04.24.2018
Conscious-intuitive feeding is a concept that moves away from the idea of dietary restriction, in other words diet (which often leads to weight gain) and from good or bad foods. It is based on listening, accepting and respecting the signs of hunger and satiety, and on the fact that all foods provide some pleasure, simply a different pleasure. Therefore, we develop the pleasure of tasting, in order to move away from the "pleasure" of overconsumption, which brings several undesirable effects.
We are all born intuitive-conscious eaters!
Babies and young children are experts in listening to their signals of hunger and satiety! Our children refuse food because they are no longer hungry, which we often, as adults tend to not respect. They are forced to finish their plate, for very bad reasons, which we will observe in another article.
Over time, many people lose the natural satiety signals and become desensitized due to the imposed need to finish their plate, or due to the concept of 'waste' (although forcing oneself to eat food without being hungry is also wasteful!), etc.
A re-learning process
Thus, to eat consciously and stop the weight regains, we must often relearn to listen to those signals of hunger and satiety and to recognize the false appetites, which are so numerous!
Signals of hunger and satiety forgotten
We often believe by mistake that we feel the signals, however, given this desensitization, it is only the extremes that we feel, not the subtleties.
What is real hunger?
This is the physical signal that the body is ready to receive food. It gradually increases small appetites (barely perceptible, often ignored), average hunger to unsustainable hunger. This hunger can also disappear if we ignore it too long.
What is a false hunger?
- Positive or negative emotional hunger (stress, boredom, anger, desire to celebrate) - developed young or with time as a way to change your mind and to save yourself from what bother us, or a way to win.
- Environmental hunger (influences of friends or family, time of day)
- Pleasure of the eyes, and smells - (often called gluttony)
- Habits (eating in front of the TV, in the cinema, in the evening, simply because it's time for the meal, finishing your plate, having to eat sweet after meals ...)
- Rational hunger: For example, we often tend to feel guilty by saying that our "brownies are healthy" because we made them with lentils, and we eat above our hunger by ignoring the signal. The media are good at getting us into these "rational hungers".
False hunger is stable over time, much like the sound of a fan, mostly felt at the mouth, rather than the belly for the real hunger. It is possible to forget it and no longer have the desire to eat when you change activity or pay more attention.
What is Satiety?
Feeling of satisfaction,without being full. This feeling is sometimes longer to relearn to listen.
* Note: satiety is not the feeling of tension in the stomach, at that point, we exceeded the feeling of satiety! Not to be hungry is above all a "lack of sensation, just not being hungry, being good. Any bite above this stage turns out to be overconsumption.
Listen to the physical signs of satiety during the meal
- Sudden decrease in taste pleasure (it does not taste as good as at the beginning)
- The progressive reduction of hunger.
Where to start?
Very often, any past weight gain is due at least in part to one of these conscious-intuitive eating factors. It is important for a sustainable weight loss, to find with your nutritionist the main reason for weight gain and this way reduce the risk of repetition. When we focus only on food choices, repetition is often inevitable. So avoid dieting, and make the choice of sustainable weight loss and work out the reason for weight gain with your nutritionist, during your loss process, not after!