Intuitive eating, or eating when you are hungry and stopping when you are full, is popular. But does it work, or is it yet another diet hype?
It sounds so simple: you eat when you’re hungry, and when you’re full, you don’t eat anything. However struggle many people with their weight. The number of overweight people is increasing. Over the past forty years, the number of overweight people has tripled, Statistics Netherlands has calculated. And this rising trend continues. It’s no wonder that many people try all kinds of diets to get that number on the scale down, so they can feel healthy and wear their favorite outfits again.
Dietitian Femke van Liere (44) from dietitian practice Fit For Foodies regularly sees them in her practice: people who are significantly overweight and have become despondent because of the many diets they have followed. The kilos came back just as quickly, because the strict diet rules cannot be maintained for a lifetime. In fact, diets often only lead to more weight gain.
Diet is a temporary measure
“Following a diet is often a temporary measure that does not change your relationship with eating behavior,” she explains. “While that is necessary in the long term.” Van Liere has been working as a dietician for 22 years. For years the focus was on strict diets, counting calories and regular weighing. She saw that this did not work, because clients still fell back into their old habits. “That is why I have started to develop more and more in eating patterns and behavior. People are too fixated on their weight and eating rules about what they should not eat. For example, I recently had a woman who denied herself everything and was depressed after she stepped on the scale.”
Intuitive eating
It is Van Liere’s belief that most diets only work in the short term. That’s why she is an advocate of intuitive eating. This does not mean that you can eat whatever you like, such as fries, ice cream and chocolate, and just throw all dietary rules overboard, but rather that you follow your feelings and your mind. “Intuitive eating actually means that you dare to let go of all the diets and beliefs that you have learned over the course of your life. You then think less in terms of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ products, but you strive for a healthy basis. You use both your mind and your feelings.”
She explains how this works in practice. “If you have an urge to eat, try to feel whether it is physical hunger, or whether it comes from a certain feeling, such as boredom or restlessness. You choose at that moment whether or not you want to eat something.” She gives an example from her practice. “I recently had a client who wanted to eat an ice cream on a terrace with her father who has dementia. That created such a beautiful connection. But according to her old beliefs, she was not allowed ice cream. But in this case it added something to the situation.”
Bitterballen at a party
She recommends maintaining a basic diet, with breakfast, lunch and dinner, but not being too strict about it. You may deviate from this for a special occasion. “It is important to learn to judge how something feels. If you are offered something tempting, such as bitterballen at a party, ask yourself a few questions,” she recommends.
“Do I really like this, does it score a 9? Does it add anything to the situation? And will I still feel good about it in half an hour? Does it bring me closer to the person I want to be? These types of questions help provide direction.”
Intuitive eating is not a diet, but a lifestyle
When asked whether intuitive eating is suitable for everyone, Van Liere answers ‘yes’. “I use it with almost everyone. It is also not a diet, but a lifestyle, one way of life. In principle, anything is allowed, and that takes a lot of pressure off. You can then deal with the moments of choice better.” It is her experience that it takes some effort in the beginning, but that at a certain point people start making healthy eating choices on their own. “Most people don’t feel good about fries for breakfast. That is very natural.”
Incorrect diet can lead to physical complaints
Aimée van der Sterren (53) experienced that a wrong eating pattern can also lead to all kinds of physical complaints, who now uses her own experiences to help others according to Chinese nutrition and the principles of intuitive eating. “For a long time I had been struggling with all kinds of complaints, such as fatigue, intestinal complaints and a disturbed cycle,” says Aimée. She experimented with sugar- and gluten-free diets, but the symptoms persisted. “I felt intuitively: my body needed something different. I then started listening much more to my gut, instead of my head.”
For example, she feels that she needs something warm in the morning, such as pumpkin soup, and that at other times her body needs something fresh, such as fruit. She also discovered that her complaints returned when she started eating a lot of sugar again, and that she actually needed healthy fats and hearty meals to get enough nutrients.
Her complaints gradually disappeared by listening to her body. She had more energy, slept better and she also felt better mentally. She now guides people based on intuitive eating. “Everyone has a certain diet that really suits him or her. But as humans we are often too focused on what we think is healthy.”
Cold food disrupts digestion
Because every person is different, it is difficult to give general ‘eating rules’. “Many people eat cold food in the morning, such as cottage cheese or yogurt. This disrupts their digestion. If you start the day with something warm, such as an omelette, you will notice a difference,” says Van der Sterren. “You will then feel more energetic. If you eat what suits you, your ‘gut brain’ will emerge more and more.”
Our stomach is also called our second brain, because it constantly sends signals to the brain and vice versa. “That is an awareness that your body knows what it needs. It is sometimes difficult to reach that goal, because it is covered with a blanket of desires and needs. For example, the desire for chocolate. But that comes from your head.”
Tips for intuitive eating
Dietitian Femke van Liere has a number of tips for people who want to learn to listen more to their intuition when it comes to food.
- Learn to feel the difference between hunger and satiety. When do you have the physical need to eat? And when is it enough?
- Make sure you can bridge meals with snacks. Eating ahead is of little benefit, contrary to what many people think. So spread your food a little more over the day.
- Let go of eating rules. Rules are mandatory, and most diets are linked to each other by orders and commandments. Learn to make your own choices and experience what suits you best. That is different for every person.
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