Intuitive eating: listening and nourishing your body

Eating is a basic need that we have to cover in order to live and be healthy, but it is also an activity that we enjoy and brings us satisfaction.

However, both men and women can sometimes fall into unhealthy relationships with food as a result of society’s mandates over what is beautiful or what we should look like. And so, we end up labeling certain foods as “bad” and others as “good”, but these stigmas and disinformation about what our bodies need can lead us to develop unhealthy eating patterns.

There are many different kinds of diet plans that can help us eat in a more balanced way, while also giving our body what it needs (which is not the same for everybody). Nevertheless, they can still leave us feeling hungry or make us feel like some foods are forbidden, creating the dichotomy of should vs. want.

Eat what you want, when you want?

Of all the different diet plans out there, there is one that not too many people know about, but is starting to get more exposure these days thanks to the internet: intuitive eating. As a different approach to food, intuitive eating is reaching more and more people around the world thanks to the work of nutritionists who know that the way to help people eat better is to give them more options, not restrict them.

In order to learn more about this subject from an expert, we interviewed Saide Mobarak, a clinical nutritionist who specializes in veganism and vegetarianism and is currently becoming certified on intuitive eating.

“Intuitive eating is a completely personal journey where we discover our body’s signs of hunger and fullness. It means understanding what our body tells us in order to connect with our mind and our food choices.”

This form of eating is based on self-observation and listening to our body, but it also involves noting how our emotions and the food we eat are related. For instance, if you are tired after a long day of work and exercise, and all you want is to lie down and watch TV, and you prepare some snacks because that is part of the experience, you probably associate snacks with rest; you see them as a reward after a long day of work, which is not a bad thing, but how do you feel after you eat these snacks? Do you feel good or guilty? Do you eat enough to feel full or do you overindulge? 

How hard can it be?

Before you set out on a journey like this, Mobarak explains: “first, the most important thing is to recognize your body’s internal language, the signals it gives for hunger and fullness, and from there, you can start working on the main pillars, the ten principles of intuitive eating. Each principle is something to work on through therapy and introspection.”

We are complex and complete beings, so it would be very naïve of us to believe that we are not affected by this relationship between food and our emotions. Most people who have followed diet plans designed by experts already know how to measure out portions, make healthy swaps, and even choose better options when eating out, but intuitive eating opens the door to self-awareness and a different relationship with food. Mobarak notes: “This eating regimen is not about counting portions or macronutrients. It works like a sort of therapy where we work through our food-related behaviors.”

It is important to remember that, as with any health-related process, you should only make these kinds of diet changes under the guidance of a certified professional, since, as Mobarak explains, it is possible to fall into misunderstanding and just eat whatever you want, whenever you want, and as much as you want, but that wouldn’t really be listening to your body. Also, having an expert guide you during your journey can help you handle the emotions related to making better food choices.

Intuitive eating first began gaining ground in the US in the 1990s thanks to the work of dietician Evelyn Tribole and nutritional therapist Elyse Resch, but this innovative approach to food is now becoming more popular around the world, and its benefits are undeniable. In fact, intuitive eating can also improve the health of your hair: “When we really listen to what our body needs and we start making better food choices, we nourish our body mindfully and correctly, and this is seen reflected in every aspect of our organism, like having strong, shiny, and soft hair,” explains Mobarak.