Intuitive Eating

Nutrition drives me insane. There are a lot of things about nutrition that are counter-intuitive, that change constantly, and that different people think differently of. 

Intuitive Eating is one of those things. It was brought up to me while talking to a psychologist regarding my obsessive need to eat even when I'm not hungry after forcefully having to quit Ozempic. Let me outline the 10 basics of "Intuitive Eating":

1. Reject the Diet Mentality

Stop dieting. As they say, it's not a diet, it's a lifestyle change.

2. Honor your Hunger

Don't wait to eat until you're starving; then you tend to go overboard.

3. Make Peace with Food

Don't deny particular foods. They can cause uncontrollable cravings and then binge episodes, which makes you feel guilty.

4. Challenge the Food Police

Stop the cycle of being "good" for consuming minimal calories or "bad" for eating a piece of chocolate cake. 

5. Discover the Satisfaction Factor

This is like Mindful Eating. Discover the satisfaction of eating.

6. Feel your Fullness

Observe the signs that show you are comfortably full. 

7. Cope with Emotions with Kindness

Don't let your emotions trigger eating, basically. 

8. Respect your Body

Don't be overly critical about your body and compare yourself to everyone else

9. Movement - Feel the Difference

Just get active and feel the difference. Don't focus on burning calories, just focus on moving.

10. Honor your Health - Gentle Nutrition

You don't have to eat perfectly be be/feel healthy

If you want to read the full definitions, the website is found here

To start off, #9 resonates with me since I loathe exercise, and this feels like a more reasonable goal. But I take issue with #3 and #4. Basically, as the psychologist described it, is that you don't deny yourself any food, because if you do it can cause resentment, or uncontrollable cravings for it, and if the food in question tends to be available to consume at any time, then you won't constantly reach for it and overeat it (???).

I'm sorry, I call bullshit on that. And the reason I say so is because sugar is an addictive substance. It's been shown in studies to cause dopamine spikes just like drugs, and can give you feel good feelings so you'll want more. And I can prove this on a personal level because when I was on hCG, and then later on Whole30, (which cuts out all sugar) I had no cravings for it whatsoever. I could pass up that piece of chocolate cake, or if I did eat something, it tasted WAY too sweet and actually made me want to stop consuming it.

So fine, maybe have that bag of chips you so crave, or whatever (I honestly don't know what people crave beyond sugary goods), but constantly having something sugary in your pantry at the ready at all times? That's just a recipe for disaster in my opinion. There is nothing in those sugary goods that your body needs nutritionally. So there is literally no reason to have them/consume them. 

My issue with trying to find reasonable accommodations with intuitive eating is straight up calories in vs calories out. I've heard both camps on this - I was following up with a dietitian that believed all calories were not the same, and it made a difference. I mean, of course it does - eating healthy calories is better than eating unhealthy calories. But in the end, if your body only burns 2k calories a day, and you consume 2.5k, then you will gain weight regardless of where those calories came from. And that's where I am stuck at.

Look, I made the "lifestyle change" years ago. It's called healthy swapping. I don't deny myself any carbs (although I should probably limit them more to be perfectly honest. Carbs are too easy to just grab and eat), I just swap for healthier options. That Egg McMuffin I make at home? Whole wheat english muffin, and canadian bacon instead of sausage or regular bacon. I could even go as far as all egg whites, (The egg white mcmuffin they used to have at McDonalds was bomb and I wish they'd bring it back) but I learned a long time ago that cutting out fat is also a recipe for disaster. Fat is satiating. Yeah, it adds a ton of calories but it also tastes good and it helps keep you full. So I'm all about that whole egg. Want pasta? Use chcikpea. It's got fiber and protein. Add some ground turkey instead of beef. Use tomato sauce instead of alfredo. The pizza I like to eat is the Mediterranean one from Dominos. Thin crust with all veggies and no meat.

For snacks, I try my best to grab things like apples, oranges, kiwis, grapes. When I'm at home sometimes I'll have cottage cheese with some jam, or carrots with homemade ranch dressing using greek yogurt for added protein (and because it doesn't have any sugar in it when you make it yourself. Like, why. Why does ranch dressing have sugar and corn syrup in it???)

But even with all these healthy substitutions, I still eat more than I burn. Calories in vs calories out. So what I'm trying to figure out is how to stop the urge to eat when I'm not hungry. Sometimes I'll eat when I'm not hungry, and not even feel full when I'm done. I'm like in this in-between space all the time; it's kind of weird. My body has lost its ability to send me signals. I can probably blame Ozempic for this; I mean I gained 15 lbs in less than 8 weeks once I stopped, but I figured my body would figure it out and some point and it still hasn't. So I don't know what to do about it.

I know all the tricks, okay? I drink water, broth, tea, even Olipop [which has prebiotic fiber]. I chew gum and suck on mints. I'll even take glucomannan pills (Konjac root) to help make me full, but I'm eating when not hungry, so that doesn't help much. Is it boredom? Probably. There's not a ton I can do about it at work. There are busy times and not busy times. Even the administrative work I do when I'm not busy doesn't keep me distracted enough. At home it's much worse. My activities/hobbies are all introverted inside by myself hobbies like paint by number or diamond painting, which isn't distracting enough either. It's just tough. I just... want to eat. Does anybody have any suggestions for me? Thanks in advance!