429 -Intuitive Eating Basics and Benefits

Dr. Dawn-Elise Snipes PhD, LPC-MHSP, LMHC

Executive Director, AllCEUs Counselor Education

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Objectives

- Identify the 10 + 1 principles of intuitive eating

- Describe the interaction between mood, health and eating

- Begin identifying tools to help people get off the dieting rollercoaster

Basic Principles

- From IntuitiveEating.Org

- Reject the diet mentality

- Honor your hunger

- Make peace with food (Forbid forbidding)

- Challenge the food police in your head

- Respect your fullness

- Discover the satisfaction factor (Mindfulness)

- Use food for physical nourishment not in response to feelings

- Respect your body

- Exercise

- Honor your body with good nutrition

Reject the Diet Mentality

- Develop a lasting way of eating

- Yo-yo dieting wreaks havoc on your body and leads to weight gain and low self esteem

- Recurring attempts to diet signals the body that the food supply is often insufficient and leads to greater fat storage than if food was always abundant

- Dieting is correlated with the development of metabolic syndrome characterized by central obesity, insulin resistance and hypertension that increase risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

- Puts additional stress on the cardiovascular system

Reject the Diet Mentality

- Identify what you do differently when you are on a diet that can be helpful

- Set small goals

- Pay attention to what you are eating

- Only eat when you are sitting down and not distracted

- Eat from dishes not the box

- Carry a water bottle

Reject the Diet Mentality

- Remain aware of hidden forms of dieting

- Low carb

- Low fat

- Grain free

- Intermittent fasting

- Taking supplements to lose weight

- Excessive exercise

Honor Your Hunger

- Become aware of your body cues

- Hunger

- Thirst

- Type of food

- Eat when you are physically hungry, not because

- The clock says so or says not so

- You are tired

- You are bored, upset, happy

- You are with people or alone

- It is a habit

- You want more

Make Peace with Food

- Forbid forbidding (unless medically contraindicated)

- Disinhibition and self-efficacy

- Address your food phobias

Challenge the Food Police

- What do the voices in your head say about:

- Which foods to eat or not eat-

- How much to eat-

- How much to weigh-

- When to eat-

- The clean plate club-

- Who is judging you-

- What you should or shouldn’t have eaten-

- Where did those voices come from-

- Media, family, comments from others, personal knowledge

- Make fact-based choices

- Don’t insist on 100% compliance

Make Peace with Fullness

- It takes 20 min. for your body to cue your brain that you are full

- Your empty belly is about the size of your fist

- Learn the difference between full and stuffed

- Savor what you are eating when you eat it

- Left hand

- Mini bites

- Fork down

- Remember that leftovers will be there to enjoy tomorrow

- Stay hydrated

- Learn about foods and eating patterns that promote fullness

Eat for Satisfaction

- Make sure you are not dehydrated

- Cravings tell you something

- Salty, sweet, sour…

- Red meat or spinach (Iron)

- Cheese (Tryptophan)

- Chocolate (Theobromine, magnesium)

- Soda (Calcium)

- Fatty foods

- Eat colorfully and flavorfully

- Eat mindfully and reflect on how the food nourishes your body, gives you energy, improves your mood

Use Food for Hunger not Emotions

- Make a list of your feelings and ways to cope with or celebrate them without food

- Pause before getting food to notice if you are hungry or something else (journals, checklists, dishes)

- Reconceptualize “food addiction” and reclaim power

- Addictions are a coping response to dysphoria

- Addictive behaviors alter neurotransmitter levels

- Co