At one point or another, you have probably heard the idea of intuitive eating, which involves getting back to your roots and listening to your body when deciding how much and what to eat. This approach can be amazing because it is simple and can help you shed your overwhelming thought around eating.

Humans Overthink Things

While its simplicity is what makes this approach so great, it can also prove to be its biggest weakness. Humans, especially those in the dieting & eating disorder space tend to overthink things.

Too Simple to Be True? …Not Exactly

You know that saying, “If it sounds too simple then it probably is”? That is the way I’ve looked at things for years. The problem is that thing sometimes things are that simple, and it is actually our overthinking which leads to problems. 

Such is the case with intuitive eating. Somewhere along the way, the concept of intuitive eating has been slowly morphed in the minds of bloggers and fitness enthusiasts that is has become synonymous with mindful eating or intuitive dieting.

Distorted Message

The message that has resulted is that intuitive eating requires you to be mindful and connected to your emotions, feelings, and psyche. 

I remember reading a book about how people are thin in Japan because they are mindful eaters and only eat until 80% full. For the next few weeks, my meals had never been more stressful.

  • “Am I 80% full or only 70%?” 
  • “I imagine being under 80% full is better than being over 80%, right?”  
  • “What if I’m 80% full, but the foods that I ate were calorically dense?”

You might have had similar thoughts as well.

This Is a Myth

While a culture like the Japanese has a history of mindfulness practice, this idea of ubiquitous mindful eating is a myth. I remember asking a friend of mine from Japan, and she thought it was funny because he’s never heard of anything such thing as mindful nor intuitive eating.

While the obesity rate in Japan is lower this can mostly be explained by genetics eand lifestyle rather than a collective finetune awareness and monk-like self-control.

Eating Shouldn’t Require Deep Thought

This brings me to an important point. Eating should never require complete mindfulness and awareness, but rather basic instincts about when you are hungry and what you want to eat. Virtually every animal on the planet does this every day, despite not having the same brain power as us human.

The problem that humans run into, especially those of us with a history of disordered eating, is that we overthink even the simple things. There is already enough to think about in life to be micromanaging and second guessing every natural instinct about food that we have.

Mixed Messages Everywhere

Some of the advice online can also be a bit out there and leave you totally confused. For instance, there are numerous articles online with catchy headlines such as, “Decode the Secret Meaning Behind Your Cravings…”

The articles go on to list several tips:

  • If you crave sweets, then you’re obviously just deficient in Chromium.
  • Want something salty? Low vitamin C is the real culprit.
  • Craving bread? What your body really needs is Protein.
  • Or my favorite–If you are hungry, you are actually just thirsty…

So you’re telling me that after years of evolution, our bodies didn’t evolve the ability to distinguish thirst from hunger? Drinking half a gallon of water might get rid of your hunger for 15 minutes, but that does not mean that your hunger was actually just thirst.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve never seen my dog refer to a chart to determine what his cravings for treats “really” mean.

I’ll concede that it’s possible that maybe 2% of the time your cravings might be explained by some hidden deficiency, but for the other 98%, you can assume that you are just underfed and simply need to eat.

When in doubt follow, Occam’s Razor– whenever there are multiple explanations to a problem, the simplest explanation is the most likely the correct one.

So, If you’re hungry… Yep, you guessed it! You probably need food, not fish oil, essential oils, or some new supplement.

I know that these gimmicky articles can be interesting, and I might sound quite harsh in my criticism, but I feel that this is very important to mention.

I’m certain that there are thousands of people out there you are extending their suffering unnecessarily because they are putting their trust wholeheartedly into these tips–I was one of those people.

You Already Have the Ability to Eat Intuitively

The point here is to not overcomplicate eating; just eat until you are satisfied. I realize that the term “satisfied” might be a confusing term after chronic dieting. It sure was for me, so let me best explain it in the most simple terms I can:

Satisfied is the point where you simply don’t want to eat any more food.

You might be thinking to yourself, “but I’m never satisfied even when I’m physically full?” First of all, you are not alone in feeling this way. If you have been dieting or if you are below your setpoint, then you more than likely cannot be satisfied from a single meal no matter how large. I wrote all about why that is here.

Cravings to Binge Can Actually Be Intuitive

Keep in mind that given the state of severe caloric restriction that you may find yourself, the desire to binge is fact intuitive thing for your body to do. If your mindset is anything like mine was, then you probably have a hard time trusting that this binge response is only temporary, but it is, and it will pass. In fact, after a period of refeeding, the satiety signal that tells you to stop eating after meals will become just as powerful as the hunger you experience before meals.

Takeaway

If you want to regain the ability to feel content and satisfied after meals, then you must eat as much as you want, whenever you want, for anywhere from a few days to a few months, and I can promise you at some point you will experience the unfamiliar yet comforting feeling of satiety.

If you think someone could benefit from hearing this message, please share with your friends and family. ✌️