Summary of the book " Intuitive Eating" - By Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch

 Key Concepts in this book:

1. Dieting is a waste of time.
2. Dieting is a form of food deprivation that has a strong rebound effect.
3. Diet planners can't tell you what your body needs.
4. Dieting is an emotionally draining experience.
5. Allowing yourself to consume “forbidden” foods reduces their appeal.
6. Ignoring the food police allows you to eat more healthily.
7. When you eat consciously, your body will let you know when it's full.

Who can benefit the most out of this book:

• Would-be slimmers tired of always feeling hungry.
• Gastronomes seeking a healthier relationship with what they eat.
• Nutritionists and doctors interested in alternatives to traditional diets.

What am I getting out of it? A healthy eating guide that isn't based on fads.

We're better informed about healthy eating than ever before, thanks to improvements in product labeling and developments in metabolic and nutritional science.

Despite this, our society is experiencing an obesity epidemic. What's gone wrong — why do we have such a hard time eating?

Surprisingly, one of the most serious issues frequently masquerades as the solution. Dieting is the issue.

It's not only that one-diet-fits-all approaches rarely succeed. They really exacerbate the problem. Dieting has a negative impact on our connection with food. It makes us neurotic, hinders us from enjoying our meals, and frequently leads to weight gain.

It's past time to look for an alternative. Let's re-establish our relationship with food and learn to eat instinctively.

You'll learn what 

• Rodents can teach us about binge-eating biology.
• How kids eat and what we can learn from them.
• And why eating things you enjoy is more beneficial than following restrictive diets in this summary.

1. Dieting is a waste of time.

Meals that are well-balanced and include veggies, lentils, and lean proteins. Moderate fat, sugar, and carbohydrate intake. Regular exercise and a few treats here and there...

Eating healthy is, in theory, quite straightforward. In actuality, it's far from that. And it's no surprise! Food and our reactions to it are thorny and emotive subjects.

Consider what it's like to be slim. We equate a thin body with moral and aesthetic ideas such as self-control and attractiveness, in addition to health. When we are stressed or concerned, we tend to overeat. Overindulgence is punished by depriving ourselves of "sinful" meals, which are the stuff we genuinely enjoy eating.

In fact, when it comes to food, we're a little neurotic. This simple principle is the foundation of the whole diet business. Dieting, unfortunately, frequently makes things worse.

The main point is that dieting is ineffective.

Dieting is a multibillion-dollar industry. The sector is worth roughly $60 billion each year in the United States. Since the mid-'70s, the number of commercials for diet-related items has quadrupled every year.

There are thousands of diets available nowadays. If you go to a bookshop, you'll find books advocating eating like carnivorous cavemen or, on the other hand, following the vegan apostles. Weight loss, improved health, and, ultimately, happiness are all promises made by both parties.

And that's not all: some claim that putting butter in your coffee, decreasing your daily fat consumption to zero, or drinking grapefruit juice with every meal would give you the same effects.

However, while the sector makes money, many aren't losing weight. Obesity rates, on the other hand, are soaring. Despite the fact that more people are dieting than ever before, the majority of Americans are obese. So, what exactly is going on?

Dieting, on the other hand, tends to enhance your chances of gaining weight. In 2007, a group of UCLA nutrition specialists came to this conclusion. The researchers looked at 31 long-term studies on the impact of dieting on adults, and the findings were astounding. Sixty-six per cent of those who lost weight got it back.

But what if these people were genetically prone to gain weight? That wasn't the case – the researchers double-checked. Dieters started the research weighing the same as their non-dieting counterparts. So it wasn't their genes that caused them to gain weight. Instead, it was a fad diet.

We'd be outraged if folks used an asthma medicine that improved their breathing for a few weeks but harmed their long-term health. Despite this, we blame ourselves and our lack of "willpower" when it comes to dieting.

But it isn't us who are at fault; it is the product that stinks!

2. Dieting is a form of food deprivation that has a strong rebound effect.

Rats aren't bothered by food. They don't read cheesecake-recipe publications, aren't concerned about findings tying fat consumption to early death, and don't feel bad about growing out of shape.

They do, however, overeat. Rats gain weight when fed a tasty meal – think of the rodent analogues of the wonderful, high-calorie dishes we serve at holidays. There are no surprises here. Other mammals, such as humans, perform the same thing.

However, a closer examination reveals that rat feeding is more complex. Scientists restrict mice of food for a few days before lavishing them with all the treats they could handle. Dieters with whiskers acquired a lot more weight than rats who ate normally.

To put it another way, deprivation leads to binge eating. That's something we do as well. When we are deprived of food, we eat more.

Dieting is a form of dietary deprivation, and it has a significant rebound impact.

An American scientist named Ancel Keys did research into how famine-affected our bodies and thoughts throughout WWII.

Keys chose 32 young guys who were both physically and psychologically well. They were free to eat whatever they wanted for three months. They consumed an average of 3,500 calories each day and soon put on weight. Then the feasting came to an end. Kelly restricted his patients' calorie intake to half of what they were used to. He compared it to being on the verge of famine.

The physiological consequences were dramatic. The males dropped around a quarter of their body weight and had a 40% decrease in metabolism. The psychological toll was also significant. Kelly's volunteers became irritated, despondent, and apathetic.

Kelly flipped the switch once more six months later. He told the men that they could eat whatever they wanted now. Insatiable hunger, binge-eating, and, in some cases, bulimia – an eating disorder characterized by a loss of control over what and how much you eat – ensued.

Dieting, a sort of semi-starvation with similar consequences, took the guys five months to normalize their eating.

Diets are perceived by our bodies as a famine - a threat to our survival. They respond to the crisis by creating biochemicals that induce near-irrational desires to eat as much as possible when calories become accessible again.

For example, the neurotransmitter neuropeptide Y is linked to a desire for carbs, the gold standard of nutritional energy. It's rarely an issue of willpower when lapsed dieters binge on bread, cake, and cookies - it's neuropeptide Y shouting, "I'm dying; feed me!"

When it comes to a fight between our minds and our bodies, biology usually comes out on top.

3. Diet planners can't tell you what your body needs.

Let's go over everything again. Dieting, which is a form of deliberate semi-starvation, pushes our bodies to their biological limitations. Serial dieters gain weight as a result of famine, which leads to feasting.

So, what's the other option? Now is the time to discuss intuitive eating.

This idea is based on a simple yet powerful premise: your body already understands how to eat healthily. It's just a matter of remembering how to listen to it.

The main point is that your body knows what it need better than diet planners.

What do toddlers consume and how do they eat it? Leann Birch, an American developmental psychologist, released a series of studies on this topic in the early 1990s. Her response may be summarized in one word: instinctively.

Toddlers consume variable quantities of calories from meal to meal and day to day when they have free access to food. When they're hungry, they eat a lot; if they're only hungry, a tiny snack will suffice.

However, if you look at the data over a longer period of time — say, a few weeks – you'll notice that the toddlers' calorie intake is very consistent. They are able to meet changing energy needs in an intuitive and spontaneous manner. Simply put, toddlers' bodies tell them when and how much to eat.

Adult bodies may fine-tune their energy requirements as well. There is no biological difference between how adults and toddlers eat. The issue emerges when we start putting dietary restraints on our eating habits. We gradually learn to disregard hunger.

Adults, on the other hand, shut out all hunger except for the extremes that can't be ignored, such as the severe pains that accompany periods of semi-starvation. This is how carbohydrate binges begin.

So, how can we get back to eating intuitively? The first step is to respect your appetite by paying attention to what your body is trying to tell you.

Here's how to get started on putting that concept into action. Grab a pen and paper every time you eat something and assess your hunger on a scale of one to ten. Rep the process when you've finished your meal or snack. Ask yourself, "How hungry am I right now?"

You'll notice trends emerge over time. When you eat, how long do you go between meals? Is there a link between how much you eat and how frequently you eat? These are all indicators of what your body need and when it requires it.

If you can meet those demands, you'll be able to avoid the nervous famine states that lead to severe cravings and overeating.

4. Dieting is an emotionally draining experience.

Food elicits strong emotions, and the labels we give it elicit strong emotions as well.

"Slimming" foods are monotonous yet healthy. On the other hand, “fatty” meals are deliciously naughty. Indulgence comes with a price: "a moment on the lips is a lifetime on the hips," we're informed.

However, few of us are made out for a life free of gastronomic vice. Trying to stay on the straight and narrow road does not lead to virtue; instead, it traps us in a cycle of abstention and guilt-ridden bingeing.

Dieting is an unhealthy emotional roller-coaster, which is the main message here.

There's one thing that all diets have in common: they're all limiting. To put it another way, they tell you what you shouldn't consume. They claim that avoiding certain foods will lead to weight loss, improved health, and happiness.

Scapegoats come in a variety of diets. Some say carbs are to blame for your expanding waistline, while others blame fats or sugar. Diets, on the other hand, usually tell us to give up everything we enjoy.

But there's one thing that diets overlook. It's not only a problem of calories when you restrict things you enjoy; it's also an emotional roller-coaster.

Giving up cookies or pizza makes you feel good at first. You're avoiding "bad" meals, and your relationship with food is now guilt-free. This is the beginning of a diet, but it is only temporary.

Slowly but steadily, you grow resentful of your plight. Then one day you snap - you can't take another limiting meal, much alone another restrictive day!

You remind yourself of your accomplishments. Isn't it sufficient excuse for a tiny treat?

These thoughts make you feel bad, but not horrible enough to make you want to stop thinking about them. This is the point at which the cycle begins. You continue to flout dietary guidelines day after day, and remorse sets in. Suddenly, you find yourself at a new juncture.

This is referred to as the "what the hell" effect. What's the purpose of stopping now that you've already blown the diet?

Your sense of deprivation fades when you return to consuming "poor" items, and guilt takes its place. When the guilt becomes too much to bear, the cycle repeats itself. You make the decision to get back on track and limit your food intake. That makes you feel good – until the deprivation becomes too much to handle and the famine returns to feasting.

What is the best way to get off this emotional roller coaster? The remedy, as we'll see in next concept, is to completely abandon deprivation.

5. Allowing yourself to consume “forbidden” foods reduces their appeal.

Diets are battlegrounds.

There are allies and foes — "good" foods that help you win and "bad" foods that hurt you lose. Victories must be avenged: today's cheeseburger necessitates heroic sacrifices tomorrow.

Dieting is emotionally exhausting, even when you're winning the war. And failing seems like you've given up more ground than you've gained.

This takes us to intuitive eating's second principle: making peace with food. You should work with your cravings rather than against them.

Give yourself absolute permission to eat to end this ceasefire.

The main point is that allowing yourself to eat "forbidden" items reduces their appeal.

Many diets are founded on the notion that high-calorie, high-sugar, and high-fat meals are "addictive." It is stated that once you start eating them, you will find it difficult to stop. What's the end result? Binge eating and weight gain are two things that come to mind when thinking about binge eating.

As a result, a prohibition on "forbidden" foods appears to be the logical remedy. It's an interesting notion, but there's no scientific data to back it up.

Take, for example, a big research published in the journal Eating Disorders in 2011. It was shown that allowing persons with eating disorders to eat forbidden foods as part of their treatment reduced binge-eating substantially.

What is the mechanism behind this? Remember what we said about starvation? It causes extreme cravings, which leads to binge eating. Ironically, if no one is restricting your consumption of, say, chocolate cake, you are less likely to overindulge. You don't need to gorge yourself during brief windows of opportunity if it's always available.

So, how can you begin to reconcile your relationship with food? So, the first step is to make a list of all the foods that appeal to you. Then draw a circle around the foods you've been avoiding. Then go to a grocery and buy them or order them from a restaurant. Check in with yourself as you're eating them: Do they taste as fantastic as you imagined? And how do you feel once you've finished with them? Happy? Indifferent? Maybe you're feeling nauseous?

Give yourself permission to keep eating those foods if they taste and feel good. That doesn't mean you can eat as much as you want, whenever you want. It's important to remember that intuitive eating is about becoming more aware of your body's requirements.

Peaches and chocolate cake may be emotionally equal, but it doesn't mean they're comparable in every way. Even if you adore chocolate cake, there will be occasions when a peach will suffice to satisfy your need.

6. Ignoring the food police allows you to eat more healthily.

How does an apple compare to an apple pie slice?

Although both are high in sugar, raw apples are lower in calories due to their low fat content. Raw apples are also higher in nutritional fiber than cooked apples.

Such unbiased observations aid us in making educated choices about what and when we consume. Assume it's 3 p.m. and you're meeting friends for a three-hour supper at a restaurant. Fresh fruit or a slice of pie? It's a simple decision.

So far, everything has made sense. Why, therefore, do we have such a hard time making practical eating decisions on a daily basis? Simple: we've moralized food to the point where we can't think straight!

The main point here is that ignoring the food police leads to a healthier eating lifestyle.

When we talk about food, we frequently sound like religious cultists. "Decadent" or "tempting" meals are also possible. The “laws” of dieting are akin to commandments: thou shall not eat carbs. Worst of all, we make broad moral conclusions. We're "good" if we choose the salad choice. We're "bad" if we choose pizza.

Where do these concepts originate?

It's all down to the food cops, your internal dietary investigation unit that has remembered every food rule you've ever learned. Its officers are on the lookout for new offenses at all times.

But here's the thing: you're not obligated to follow their orders. The edicts of the food police are unreasonable. You'd be better off replacing them with more thoughtful ideas.

To do so, you must first recognize irrational thinking. Do you find yourself having strong feelings towards certain foods on a regular basis? If you answered yes, confront your feelings. Then follow up with more questions. What about your thoughts causes you to feel this way? What are your inner monologues? What is true and what is untrue about your food beliefs?

You can replace illogical beliefs with something more reasonable once you've identified them. Take, for example, a client who came to meet one of the authors, Evelyn Tribole.

This woman felt that if she ate pizza for dinner, she would be significantly fatter the next morning. This is an unreasonable assumption; our bodies just do not work that quickly. The woman, on the other hand, was growing in size. So, what happened?

There is a biologically sound and reasonable explanation. The woman retained more water after eating pizza, which is generally quite salty. To put it another way, she was bloated, not obese. The moral sting of the issue was removed by rephrasing it in this way. It was no longer considered impolite to eat pizza.

7. When you eat consciously, your body will let you know when it's full.

When you learn to respect your hunger, your eating habits become more in sync with your body's demands. However, that is only half the struggle. You must also learn to quit eating when your body signals that you are full.

Giving yourself unconditional permission to eat is the key to respecting fullness, or satiety.

What is the reason for this? If you're worried you won't get to eat that pizza, apple pie, or burger anytime soon, you're more likely to indicate you're full and leave food on your plate.

The main takeaway is to eat slowly and deliberately, and your body will tell you when it's full.

Assume you've given yourself carte blanche to eat everything you want. That's an excellent start. It signifies you've gotten rid of one of the most common causes of binge eating. You're no longer at risk of bingeing as a result of a lack of food.

Overeating, on the other hand, can be the result of inattention. Simply simply, you eat more than you need to when you don't listen to your body.

This is where mindful eating comes into play. Consider it a form of mindfulness. The goal is to postpone judgment and pay attention to what you're eating.

Pay as much attention to the small things as you can. Begin by taking a break in the middle of a meal or snack. At this point, you're not committing to not eating - you're simply checking in with your body.

Perform a taste test. What is the flavor of the food? Is it delectable? Are you having fun with it? Is it deserving of your taste senses' attention? Or are you simply consuming it because it is present?

After that, you'll perform a satiety test. Calculate how hungry and full you are. You'll probably see this in black-and-white, hungry-or-full terms at first. With experience, you'll be able to recognize the shades of gray that exist between hunger and satisfaction.

If you decide to eat more, make a new satiety check once you've finished. How stuffed are you right now? Did you reach a satisfactory degree of fulfillment, or did you go overboard? This will assist you in determining your last-bite threshold — the point at which you'll realize the food in your mouth is your final mouthful.

It will take some time to master this skill, but you will get there. Remember that intuitive eating is all about rediscovering something your body already knows – you just have to learn to listen to it.

The most important message in this summary is:

Dieting is promoted as the panacea for all of our ills. Lose weight, according to the dieting industry, and you'll not only be thinner, but also healthier and happier. Dieting, in actuality, is frequently a formula for misery. It wreaks havoc on our food connections. We establish new habits, feel guilty, and, ironically, gain more weight than we previously had. The good news is that there is a way to eat intuitively. This method entails being more in tune with your body and replacing the artificial limits imposed by restricted diets with the natural constraints imposed by your biology.

Advice that can be implemented:

Check in with yourself on a regular basis.

We all know how simple it is to revert to old habits. Ask yourself some questions to avoid reverting to deprivation under the guise of healthy eating: Do you enjoy the flavor of the new foods you've chosen, or are you being a health martyr? How do you feel after consuming these foods? Do you enjoy that sensation? Are you feeling more energized? Do you still believe in yourself enough to indulge in a less-than-healthy treat? If you answer these questions honestly, you'll find it simpler to stick to your new goals while still eating intuitively.

#books #bookstagram #book #booklover #reading #bookworm #bookstagrammer #read #bookish #booknerd #bookaddict #booksofinstagram #bibliophile #love #instabook #bookshelf #bookaholic #booksbooksbooks #readersofinstagram #libros #reader #bookphotography #booklove #b #art #author #instabooks #literature #libri #bhfyp

#writer #bookcommunity #bookblogger #quotes #bookreview #library #livros #writing #novel #poetry #writersofinstagram #igreads #libro #readingtime #bookstore #bookclub #romance #goodreads #instagood #fantasy #literatura #instagram #fiction #photography #authorsofinstagram #a #bookobsessed #kindle #life #leggere