How to switch to intuitive eating? Principles, reviews and results. Creation of a nutrient medium

Anna Mironova

Reading time: 7 minutes

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A new method of losing weight was discovered by American doctor Stephen Hawkes. The doctor suffered from obesity in 2005; diets did not help him lose weight. Then he started following intuitive eating and managed to lose almost 23 kg! In addition, he was able to maintain the result.

Let's consider how the new method works , whether it has any disadvantages, and also determine whether it is effective.

What is intuitive eating - the basics of dieting without dieting

The new way of eating is a lifestyle, a philosophy that is already followed by millions of people in the world.

According to the methodology you should not limit yourself in food , eat when you really want and listen to your body when choosing this or that product.

The main rule of intuitive nutrition: “Listen to your body, give it what it requires.”

The methodology is based on the following principles:

• Consciously stop dieting
  Understand that diets are useless, they harm our body. You will never be able to lose weight quickly; it will still come back over time. Realize that there is not a single effective diet in the world.
• Say no to hunger
  The body must receive the required amount of carbohydrates and substances. If you limit yourself in food, sooner or later you will break down and satisfy your hunger with more food. As soon as your body gives the signal, it means it is really hungry. You should learn to eat only when you are hungry.
• Don't count calories
  If you want to eat fried meat, chips, a hamburger, do not limit yourself, eat whatever you want. Also, stop following your daily caloric intake and eat only according to the calculator.
• Don't overeat
  Often women who limit themselves to a certain product begin to uncontrollably consume everything in their path, especially the food that they refused. To prevent this from happening, “make peace” with food. You shouldn’t forbid yourself anything and then overeat.
• Notice your feeling of fullness
  Remember how your body feels when you are full. During your meal, remember the taste of the food. Start treating food like a divine miracle. Then you will begin to feel happy precisely when you are not hungry.
• Determine your satisfaction factor
  You must decide how much food is enough for you to be satisfied and not overeat. If you enjoy every bite of food, then on a subconscious level you will begin to eat less and less. If you do not pay attention to the taste of food and what you eat in general, then the body will be satisfied with the quantity of the product eaten, and not with the quality.
• Look for emotional satisfaction in something other than food
  Every day we experience many emotions - anxiety, boredom, anger, sadness. To survive them, many begin to “eat” and thus satisfy a hunger that actually did not exist. If you start looking for the source of other emotions, then you won’t have to eat when you’re worried, or, on the contrary, you’ll be happy.
• Accept your body
  Of course, everyone's body structure is different. It is worth understanding that if you are one meter tall with a cap, you will not become a leggy model. Accept your genetics, make friends with yourself, stop. Once you realize that your body is your dignity, then you will want to improve it.
• Be active
  Ride a bike, take a walk in the evening, run, go to the mountains. You should notice that any vigorous activity has a positive effect on the body.
• Choose
  When choosing products, rely on those that are truly created from natural products. What you eat matters, so choose healthy, tasty foods first.
• Get motivated
  Dream about being slim, but choose the ideal according to your parameters.
• Understand yourself
  Often, obesity is a symptom of health problems. Take care of your health.

Pros and cons of intuitive eating – can it be harmful?

Intuitive eating has many benefits.

The main advantages

• Safe
  You choose what you will eat. Consume foods in normal quantities, do not overeat, thereby not harming the body. As a rule, supporters of this diet eat 5-6 times a day, but in small portions. Moreover, they do not limit themselves in nutrition and eat when they want.
• Convenient
  This method of losing weight is easy to stick to. This is not a painful diet.
• Effective
  If you adhere to all the above principles, then after 2-4 weeks you will notice the result. Of course, effectiveness depends on your lifestyle and current weight. Remember, a miracle won’t happen in a week, but after a while you can be proud of yourself.
• Available
  Anyone can use the technique. Both overweight and not.

Some people who began to adhere to such a diet note the following disadvantages:

• The nutrition system and the general philosophy of the method are unclear
  Please note that intuitive eating can also be called a healthy lifestyle. Eat right, play sports or just be active, move, then the extra pounds will go away on their own.
• “You should always have a full refrigerator”
  The difficulty lies in fulfilling your desires. But, please note, there are shops and supermarkets in all cities. You can simply buy a certain product when you feel hungry. This is why many working people do not cook food for themselves, or buy food that can be prepared quickly. For mothers with children this is not a problem at all. In a family man's refrigerator there will always be food in reserve.

Of course, the disadvantages of intuitive eating are minor.

How to start?

Switching to intuitive eating is very simple:

• Step 1: Start Emotional Eating
  Write down in a notebook or in an electronic journal what you ate, at what time, what event happened before eating and after the meal. This way you can analyze why you eat. If these are negative emotions that you “eat,” then you should reconsider your food scenario. There are plenty of such connections. The main thing is to exclude them.
• Step 2: Start loving yourself
  Accept yourself for who you are. Stop dieting and counting the calories of what you eat. Don't scold or blame yourself for eating.
• Step 3: Pay attention to your feelings of hunger and fullness
  Eat when you are really hungry. You can also analyze situations using diary entries.
• Step 4. Identifying taste sensations
  Choose foods not by their appearance, but by their taste. Ask yourself if you want something sweet, salty, spicy, etc. You can also rely on the structure of the food - soft, crispy, hard, etc.
• Step 5. Determine your power system
  Often, beginner intuitive eaters buy various foods for several days and determine what they really need and what they find more enjoyable to eat. These products are individual for each person.
• Step 6: Move More
  Just start walking in the evening, leaving the house or apartment. Fresh air will always be beneficial.
• Step 7. Analyze the result, the effectiveness of the nutrition method
  As soon as you start changing your lifestyle, start making adjustments to it, you will get results - lose a couple of kilograms.

If this does not happen, or you were unable to determine your power system, Consciously answer the following questions for yourself:

1. How to plan your diet so that it is varied?
2. For what reasons can you not feel hungry?
3. What makes you nervous?
4. How do you calculate your portion? How much food was needed to satisfy hunger?
5. Why haven't you listened to yourself yet? What's stopping you?
6. Have there been breakdowns or overeating? For what reasons?

By answering these questions, you can decide what you are doing wrong. Chat with your friends, they will help you understand yourself.

Just remember, it is important for you to hear an objective point of view regarding not only nutrition, but also a way of life. You will be able to recognize problems and try to solve them. A conscious, intuitive attitude is a new stage in your life and development.

The website warns: all information presented does not constitute medical advice. Before using the diet, be sure to consult your doctor!

Among instant and long-term diets, it stands out intuitive or conscious nutrition. The creators of this concept propose to abandon strict dietary restrictions and trust your own instincts when choosing a diet.

People with a dietary mindset, who are no longer able to see a tasty, appetizing dish on their plate, but perceive the product as a set of proteins, carbohydrates and fats, are horrified by this approach.

They believe that by surrendering to food anarchy, it is impossible to gain weight, but you can quickly turn into a ball with legs.

Let's find out what intuitive eating means and why people lose weight using this system.

Basic principles and rules

The choice of proprietary power systems is amazing. Nutritionists rely on modern research in the field of human physiology and the diet of primitive people. They rely on increasing protein consumption and reducing fats and carbohydrates as much as possible.

The result is the same: few people who lose weight manage to maintain the results after yet another advertised diet. The consequence is self-doubt, dissatisfaction with appearance and lack of faith in one’s abilities.

Intuitive Eating stands in a kind of opposition to other diets and is based on original principles and rules that may seem incredible and even harmful to the uninitiated.

But, nevertheless, this system works and may be the last chance to build weight once and for all for girls and women stuck in food addiction.

Intuitive eating is not a diet. It is rather a path to your real self, a way to bring your true needs to the surface and get rid of complexes. And losing weight comes with all these generous gifts as a nice bonus.

The main rule of IP is to understand that the reason for breakfast, lunch, dinner or snack can only be physiological hunger. And not fatigue, anger or boredom.

The basic rules that every intuitive eater will have to learn to follow include the need to:

• Feel true hunger and fullness.
• Stop comforting yourself with food.
• Legalize your favorite dishes.

Unlike classical diets, which represent a strict set of prohibitions, the IP is loyal to its adherents and allows them to eat everything. But consciously and being aware of your actions and motives.

If you want to have a snack, you need to ask yourself: do I really want to eat or am I solving some emotional problems in this way?

If you are actually experiencing physiological hunger, you can start eating. You need to eat food without distractions, in a calm environment. Then you won’t be able to miss the moment when the feeling of hunger dulls and you are completely satiated.

An internal dialogue with your body will help you get rid of the habit of overeating and related health problems.

For many, it will be a revelation that the feeling of hunger disguises desires that are far from the physiological need for food .

It can be:

• fear or anxiety;
• experienced shock;
• emotional hunger.

Many people try to solve all these problems by eating tasty, fatty, high-calorie foods. Any reasonable person understands that this is unrealistic. But the catch is that this happens spontaneously and unconsciously.

Representatives of the fair sex, who are constantly tormented by the question of how to lose weight, have solid dietary experience in their life baggage. They often make up a kind of wish list of their favorite dishes. And breakdowns always happen due to an irresistible craving to try these particular products.

Now you have to “make friends” with these foods. To do this you should:

• Purchase an impressive supply of the coveted food.
• Slowly and thoughtfully eat as much as you want.
• Describe on paper or in a virtual diary your emotions and feelings from the process.

Is it possible to lose weight?

It doesn't matter how much excess weight you are. Of primary importance is the place in your consciousness occupied by thoughts about imperfections, the need change diet and intensely exercise .

Once we have entered a vicious circle of diets, we can no longer break out of it and with each stage after a short-term victory we notice an increase in mass and volume.

Following intuitive nutrition is a guide that will lead you to a smooth road leading to slimness, beauty and health. IP step by step teaches you to interact with your body and consume no more calories than you burn.

How to switch to intuitive eating?

Newcomers enter the system gently and gradually, without shocks or crises. When deciding to start following mindful eating, everyone relies on themselves.

In contrast to common weight loss methods, IP does not dictate a specific menu, regimen and set of products. The question of what to eat and when is left to the person losing weight.

This in no way means immersion in food debauchery and banal gluttony. But strict self-control is also not acceptable.

In return, you need to become a good friend to your body and impartially record positive and negative changes, drawing from them information about your true needs.

Need to:

• Eat according to hunger and until the first signs of satiety.
• Set the table beautifully and eat in a relaxed atmosphere.
• Keep a food diary where you record each meal and how you feel about food.
• Stop controlling your weight.
• Perceive training not as a heavy temporary duty, but as a source of pleasure.

The ultimate goal of the system is to reduce portions and achieve the desired slimness.

Of course, food should be fun. But the pleasure of eating should not be the determining reason for eating.

If you are still in doubt, check out the reviews and results from supporters of the system:

Video:

What is intuitive eating and is it effective for losing weight? This article is devoted to this issue. Let's take a closer look at why:

• a non-dietary system, in which there are no prohibitions, does not lead to the consumption of industrial sweets and semi-finished products;
• what is the connection between overeating and psychological state;
• Diets in the classical sense doom us to extra pounds and suffering.

IP is offered as a technique suitable for those who do not want to count calories and are discouraged by the prospect of introducing disciplinary measures into their lives. What results can you expect and how to prepare for the program - read more.

What's the point

What is intuitive eating - if it is not a diet, not a set of restrictions, then how can you get rid of excess weight using this principle? The fact is that this system suggests reconsidering your relationship with food and making it healthy and harmonious.

Nutritionist's comment:

The problem of obesity is often not only an unhealthy diet, but also largely psychological distress. Excess subcutaneous fat is largely the result of compulsive overeating, when we try to improve our emotional state through tasty foods. And this method works, but not for long. Within 15 minutes after eating chocolate, a feeling of guilt also appears.

Is it possible to lose weight on intuitive eating? Many people are surprised when they learn that there are no restrictions. Indeed, the system does not involve dividing foods into healthy and harmful, and there is also no need to weigh portions and count calories. What then will change in comparison with the lifestyle that led to obesity? To get results, you need to learn to be attentive to your body and recognize the signals of hunger and satiety. What changes should penetrate your life and become an unchanging rule:

• food is not a way to improve your mood, you will have to break the vicious circle of enjoying desserts during the blues;
• You can only eat when you are hungry;
• choose foods that you really want;
• eat slowly, enjoying the taste, temperature, consistency, and appearance of the dish;
• listen to how the body is saturated, what sensations accompany it;
• pay attention to the discomfort that appears due to overeating;
• try to tempt yourself infrequently with foods rich in flavor enhancers, as they make our appetite unnatural.

As a result, you should develop a healthy relationship with food, and this will be the key to a stable low BMI. After all, if there are no restrictions, then there are no breakdowns. This means that you will not have to go through a sharp weight gain again - these fluctuations will be a thing of the past. The absence of violence against oneself is what distinguishes intuitive eating from conscious eating. Such a system can be a real salvation for people who cannot tolerate restrictions and react poorly to attempts to discipline themselves.

Who invented

The model began to take shape in the 70s on the North American continent. The non-diet approach at its core has become a hope for those who have been too susceptible to relapse and weight gain. Nutritionists and psychologists have observed a pattern: the more you control yourself, the more you crave forbidden foods. And at one moment, when we experience serious stress, we can break down and reduce all efforts to zero.

The absence of an irresistible craving for your favorite delicacy, a healthy attitude towards the dish - this is what intuitive eating means. This approach was practiced by American Teyma Weiler. Its effectiveness and growing popularity in narrow circles became the basis for the opening of a center where women who wanted to lose weight stopped torturing themselves with diets and got the desired result.

In the late 70s, a book on the psychology of weight loss, Overcoming Overeating, was published, then this topic is addressed in the popular publication Fat - a Feminist Issue. This is how ideas about the wisdom of the body, which is able to properly regulate appetite without conscious control, become known in society.

In 1995, the fundamental work of nutritionists E. Triboli and E. Resch, “Intuitive Eating,” was published. Here you can find structured detailed information about the technique, its effectiveness, validity and excellent results. Professor Stephen Hawkes brought widespread fame to the system. He tested its effectiveness on himself, losing more than 20 extra pounds without effort, which never returned to him.

Indeed, research on this approach demonstrates that those losing weight intuitively show enviable stability - their body mass index remains consistently low for a very long time. Followers of the method claim that slimness remains with a person forever, this is another important advantage over conscious nutrition.

Nutritionist's comment:

There is an opinion that nature itself came up with a non-dietary method, but due to a perverted attitude towards food as a result of the development of civilization, people have lost the ability to hear the signals of their body. But this is not entirely true, because in fact, eating behavior in ancient times was not controlled by sensations (of hunger and satiety), but by supply. Food - it should be rightly noted - was a resource difficult to obtain, so it was consumed when available, even beyond measure. This explains the fact that overweight people have been considered the standard of beauty and prestige for many centuries. Slimness came into fashion not so long ago.

How to lose weight with intuitive eating - basic principles

What rules do you need to bring into your life in order to forever forget about exhausting mono-diets and find a slim body?

Complete rejection of diets of any kind

As long as you believe in a diet program that is based on strict restrictions but can lead you to your ideal result, you will not succumb to IP. There is no special sequence of foods, there is no need to endure a feeling of acute hunger for several days - you should be comfortable.

Respect for your body

Recognize that people are created different; striving for a single standard is madness. The important task is to change so that you feel good, be active, and energetic. But if you want to get some specific parameters that will ensure you the admiration of men and the respect of girlfriends, then you need to work on motivation. Learn to respect your body, treat it as an asset - with care and understanding.

Weakening and eliminating dietary control

The basic principles and rules of intuitive nutrition follow from the formulation - obey your intuition, and not various tables from smart books. This is not about consuming unhealthy amounts of chips and chocolate, but about stopping criticizing yourself for excesses. If at first there is a place for them, then later they will disappear. After all, the body has wisdom, it knows what and in what quantities it needs to maintain normal weight.

Learn to hear your hunger

Despite the fact that this postulate sounds simple and even primitive, it will not be easy to comply with. After all, we are accustomed to taking the following states as a desire to eat:

• thirsty;
• sadness;
• stress;
• the desire to belong to a group - many had to eat something “for company”;
• fatigue - when it is necessary to take a break from work;
• procrastination - when you have to do something you don’t want to do.

All this should be filtered out. Eat when you are really hungry - this should be the only motivation for eating. It is possible that you will need several sessions with a psychotherapist to learn to distinguish between a true desire to eat and a compulsive unhealthy state when food is perceived as a way to distract from problems.

Treat food without prejudice or hostility

One of the 10 principles of intuitive eating will also require effort, as many have spent years and even decades with the strong belief that food can be the enemy. Remember how many negative attitudes exist, and imagine how much strength they gain, becoming entrenched in our consciousness. We understand the harm of excess sugar and fatty foods. We imagine how the volume of the body increases after salted and smoked food. We count the number of kilometers that need to be run after eating chocolate. All this eventually becomes a real war on food. It should be completed if you decide to learn how to switch to intuitive eating and do it in practice.

Learn to hear and respect the feeling of fullness

Shift your attention from the taste and texture of the dish to your sensations. Saturation comes gradually, your condition changes. Many people prone to overeating eat quickly, anxiously, remaining captive to their problems, tasks and daily routines. In such a situation, we notice a change in state only when we have eaten too much. There is a feeling of heaviness, drowsiness, heartburn, and only then do we stop. There is no need to do this. Listen to your body, don't be distracted by vanity. And then you can track how the feeling of fullness gradually comes.

Feel pleasure and satisfaction

When you learn to fully enjoy food, not sneakily, without guilt, but “legally,” a very important change will occur. To reach the moment when you are satisfied, you will need less goodies compared to previous portions. It's amazing how your appetite changes if you remove inhibitions and allow yourself to enjoy your meal.

Respect your feelings

How to understand whether you are hungry or trying to “eat” irritation - intuitive eating presupposes a healthy attitude towards your emotions. This practice should teach you to treat your psychological state and reactions to others without criticism. Don't suppress, monitor, accept, treat yourself with understanding.

There is no need to strictly evaluate your body

Your physique depends not only on diet and exercise, but also on genetics. Give up the desire for an unattainable standard - such ambitions not only do not help, but also cause nervous exhaustion and loss of self-confidence. Respect and love yourself, only in such conditions can you successfully switch to intuitive eating without violence, learning to listen to your body and not obey public opinion.

Value your health

It is important to choose foods and intensity of physical activity so that the result is comfort. Don't think that this technique involves anyone eating chips and cakes as the main course. If you listen to the body and strive for a pleasant state, then these delicacies will sink into oblivion, since they cause heaviness, indigestion and even cutting pain. The same applies to training - there is no need to set yourself impossible tasks and perform boring sets to the point of exhaustion and severe soreness. Look for a middle ground.

How much can you lose in a month on intuitive eating?

You should not expect quick results from this approach. Perhaps in the first weeks the changes will be very minor, they may even be absent altogether. Or even the scale arrow will swing to the right, indicating an increase. But remember that a slower pace of weight loss means a more stable outcome. Also, exact numbers are hampered by such circumstances as individual characteristics. Some will lose 1.5 kilograms a week on IP, while others will get rid of 5 kg in a month.

But if the technique can be mastered, then the problem of excess weight will be solved forever.

How to switch to intuitive eating and lose weight

In order for this approach to bring a positive result and not disappointment, attention should be paid to the following aspects:

• learn to eat mindfully;
• increase sensitivity;
• be guided by your own desires when choosing products, and not by the recommendations of magazines and nutritionists;
• do not allow severe hunger;
• pay attention to the stages of saturation;
• notice the state when your body is sufficiently saturated, you feel good, filled with energy, but you can eat more - this is the moment when you should stop.

Intuitive eating is not about rules and restrictions, but about learning to listen to your body.

Stages of transition to individual entrepreneurs

This process cannot be simple and quick, since it requires a fundamental restructuring of consciousness and a qualitatively different attention to one’s body. This is unusual. Therefore, we come to the technique gradually, we list the stages:

• Denial - there is no need to radically change your approach, you can go on your usual diet and quickly lose weight to the desired level.
• Contemplation - after several episodes when the diet program did not bring the desired changes, but, on the contrary, caused harm, many begin to doubt the advisability of the restrictions. At this moment, information about intuitive eating attracts, I want to find out what it is and how to start using a comfortable method.
• Preparation for action is not yet a full-fledged transition, but rather an attempt to change habits: a person eats more slowly, tries to look at “forbidden” foods without bias, and monitors changes in his emotional state.
• Action - at this stage practice begins. The ability to recognize body signals becomes more confident, and respect for one’s physique and mental processes also grows. Food ceases to serve as a comfort, but serves only as a source of energy, as it should be.

How to maintain a healthy lifestyle

The more dietary experience a person has, the stronger the beliefs about strict diet control, the more likely a breakdown is. Maintaining IP in such a situation will require more effort and attention.

To successfully maintain your favorite menu within the framework of intuitive eating and make progress in losing weight, it is recommended:

• find like-minded people who would share their experiences;
• get support - put your friends, relatives, spouse in a positive mood;
• notice changes, do not downplay the importance of even small improvements;
• Be patient - you won’t be able to implement all the principles and lose weight right away.

It is believed that the development of IP occurs in a spiral, so it is quite normal when episodes of regression are noted.

Having started looking for an alternative, many come across ideas that are called “intuitive nutrition”, and this is wonderful - it’s just a pity that in the information space these words are used to call many things that have nothing to do with it.

Myth #1: Intuitive eating is chaos and permissiveness.

You often hear: “I tried it, bought myself a cake, chips, donuts... For two months I ate whatever I wanted, I gained 7 kg! Thank you, I don’t want any more.” Indeed, such nutrition implies the ability to eat anything - including donuts, but relying on your own body's signals of hunger and satiety, and without solving your own emotional problems with food. Without mastering these basic skills, it’s too early to buy cakes.

Myth No. 2: It's a choice between buckwheat and oatmeal for breakfast.

The opposite myth is especially characteristic of “amateur consultants” - people without special education who have coped with their own weight loss and sell their services to others. For this mythology, the concept of abandoning the diet mindset is incomprehensible, and they describe intuitive eating as the ability to choose in a narrow “corridor” of allowed foods, most often low-calorie, low-carb or low-glycemic index foods. Such nutrition is no different from a regular diet and does not lead to solutions to problems.

Awareness is inclusion and enjoyment of the process. Unfortunately, diet corporations are promoting a completely different approach.

Very often, this type of diet is called “conscious” nutrition, because awareness is similar to the “consciousness” instilled in us from childhood. We learned that “consciousness” - that is, the ability to do something against one’s will, showing miracles of violence against oneself, is for some reason good. And now it seems to us that “conscious eating” is conscious. “If I don’t choose a cake, I’ll choose low-fat cottage cheese, who’s great - I’m great!”

This approach has nothing to do with conscious or intuitive eating. This is yet another dietary trap that has only two equally unpleasant outcomes: a food breakdown or an obsession with the topic of “proper” nutrition.

Awareness is presence in the present moment, inclusion and enjoyment of the process. Unfortunately, diet corporations are promoting a completely different approach.

Myth No. 3: This is “flexible control”, you can eat whatever you want, but limit portions/calories

Eat whatever you like. But carbohydrates are only until day 12. Eat whatever you want. But in portions no larger than a glass, every two hours. Nutritionists are well aware that diets don’t work. But how to solve the problem of weight loss without restrictions?

The idea of ​​“flexible control” - individual restrictions disguised as “free food” - is becoming increasingly popular. Research shows that people who do nothing about their diet have a lower BMI over the long term than those who use flexible control.

What is intuitive eating?

In fact, we are all born intuitive eaters. The baby becomes restless, turns its head, looking for the breast, and cries until it gets food. He only does this when he is hungry. A well-fed baby stops eating and does not start until he is hungry.

Children who are allowed to maintain this natural eating style in their family independently regulate the amount of energy entering their body. Sometimes they eat a lot, delighting their parents with a good appetite, and sometimes they get by with very little food.

Adult children, like infants, are able to regulate the intake of necessary substances based on internal signals of hunger and satiety. You just need to give them this opportunity.

Where to start organizing intuitive nutrition in the family?

1. All foods are equal, all bodies are good

We agree with family members, including children, that we no longer divide food into “harmful” and “healthy,” “healthy” and “unhealthy,” “good” and “bad.” And we do exactly the same with our body: we will no longer evaluate ourselves and other people according to their size.

Why? Because it destroys our positive attitude towards our own bodies and creates in the minds of children the understanding that “fat” equals “bad”. Stupid, ugly, unlucky, angry - all this is fat.

There are many chances in a child's life to suddenly gain weight and experience the horror that it is now their turn to be judged, ridiculed and unloved. Most children lose the weight they gain unnoticed and effortlessly as they begin to grow. Getting rid of fatphobia - the fear of becoming “fat” and hostility towards those with large bodies - is much more difficult.

2. Down with diet thinking

We think we can control how our children eat and how their bodies develop. In fact, this is a utopian fantasy. Children have an innate appetite and interest in food. How the child will eat - a lot or little, with interest or absentmindedly, whether he likes broccoli or prefers candy, and what kind of body - large, with a lot of fat mass, thin, with a minimum of muscles and fat, or dense and muscular - he will form - largely predetermined genetically and microbiologically.

All we can do is give the child a role model of healthy, normal eating.

We, parents, can try to influence this by regulating the child’s nutrition and amount of exercise, but the result of our influence will be minimal, the efforts will be enormous, and most importantly, the child will receive probable mental trauma.

We do not know exactly what genetic cards our children are “dealt” with until they are “played” - and this will happen in adolescence. All we can do is give the child a role model of healthy, normal eating.

3. We agree on the shore

Children begin to eat poorly when parents cannot agree with each other on how to feed them. If you decide to take an intuitive route, try to enlist the support of your partner. Print him articles about research showing that intuitive eaters maintain a lower and more stable BMI throughout their lives. Most importantly, introduce him to the evidence that children who are put on a diet are more likely to develop eating disorders and become overweight in the future.

4. Getting rid of our own “cockroaches”

It is impossible to organize food without starting with yourself. Read my book Intuitive Eating. How to stop worrying about food and lose weight." Find out what beliefs you have in your head about weight and nutrition and how they relate to your personal history.

In your family, was it impossible to leave food on the plate? Was it considered a sin to throw away food? Or perhaps you grew up believing that you have to limit yourself and that any “delicious” food will definitely show itself when you weigh yourself? Have you been forced to eat something you don’t like, have you been taught to “eat everything”, “not to overdo it”? These parenting strategies will definitely affect your eating style and how you feed your children.

5. Making food a shared responsibility

We are all, even children, equally responsible for our food. Hang up a shopping list in the kitchen, a pencil on a string, and ask all family members to mark down what they wanted to eat during the week, but did not have such products at home. Ask children who cannot write about what foods they would like to see in their home. Stock up on these items without the fear of ice cream, croissants or chocolate-covered halva being on the list.

6. “Are you hungry?” - the first step, the most important question

For every request for food from your child, ask him if he wants to eat. “Can I have some candy?” - “Are you hungry?” “When are we going to have dinner?” - “Are you hungry?” “Shall I make myself a sandwich?” - "Are you hungry?".

Access to food is possible only if the answer to this question is positive. If it seems to you that the child is not hungry, but specifically says that he is hungry in order to get the desired treat, most likely he is. When transferring children to intuitive eating, there follows a period when children “check” whether access to their favorite and desired food will be maintained permanently.

Older children often try to first figure out what kind of food we plan to offer them. “What are we having for dinner?” - they ask. And if you tell them that cabbage schnitzels are for dinner, you will suddenly find that they are not at all hungry and are very disappointed. However, once you're told that you're kidding and it's actually pizza for dinner, those same kids turn very hungry in no time.

Don't be fooled by this. Let the answer to the question “What are we having for dinner?” your question will always be “Are you hungry?”

7. “What exactly do you want?” - second step

If the answer to the first question is yes, ask your child what exactly he wants. No, you don’t have to stand at the stove all day and cook for your children everything they want. Your responsibility is to find out what their food and taste preferences are at the moment, and if such food is not at home, note that it would be worth buying.

Children are very flexible creatures, and at the same time they know very clearly what they want. True, they do not yet know how to discover this knowledge in themselves. Do not make decisions for your child, even if he is confused and cannot understand what he wants. Show him that finding the optimal combination of foods or dishes for his current feeling of hunger is a game with a detective twist.

“Do you want it hot or cold?” - even this simple question greatly narrows the search. “Do you want meat, bread, vegetables or fruit?” “Are there eggs in this dish?” “Could this be porridge?” “Is it soft, hard, crunchy, runny?”

Children enthusiastically begin to play the food guessing game because for them it means that at the moment they have their parents' undivided attention. Explain to the children that a positive answer to the question means that they imagined themselves having already eaten the chosen dish and experienced a feeling of “coincidence” between the received sensations and the request.

8. “Are you full?” - third step

As soon as the child loses interest in food, becomes distracted, takes too long a break, starts playing or chatting with other children, it is time again to clarify what is happening. "Are you gorged?" - you ask the child, and this means that you are mentally ready to let him go from the table and give him the opportunity to return to the game, pack the uneaten food in cling film and put it in the refrigerator.

It is unacceptable to try to regulate the amount a child eats, either up or down.

The same should be done if the child has eaten everything to the end, but continues to remain at the table. Perhaps for the sake of communication, but maybe he has experience when he has already been refused a second helping, and he does not dare ask for more?

It is unacceptable to try to regulate the amount a child eats, either up or down. Remember: any attempt you make to resort to coercion in relation to what you eat in one direction or another will certainly meet with powerful resistance.

9. Legalization of prohibited products

One of the hottest topics is children and sweets. Most children love sweets. Sweets are not just food that gives instant energy, which is greatly appreciated by active children. They symbolize summer holidays and free time with friends, holidays, gifts - everything that children love so much!

There are no children who are equally devoted to any sweets; every child has preferences. Find them out. It could be Kinder surprises, chips, gummy bears or candy - whatever it is, it will be a food that you do not approve of.

Tell your child that from now on he can decide for himself how much of his favorite food he wants to eat and when. Buy as many packages as the child will not eat in 1-2 times - the prohibited product should be intentionally excessive. Give your child open access to this product and accept that for several days he will eat only this product.

Not a single child within the framework of a free eating style chooses sweets as the main food

Replenish the supply of the product as soon as it is half depleted - the child must constantly receive confirmation that the gummy bears will not run out. Over the course of a few days to a few weeks, you will see your child's interest in the product wane.

Of course, a new delicacy will appear. Do the same with him. Not a single child within the framework of a free eating style chooses sweets as the main food. Children choose cheese, chicken, sandwiches, pasta, cucumbers, bananas, soup, zucchini, broccoli and semolina - even in families where parents have the most terrible childhood memories of these products.

10. Personal shelf

Give each minor family member his own personal grocery shelf. This could be the vegetable basket in the refrigerator, or it could be a drawer in the kitchen dresser. Help your child purchase his currently favorite treats, without limiting or commenting on his choice in any way. Explain to all family members that this is an “emergency reserve” that belongs only to this family member and no one else.

Regularly replenish supplies as soon as there are less than half of them left. If necessary, place a name tag on the shelf. Such a shelf is the key to a child’s peaceful relationship with sugar-containing foods and the basis for the fact that when he leaves parental control, he will not overeat sweets every day

Experience working with obese people, whose childhood was in the 60-70s in Western Europe, showed that the strategy of strictly limiting sweets, popular in those years, has very disastrous consequences.

Many of these patients reported that they began to gain weight catastrophically, finding themselves outside of parental control. Being by that time completely independent people in all other areas, in terms of food they remained children, longingly waiting for the right moment to finally get their hands on sweets and eat them to their fullest.

Most mistakes in feeding children are based on the unconscious belief that we can teach them to eat this way or that way, by encouraging them to do it or by forbidding them to do something. In fact, children are born knowing how to eat and develop immediate, individual food preferences during the first years of life. Our job as parents is to support them, to give them choices.

Intuitive eating is a model for instilling responsibility in children for how they feed themselves and reducing parental anxiety based on the idea that we can force our children's bodies - or our own - to be different from what nature intended them to be.