Intuitive eaters don’t diet. These are people who eat based on internal cues for hunger and fullness. Intuitive eaters tend to eat a healthier diet and weigh less than those who diet. That’s the conclusion reached by Dr. Tracy Tylka, an assistant professor of pyschology at Ohio State University’s Marion campus. She conducted a number of studies on the concept of intuitive eating with female college students.
Dr. Tylka’s research suggests that women who feel better about their bodies are more likely to eat intuitively. The intuitive eaters reported having received more positive messages from parents and others regarding their bodies than those who were not eating intuitively. (Body acceptance tied to healthy eating)
Ahh! This may well be the key to the body obessession that all too many girls and women experience. We need to feel good about ourselves and positive comments from important others is fundamental for the well-being of children and young adults.
What about those of us who are older (40+)? We may once have been the children who did not receive positive messages from parents and significant others with respect to our bodies. Many of us remember how bad it felt to not only NOT receive positive feedback but to have received plenty of teasing and other negative feedback.
How are we today? For some of us, as we have matured and taken responsibility for our ourselves we may be much better. Or it may be worse. We have older bodies to contend with rather than young bodies. As we lose the battle with gravity and the wrinkles, scars, and fat deposits add up, it becomes harder to accept much less like our bodies.
I am NOT a psychologist but it seems to me that whatever we can do to appreciate who we are rather than focus too much energy on how we look would help a lot! At this point in our lives we may need to recognize that positive comments may never or only rarely come from others. We need to provide the positive feedback for ourselves.
The more we respect and honor our intelligence, talents, and skills, the more easily we can like ourselves. We also deserve to respect ourselves for the care and compassion we give to others. Yes, it is true, we matter from the inside out and not the other way around!
If we can focus on the need to be healthy from a nutritional or physiological point of view as well as an emotional one, we can in turn take better care of ourselves. Learning to listen to our needs is essential. Maybe then we can trust ourselves to know how to “eat intuitively.” This may or may not mean losing some extra pounds but we would certainly have something to gain with greater well-being by trying!
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