to the way I normally eat. I have notions of calorie counting but don't measure strictly anything. I know what foods I can eat to maintain my weight, I look at calorie counts of food I don't eat normally, and I eyeball the rest. Probably with time and aging or if I see that my weight is higher I will have to start calorie counting.
I like the way I eat and what I eat, but I don't think I eat intuitively. I feel hunger. Some days I'd prefer eating fried eggs and fried fish instead of legumes, but I don't do it because I know that I can't eat what I want everyday, that would make me fat. If I follow the desire of eating because I'm hungry I would be back to the 140's in no time. So I don't know if IE works, I think I have to eat in a responsible way if I want to keep this low weight, but this is my experience as a never obese person, I'm sure for a person who's lost a lot of weight some other factors must be implied, as the chemicals inside each body must work in a different way.
I have lost weight previously with Intuitive Eating but then I always gained it back for some reason or another. This time I've done Weight Watchers which is a bit more structured.
I can certainly see myself maintaining or even losing a little if I gain in maintenance with intuitive eating.
But here's how I would define intuitive eating - I would have to eat nutritious, filling foods. I cannot intuitively eat sweets, fresh bread, pizza, foods with high fat, etc. As long as I kept away from such things, I would be fine. Either a mediterranean diet as mentioned above or following the food pyramid guidelines would work fine.
And on a side note, my highest weight was right below the line between overweight and obese. I was overweight when I followed the food pyramid and lost ten pounds (still overweight, but lost the weight without "trying") and kept them off for quite a while.
I also think the definition of "intuitive eating" is a little vague.
True intuitive eating, in my opinion, would be naturally and automatically eating the perfect amount of food. To naturally eat a small treat once in awhile but never feel compelled to overdo it. Intuitive eating should be effortless, even if the process to achieve true intuitive eating would take lots of practice, will power, and learning to listen to the body's cues. But the final product would be automatic; eating the perfect amount of food to maintain one's weight without making an aware effort to do so. The concept of "I'll just eat what I want, how much I want, whenever I want" and to have that system maintain weight.
If I quit calorie counting (not that I want to), and ate intuitively, I would balloon quickly. If I depended ONLY on the factors of "I will eat what, how much I want, whenever I want," man, I'd chow down. BUT, if I quit calorie counting, I could probably still maintain my weight just by being very aware of what, how much, and when I was eating...just without logging it. I could maintain my weight by making a conscious effort to choose low cal whole foods, reasonable portion sizes and no seconds or snacking, and eating at regular times. But that would not be true intuitive eating, it would still be a conscious effort to control my food...I just wouldn't be logging it.
I simply don't think I could ever achieve true intuitive eating and maintain my weight. It's not worth it to me to find out if I can or not, really, it's not a goal that I feel compelled to achieve. I'd rather just take 5 min out of my day and count calories, lol.
Wow, so glad I came upon this thread. I have been maintaining now for nearly nine years. Tried all kinds of diets, but the one thing that remained pretty constant was my calories. I always counted them. Whether I was vegetarian, low fat etc. I was feeling down lately thinking jeez what's wrong with me, why can't I just eat when I'm hungry stop when full eat whatever I want. Seeing what other maintainers said here makes me feel a lot better about myself and that it's not a bad thing. Like Meg said, a small price to pay. I have to keep reminding myself of that and not caring what works for other people.
I agree with everyone who's said that "intuitive eating" only works for people who have not been overweight or obese for any period of time in the past.
When I reach goal I can't possibly rely on "intuitive eating" because like a lot of people here, my "fullness" response is broken. If I truly ate until I was "satisfied," I'd probably be eating 10,000 calories a day. I imagine I will rely on staying below "red line" and approximating my calories.
During this weight loss journey I did count calories and I learned alot about what kinds of foods work for me and correct portion control. That said, I knew from the beginning that I would not be able to count for the rest of my life. I worked really hard to learn to "listen" to my hunger and fullness. I understand that this method is not popular here but it does work for me. My goal is to eat to 80% fullness only. I've trained myself to not like that stuffed feeling anymore. No foods are off limits to me, but I do limit portions. I am able to determine whether a food is good for me because I learned alot from calorie counting. I tend to eat a fairly light breakfast, a slightly bigger lunch, 2 small snacks and a big dinner every day. I've found that I prefer a high fiber, low fat diet. It's what makes my body feel the best. I'm not saying that this type of eating is for everyone. We each have to determine what works for ourselves. And I prefer to call it Mindful Eating rather than Intuitive Eating because I am really thinking about what I put into my body. There is nothing natural about it. It's more of a habit.
For those of us who have dealt with massive gains and held the weight for many years, IE is not something that can be suddenly entered into and "get it" after so many years of black and white thinking. It is just not going to happen. Until one is truly willing to take the time to practice a different way of being in tune with eating, it won't work.
It takes a lot of practice and willingness to be hyper aware of eating and our relationship to food. Strict dieting to goal does not prepare the shift in the mindset towards a more natural way of eating to nurture the body.
Personally I feel it is very important to combine the two and shift towards IE after the goal weight is obtained. It's not like only one thing can work at all times. I will always have to be aware of what I eat and how I feel in order to keep the weight off. I may find that I did not pay as much attention to my eating as I would like (30 years of dieting and bingeing has damaged my thinking and I am seeking to heal it) and find I have gained weight again. Perhaps at that time, I will go back to calorie counting until the gain is off and practice mindful eating again. I see it as a co-partnership, one is not exclusive of the other.
For those of us who have been 100+ pounds overweight, there may be a need for a permanent, accessible "toolbox" of methods that work and can be used according to the situation. A long as I keep thinking in black and white terms and assume there is only ONE WAY to do anything, I find I get stuck and lose the joy of the journey to self discovery.
elisaannh, I completely agree. If I find myself suddenly up 10 or 15, I'm totally back to calorie counting. I do weigh everyday and adjust my eating appropriately. I agree that we do need many tools in our arsenal.
And I prefer to call it Mindful Eating rather than Intuitive Eating because I am really thinking about what I put into my body. There is nothing natural about it. It's more of a habit.
I think that calling it "intuitive" is somewhat of a misnomer. In modern Western culture, many of us need to learn how to overwrite the habits we learned socially (one might say "intuitively") from others at a young age in order to lose weight. Perhaps it is meant that infants and young children eat in this fashion before adult caregivers change their habits, but historically our less modern adult ancestors ate in feast or famine conditions which would not align with IE principles.
Yes, I think Mindful Eating is a much better term, especially in the early stages of learning this style of eating. One must learn to be very attuned to their body's cravings and signals, which requires practice and introspection. Much of IE is about slowing down and experiencing food in the moment. The word "intuitive" makes it sound easy or automatic to me. It does get easier with time and practice and I don't think about food quite as often anymore, but the initial learning curve was no cake walk for me (har har).
I nearly ate a bag of gummy candies last night. That tiny bag, just a couple bites of candy, it couldn't be THAT bad. If I wasn't a calorie counter, I probably would have snarfed them and not had a second thought about it. Well, looking at the calories, it was 150cal for that little bag of candy! What a worthless unsatisfying waste of calories! So I lost any desire to eat them and found a more filling (and actually lower calorie) snack that I didn't feel guilty about logging.
Candy is actually kind of interesting for me with IE. Once I realized that I could eat anything, the novelty wore off and now I don't really crave it. I love gummy bears, but if I'm honest with myself, my body is usually telling me "I WANT FRESH GRAPES!" rather than "I WANT GUMMIES!" And grapes are not only more filling and satisfying, but they also make my body feel more energized. No icky aftertaste and no sugar crash.
When I was a teenager, I read an IE-type book where the author stated that she could stop eating a candy bar right in the middle and throw it away if her body didn't call for the rest. At the time, that seemed like either an insane amount of self discipline that I would never have, or just plain crazy talk! But now I realize that it is neither. It is simply a different relationship with food. That author could take it or leave it. The food had no power over her. And honestly, I have gotten to that point with many foods as well. Candy seems to have very rapid diminishing returns with my taste buds. The first few bites are satisfying and sweet, but the rest is unexciting and often begins to have an unpleasant aftertaste.
I don't know if it is like this for other IE-ers, but this is my experience FWIW.
Candy is actually kind of interesting for me with IE. Once I realized that I could eat anything, the novelty wore off and now I don't really crave it. I love gummy bears, but if I'm honest with myself, my body is usually telling me "I WANT FRESH GRAPES!" rather than "I WANT GUMMIES!" And grapes are not only more filling and satisfying, but they also make my body feel more energized. No icky aftertaste and no sugar crash.
When I was a teenager, I read an IE-type book where the author stated that she could stop eating a candy bar right in the middle and throw it away if her body didn't call for the rest. At the time, that seemed like either an insane amount of self discipline that I would never have, or just plain crazy talk! But now I realize that it is neither. It is simply a different relationship with food. That author could take it or leave it. The food had no power over her. And honestly, I have gotten to that point with many foods as well. Candy seems to have very rapid diminishing returns with my taste buds. The first few bites are satisfying and sweet, but the rest is unexciting and often begins to have an unpleasant aftertaste.
I don't know if it is like this for other IE-ers, but this is my experience FWIW.
As a calorie counter, I believe a calorie is a calorie. That said, if I want a bag of gummies, I can have them. So nothing is off limits for me either, and, like you, the novelty of the "forbidden" items wears off and I would rather just eat foods that gave me the most bang for my caloric buck. If you and I were both given a bag of gummies, I think we'd both turn it down for the same reasons. Gummies are little blobs of processed junk and sugar that have no nutritional value nor are they filling. Instead, we would choose a different snack for the same reasons, that it would be healthier and more filling and satiating. So our reasoning is the exact same, we just go about it in a slightly different way. You rely on your intuition, I rely on my daily calorie limit.
In a way I envy the ability to eat completely intuitively, but as I said, it is not a goal that I am motivated to try and achieve. To try to learn intuitive eating would pose risks and challenges. My intuition still tells me I need a whole pizza even though logic tells me I do not, and I'm not ready to rely completely on that. I don't think I'll ever be, and I'm okay with that. Calorie counting works for me. It makes sense, it's not an inconvenience, I have maintained my plan practically effortlessly, and I think this is a good example of if it ain't broken, don't try n' fix it.
I'm certainly not poo-pooing on IE or saying calorie counting is better, btw. I know IE doesn't have the best rep around here, but I have 100% respect and admiration for somebody who can achieve and maintain on true IE.
The first few bites are satisfying and sweet, but the rest is unexciting and often begins to have an unpleasant aftertaste.
This reminds me of something a nutritionist told me once, specifically for Oreo-kind cookies: "if you're desperately craving them, ok, have a few. But you really don't need the whole pack. The first 2 will taste wonderful, and also the last 2, because they will be almost gone. So instead of eating the whole thing, just allow yourself no more than 4". While 4 Oreos is still a ton of calories, it's way better than the whole pack!
I 'kinda' do intuitive eating. I've lost over 50 pounds and this is my seventh year maintaining it. I've NEVER regained more than a pound or two. I weigh several times a week and still weigh out some trouble foods like peanut butter, but I no longer track foods officially and just keep a rough count in my head. If the number on the scale starts creeping up a little, I just keep a little tighter count in my head. :P However, if I am REALLY hungry, I eat.
I'd start seriously tracking/weighing again if I start getting close to my redline.
I think my almost daily weighing really keeps me in line - I used to think it would make me more psycho, but if you KNOW your weight yesterday you can also be sure that the two pounds more you have today is NOT fat and that water will fall off in a day or two.
If I went full bore intuitive (eat what you want when you want and stop when full) I'd regain it all, I am sure. I don't have a very good 'full' sensor at all and I intuitively want chocolate ALL THE TIME. LOL.
Calorie counting works for me. It makes sense, it's not an inconvenience, I have maintained my plan practically effortlessly, and I think this is a good example of if it ain't broken, don't try n' fix it.
Oh, I agree 100%. If it works, run with it. I think 3FC is fantastic because there are so many different people trying different things. I love that we can all share from our experiences, learn new things, and cheer each other on.
