1 00:00:01,120 --> 00:00:03,480 Speaker 1: Welcome to how I eat in a day where it's 2 00:00:03,480 --> 00:00:06,560 Speaker 1: not about what I eat, but how I eat. Let's 3 00:00:06,600 --> 00:00:08,559 Speaker 1: do this first things first, going to check in with 4 00:00:08,600 --> 00:00:12,040 Speaker 1: the body. Are we hungry? How hungry are we? I 5 00:00:12,080 --> 00:00:15,520 Speaker 1: am hungry, yes, and I want a full meal. Let's 6 00:00:15,600 --> 00:00:20,360 Speaker 1: choose it. This is Victoria Garrick. She's a former college 7 00:00:20,440 --> 00:00:23,919 Speaker 1: volleyball player who's gotten kind of a falling on TikTok 8 00:00:24,120 --> 00:00:28,400 Speaker 1: talking about body image and health, and she's showing on 9 00:00:28,400 --> 00:00:33,920 Speaker 1: TikTok how she approaches something called intuitive eating. I'm staring 10 00:00:33,960 --> 00:00:36,080 Speaker 1: at the fridge because sometimes that helps me. When I 11 00:00:36,080 --> 00:00:39,280 Speaker 1: don't have an immediate craving, something might pop out at me. 12 00:00:39,640 --> 00:00:43,120 Speaker 1: And it did. Sahitas, Yes, do we have tortilla? Yes 13 00:00:43,240 --> 00:00:47,600 Speaker 1: we do. Victoria find some salsa too. In the video, 14 00:00:47,920 --> 00:00:51,720 Speaker 1: she microwaves the food, eating some chips and salsa off 15 00:00:51,800 --> 00:00:56,080 Speaker 1: the kitchen counter. As she waits, she's clearly enjoying it, 16 00:00:56,720 --> 00:01:01,320 Speaker 1: closing her eyes after a bite and nodding vigorously after 17 00:01:01,360 --> 00:01:05,840 Speaker 1: eating another chip. She even does a little dance. And 18 00:01:05,880 --> 00:01:09,080 Speaker 1: then her food is ready and she sits down to eat. 19 00:01:09,319 --> 00:01:13,720 Speaker 1: This is divine. That first bite is hitting. She eats 20 00:01:13,720 --> 00:01:18,240 Speaker 1: another chip, then goes back to her fahita. Then she 21 00:01:18,360 --> 00:01:21,919 Speaker 1: takes a brief break, saying that she feels like she's 22 00:01:21,959 --> 00:01:24,679 Speaker 1: been moving too quickly. Where's going to slow it down? 23 00:01:24,959 --> 00:01:28,360 Speaker 1: Get back too mindful. It's like moment by moment she's 24 00:01:28,400 --> 00:01:32,280 Speaker 1: paying attention to her body, how the food tastes, but 25 00:01:32,440 --> 00:01:35,800 Speaker 1: also whether she's still hungry. I'm getting to a point 26 00:01:35,880 --> 00:01:38,720 Speaker 1: now where I'm like kind of full, but I'm not 27 00:01:38,920 --> 00:01:42,720 Speaker 1: totally done eating, so just trying to determine when I'll 28 00:01:42,760 --> 00:01:46,520 Speaker 1: be done, and sure enough, once she's full, she says, 29 00:01:47,120 --> 00:01:51,680 Speaker 1: she stops. All of this is part of intuitive eating, 30 00:01:52,320 --> 00:01:57,440 Speaker 1: which is about healing people's relationships with food. Intuitive eaters 31 00:01:57,480 --> 00:02:00,440 Speaker 1: say that the way we eat has been screwed up 32 00:02:00,480 --> 00:02:03,920 Speaker 1: by diets and all the various rules about food. The 33 00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:08,880 Speaker 1: diets teach people that were so focused on calorie counts 34 00:02:09,240 --> 00:02:12,680 Speaker 1: that we can't actually tell what our bodies need anymore. 35 00:02:14,400 --> 00:02:18,280 Speaker 1: TikTok is full of these kinds of videos, people like 36 00:02:18,440 --> 00:02:21,920 Speaker 1: Victoria talking about what they eat in a day and 37 00:02:21,960 --> 00:02:25,400 Speaker 1: how they go about eating. Some of the videos are 38 00:02:25,480 --> 00:02:29,760 Speaker 1: just about eating in ways that aren't about dieting, about 39 00:02:29,800 --> 00:02:33,800 Speaker 1: having dessert and carbs, the kinds of things. Lots of 40 00:02:33,840 --> 00:02:38,440 Speaker 1: diets say are off limits, but also eating healthy stuff 41 00:02:38,600 --> 00:02:42,840 Speaker 1: like oatmeal or an apple. Think about the last time 42 00:02:43,160 --> 00:02:48,560 Speaker 1: you eat something. What made you eat those things? Was 43 00:02:48,600 --> 00:02:53,120 Speaker 1: it lunchtime or were you just getting hungry? And what 44 00:02:53,280 --> 00:02:57,680 Speaker 1: made you choose that particular food. Did you crave that 45 00:02:57,720 --> 00:03:02,320 Speaker 1: thing specifically or maybe you chose it because you felt 46 00:03:02,360 --> 00:03:06,760 Speaker 1: like you should like it was the healthy choice. And 47 00:03:06,800 --> 00:03:10,600 Speaker 1: then when did you stop eating? Did you finish your 48 00:03:10,600 --> 00:03:14,200 Speaker 1: full plate or just some of it and you were done? 49 00:03:14,400 --> 00:03:19,000 Speaker 1: Were you full? Did you feel satisfied? These are the 50 00:03:19,080 --> 00:03:22,960 Speaker 1: kinds of questions at the core of intuitive eating. The 51 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:27,639 Speaker 1: movement was started by two dietitians in THEES. This is 52 00:03:27,680 --> 00:03:30,800 Speaker 1: a lease rush one of those dietitians. You want to 53 00:03:30,840 --> 00:03:33,240 Speaker 1: be aware of your instincts. You want to be aware 54 00:03:33,240 --> 00:03:37,080 Speaker 1: of what emotions might pull you away from your natural instincts, 55 00:03:37,120 --> 00:03:39,880 Speaker 1: and you want to be able to use your caring, 56 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:43,640 Speaker 1: self compassionate, loving, cognitive part of your brain to help 57 00:03:43,680 --> 00:03:46,080 Speaker 1: you find a way to eat the nourishes you and 58 00:03:46,240 --> 00:03:50,160 Speaker 1: gives you spatisfaction. That all sounds great, don't get me wrong, 59 00:03:50,960 --> 00:03:55,320 Speaker 1: but what does that actually mean? Intuitive eating? Yes, gives 60 00:03:55,320 --> 00:03:59,680 Speaker 1: you the freedom to choose whatever it's going to satisfy you. 61 00:03:59,800 --> 00:04:03,160 Speaker 1: Also takes into consideration how does your body feel based 62 00:04:03,200 --> 00:04:06,320 Speaker 1: on your on your choice of eating. Like a last 63 00:04:06,400 --> 00:04:12,600 Speaker 1: just said, intuitive eating is eating what satisfies you, eating 64 00:04:12,640 --> 00:04:16,880 Speaker 1: in ways that make you feel good. Some people would 65 00:04:16,880 --> 00:04:23,040 Speaker 1: call it regular old eating. Eating when you're hungry and 66 00:04:23,120 --> 00:04:29,720 Speaker 1: stopping when you're satisfied. Sounds easy enough, right, But intuitive 67 00:04:29,720 --> 00:04:35,279 Speaker 1: eating exists because we can't just eat, or at least 68 00:04:35,680 --> 00:04:40,800 Speaker 1: many people can't. There's no way around it. We've just 69 00:04:40,839 --> 00:04:47,720 Speaker 1: gotten so screwed up about eating. Intuitive eating advocates say 70 00:04:47,760 --> 00:04:52,640 Speaker 1: that's why people need to relearn how to eat. They 71 00:04:52,640 --> 00:04:57,120 Speaker 1: say that our bodies don't need rules because we naturally 72 00:04:57,160 --> 00:05:01,640 Speaker 1: know when and what we should be eating. M or 73 00:05:02,040 --> 00:05:07,039 Speaker 1: our bodies knew at least we knew when we were babies. 74 00:05:07,720 --> 00:05:11,120 Speaker 1: We cried when we were hungry and stopped after we 75 00:05:11,120 --> 00:05:15,279 Speaker 1: were fed. That's the intuition that we have to relearn. 76 00:05:17,360 --> 00:05:23,160 Speaker 1: So what changed? Why don't we know anymore? Well, you 77 00:05:23,200 --> 00:05:29,760 Speaker 1: can blame diets, and intuitive eating does blame diets. Deprivation 78 00:05:29,960 --> 00:05:34,240 Speaker 1: always leads to seeking what you can't have, and diets 79 00:05:34,279 --> 00:05:37,960 Speaker 1: are depriving. You know, culture dominated by diets. This is 80 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:43,880 Speaker 1: a pretty radical idea. Is intunivating. The solution, Yes, is intunivating, 81 00:05:43,880 --> 00:05:48,279 Speaker 1: the remedy, the healing that comes from deprivation, and a 82 00:05:48,320 --> 00:05:52,120 Speaker 1: sense of lack of trust in oneself. Yes, we are 83 00:05:52,279 --> 00:05:56,480 Speaker 1: constantly being told that eating fewer calories is not just 84 00:05:56,680 --> 00:06:01,520 Speaker 1: good but even virtuous, That dieting will make you thinner, 85 00:06:01,960 --> 00:06:06,280 Speaker 1: and losing weight means being healthier. But those things are 86 00:06:06,320 --> 00:06:11,400 Speaker 1: actually totally wrong. That's what this whole series has been about. 87 00:06:12,160 --> 00:06:17,240 Speaker 1: Our ideas about weight are messed up. Diets don't actually 88 00:06:17,279 --> 00:06:21,240 Speaker 1: make most people thinner in the long term, and they 89 00:06:21,320 --> 00:06:25,800 Speaker 1: probably aren't the best way to get healthier either. The 90 00:06:25,839 --> 00:06:32,320 Speaker 1: battle to lose weight it's actually a losing battle. And yet, 91 00:06:32,400 --> 00:06:36,640 Speaker 1: in spite of all that, dieting still has a hold 92 00:06:36,760 --> 00:06:40,920 Speaker 1: on us. We're just not always calling them diets anymore. 93 00:06:41,920 --> 00:06:46,320 Speaker 1: We keep believing that being thinner is better, even though 94 00:06:46,480 --> 00:06:51,599 Speaker 1: that's questionable. Intuitive eating sells itself as the solution to 95 00:06:51,720 --> 00:06:55,080 Speaker 1: all this, as a fix for so many years of 96 00:06:55,200 --> 00:06:59,799 Speaker 1: messed up ideas about food, weight, and health. It says 97 00:06:59,839 --> 00:07:03,240 Speaker 1: the people have put their faith in diets and food 98 00:07:03,279 --> 00:07:07,600 Speaker 1: restrictions for far too long, and that people should put 99 00:07:07,640 --> 00:07:14,080 Speaker 1: their faith in intuitive eating instead. Naturally, I was intrigued 100 00:07:14,200 --> 00:07:19,080 Speaker 1: by this. Intuitive eating seemed to offer a way forward 101 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:25,600 Speaker 1: past dieting and into something new, But I was skeptical too. 102 00:07:26,680 --> 00:07:30,960 Speaker 1: If there were no rules about eating, would people still 103 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:35,160 Speaker 1: eat in healthy ways? And what happens to their health, 104 00:07:36,040 --> 00:07:41,280 Speaker 1: not to mention their weight. In our final episode, You're 105 00:07:41,320 --> 00:07:46,280 Speaker 1: gonna come with me on a journey to Intuitive Eating University. 106 00:07:46,760 --> 00:07:50,360 Speaker 1: That's not actually a real place, but there are classes 107 00:07:50,440 --> 00:07:54,600 Speaker 1: that teach people what intuitive eating is and how to 108 00:07:54,680 --> 00:07:59,000 Speaker 1: put these ideas into practice, something that's a lot harder 109 00:07:59,120 --> 00:08:03,560 Speaker 1: than it sounds. By the end of this episode, you 110 00:08:03,640 --> 00:08:07,240 Speaker 1: may well be convinced that it's time to ditch dieting. 111 00:08:08,320 --> 00:08:11,679 Speaker 1: But then we also have to ask does it work. 112 00:08:13,240 --> 00:08:17,400 Speaker 1: I'm Bloomberg News health reporter. I'm a court and from 113 00:08:17,440 --> 00:08:33,360 Speaker 1: the Prognosis podcast. This is Losing It. Welcome to your 114 00:08:33,440 --> 00:08:39,120 Speaker 1: first day at Intuitive Eating University. Take a seat. I 115 00:08:39,160 --> 00:08:42,160 Speaker 1: hope you brought a notebook and the syllabus. Of course, 116 00:08:43,440 --> 00:08:47,440 Speaker 1: let's go meet our instructor. I found her on where 117 00:08:47,440 --> 00:08:52,280 Speaker 1: Else TikTok. My name is Sammy Prevett and I am 118 00:08:52,320 --> 00:08:58,120 Speaker 1: a registered dietitian, certified Intuitive Eating counselor, certified personal trainer 119 00:08:58,280 --> 00:09:01,840 Speaker 1: and the founder of Fine Food Freedom. She also offers 120 00:09:01,960 --> 00:09:07,360 Speaker 1: online classes like the one we're taking. Intuitive eating has 121 00:09:07,400 --> 00:09:12,400 Speaker 1: been around for nearly thirty years, but it's become incredibly 122 00:09:12,520 --> 00:09:16,680 Speaker 1: big in the era of social media. It's also taken 123 00:09:16,720 --> 00:09:19,679 Speaker 1: off at a time when more people are fed up 124 00:09:19,720 --> 00:09:26,040 Speaker 1: with diets. Intuitive eating very explicitly defines itself as anti diet. 125 00:09:27,240 --> 00:09:31,640 Speaker 1: According to TikTok, videos with the hashtag intuitive eating have 126 00:09:31,800 --> 00:09:36,320 Speaker 1: gotten more than a billion views. Some of those are 127 00:09:36,559 --> 00:09:42,440 Speaker 1: Sammy's videos. Sammy is thirty one, peppy, and has blonde hair. 128 00:09:43,280 --> 00:09:47,920 Speaker 1: She makes these really accessible videos about intuitive eating. Intuitive 129 00:09:47,920 --> 00:09:50,240 Speaker 1: Eating Breakfast Edition. Here you will see I have one 130 00:09:50,240 --> 00:09:51,840 Speaker 1: of my two because I already ate the other one. 131 00:09:51,920 --> 00:09:56,000 Speaker 1: Frozen waffles covered with peanut, butter, cheese, seeds, livered almonds, raspberries, 132 00:09:56,040 --> 00:09:59,280 Speaker 1: as well as topped with honey. Sammy will give viewers 133 00:09:59,480 --> 00:10:04,480 Speaker 1: tips and little exercises to do, like challenging them to 134 00:10:04,600 --> 00:10:09,319 Speaker 1: eat a food they forbid themselves to have. She encourages 135 00:10:09,360 --> 00:10:12,880 Speaker 1: people to feel free to eat in ways that diet 136 00:10:12,880 --> 00:10:16,480 Speaker 1: culture forbids, and here to remind you, I think you 137 00:10:16,520 --> 00:10:19,800 Speaker 1: are allowed to eat ice cream whenever you want. I know, 138 00:10:20,120 --> 00:10:23,640 Speaker 1: sounds crazy, right, Well, if you're like, no, no, no, no, 139 00:10:23,720 --> 00:10:27,440 Speaker 1: I'm not Why write what diets have you been on 140 00:10:27,480 --> 00:10:29,040 Speaker 1: that I've told you can only have ice cream at 141 00:10:29,040 --> 00:10:33,440 Speaker 1: a certain time. Sammy has this very plain spoken way 142 00:10:33,520 --> 00:10:38,160 Speaker 1: of talking that's appealing. You feel like she's talking too 143 00:10:38,360 --> 00:10:44,120 Speaker 1: straight and probably because of that and other reasons will 144 00:10:44,160 --> 00:10:49,840 Speaker 1: get into later. Sammy's TikTok's are pretty popular. She has 145 00:10:50,080 --> 00:10:55,520 Speaker 1: more than six hundred and fifty thousand followers. Sammy is 146 00:10:55,720 --> 00:11:00,440 Speaker 1: one of the dietitians and certified Intuitive Eating counselor. Out 147 00:11:00,440 --> 00:11:05,240 Speaker 1: of practice, she started called Find Food Freedom. They call 148 00:11:05,320 --> 00:11:11,040 Speaker 1: themselves non diet Dietitians and they offer coaching along with 149 00:11:11,080 --> 00:11:15,600 Speaker 1: the online classes I took to be a certified Intuitive 150 00:11:15,640 --> 00:11:20,560 Speaker 1: Eating counselor, Sammy and others went through special training and 151 00:11:20,720 --> 00:11:24,560 Speaker 1: even coaching by the founders of Intuitive Eating. Do you 152 00:11:24,600 --> 00:11:29,000 Speaker 1: want to understand what intuitive eating really is? This is 153 00:11:29,040 --> 00:11:32,400 Speaker 1: Sammy teaching and Intuitive Eating training that I went to 154 00:11:32,640 --> 00:11:37,240 Speaker 1: a little while ago. At first, I honestly wasn't sure 155 00:11:37,400 --> 00:11:41,160 Speaker 1: what to expect. I figured though, that a lot of 156 00:11:41,200 --> 00:11:46,120 Speaker 1: my attitudes about food were about to get challenged big time. 157 00:11:46,480 --> 00:11:49,360 Speaker 1: Do you have a desire to find food freedom but 158 00:11:49,400 --> 00:11:52,679 Speaker 1: are also feeling afraid to give up the pursuit of 159 00:11:52,720 --> 00:11:56,319 Speaker 1: weight loss and don't really know how those interact together. 160 00:11:56,960 --> 00:12:00,400 Speaker 1: Do you genuinely want to improve your health? Do you 161 00:12:00,480 --> 00:12:03,719 Speaker 1: want to understand how it impacts health? Have you been 162 00:12:03,800 --> 00:12:07,480 Speaker 1: dieting for what seems your entire life? Do you have 163 00:12:07,679 --> 00:12:11,360 Speaker 1: shame and guilt associated to body size? Do you feel 164 00:12:11,480 --> 00:12:17,160 Speaker 1: uncomfortable or discomfort in your body? All? Right, now that 165 00:12:17,200 --> 00:12:22,640 Speaker 1: we've met our instructor, it's syllabus time. Intuitive eating has 166 00:12:22,840 --> 00:12:27,880 Speaker 1: ten core principles. We'll go over some of them today, 167 00:12:27,920 --> 00:12:32,360 Speaker 1: like the first rule of intuitive eating, which is you 168 00:12:32,440 --> 00:12:36,960 Speaker 1: do not talk about intuitive eating. Oh wait, that's fight club, 169 00:12:37,600 --> 00:12:42,320 Speaker 1: My bad. But actually the first principle of intuitive eating 170 00:12:42,600 --> 00:12:48,760 Speaker 1: is to reject diets, specifically to reject the diet mentality. 171 00:12:48,920 --> 00:12:53,560 Speaker 1: That means tossing the South Beach Diet book, getting angry 172 00:12:53,640 --> 00:12:57,360 Speaker 1: about how when a diet didn't work you felt like 173 00:12:57,400 --> 00:13:02,280 Speaker 1: it was your fault, un following social media accounts that 174 00:13:02,360 --> 00:13:07,040 Speaker 1: make you feel bad, telling up how much time you've 175 00:13:07,080 --> 00:13:12,000 Speaker 1: spent logging food in the new map, think about how 176 00:13:12,040 --> 00:13:16,559 Speaker 1: many hours of your day are spent on the obsession 177 00:13:16,720 --> 00:13:19,960 Speaker 1: about food or body image. And I want you to 178 00:13:20,000 --> 00:13:24,520 Speaker 1: think about what would you do with those hours, those 179 00:13:24,600 --> 00:13:28,960 Speaker 1: minutes every single day, if you could get them back right, 180 00:13:29,240 --> 00:13:35,439 Speaker 1: take it seriously, think about it, I for one, would 181 00:13:35,440 --> 00:13:40,360 Speaker 1: be a lot better at some of my hobbies like pottery. 182 00:13:41,320 --> 00:13:46,440 Speaker 1: During the training, it became clear just how much dieting 183 00:13:46,720 --> 00:13:52,360 Speaker 1: takes over people's lives and how sad they were about it. 184 00:13:53,559 --> 00:13:58,559 Speaker 1: They got really emotional. Sammy asked people how long they 185 00:13:58,559 --> 00:14:02,440 Speaker 1: had been dieting for trapped in a cycle of weight 186 00:14:02,480 --> 00:14:05,640 Speaker 1: loss and weight regain. So let's look at some of 187 00:14:05,720 --> 00:14:10,040 Speaker 1: these answers coming through years since I was twelve, ten years, 188 00:14:10,080 --> 00:14:12,920 Speaker 1: my whole life over forty years, since high school thirty 189 00:14:12,960 --> 00:14:17,360 Speaker 1: plus years. Then Sammy asked people what they thought would 190 00:14:17,360 --> 00:14:22,040 Speaker 1: happen if they chose a different path, and they gave 191 00:14:22,120 --> 00:14:27,840 Speaker 1: such hopeful answers. Here's Sammy reading those out from a 192 00:14:27,920 --> 00:14:30,760 Speaker 1: chat in the online training. I would be the best 193 00:14:30,880 --> 00:14:33,560 Speaker 1: version of myself. It would take away the guilt. I 194 00:14:33,600 --> 00:14:38,320 Speaker 1: would not be thinking about food always right. I would 195 00:14:38,320 --> 00:14:41,600 Speaker 1: think I would feel free. Did you hear that last one? 196 00:14:42,720 --> 00:14:47,880 Speaker 1: I think I would feel free to me? This reflects 197 00:14:47,920 --> 00:14:52,960 Speaker 1: how constrained diets make a lot of people feel like 198 00:14:53,040 --> 00:14:56,440 Speaker 1: they're running on some kind of treadmill. They can never 199 00:14:56,520 --> 00:15:02,000 Speaker 1: get off. Rejecting diets means letting go of them in 200 00:15:02,040 --> 00:15:07,560 Speaker 1: an abstract sort of way, rejecting new and paleo and 201 00:15:07,880 --> 00:15:12,760 Speaker 1: whole thirty. But it also means rejecting diets in terms 202 00:15:12,800 --> 00:15:16,680 Speaker 1: of what you wanted them to do for you. No 203 00:15:16,760 --> 00:15:20,840 Speaker 1: longer holding out hope that there's some new program that 204 00:15:20,880 --> 00:15:24,720 Speaker 1: will work for you, no longer believing that you can 205 00:15:24,840 --> 00:15:28,920 Speaker 1: change your diet, change your body, and change your life. 206 00:15:30,400 --> 00:15:36,080 Speaker 1: In fact, along with rejecting diets, Intuitive eating asks people 207 00:15:36,240 --> 00:15:41,200 Speaker 1: to also cut weight out of the equation. Stop worrying 208 00:15:41,280 --> 00:15:46,480 Speaker 1: about your weight when you eat, even stop weighing yourself entirely. 209 00:15:47,160 --> 00:15:50,360 Speaker 1: The scale is just a false idle. That was a 210 00:15:50,440 --> 00:15:54,640 Speaker 1: lease again, the co founder of Intuitive eating with self care, 211 00:15:54,760 --> 00:16:00,320 Speaker 1: self compassion, tuning into hunger, fullness, and enjoyment satisfaction. Our 212 00:16:00,360 --> 00:16:02,080 Speaker 1: bodies are going to be what they're going to be, 213 00:16:02,400 --> 00:16:05,680 Speaker 1: and it's about learning how to be liberated from a 214 00:16:05,760 --> 00:16:07,840 Speaker 1: belief that you have to change your body in order 215 00:16:07,880 --> 00:16:12,800 Speaker 1: to be acceptable. Discomfort with diets is actually where intuitive 216 00:16:12,840 --> 00:16:17,760 Speaker 1: eating first began back in the es. Remember how I 217 00:16:17,800 --> 00:16:22,040 Speaker 1: said earlier that Elise Rush is a dietitian. You can 218 00:16:22,080 --> 00:16:27,160 Speaker 1: think of dietitians as food and nutrition experts. Many of 219 00:16:27,160 --> 00:16:32,200 Speaker 1: them work in medical settings, including to help people lose weight. 220 00:16:33,560 --> 00:16:37,080 Speaker 1: When Alice was first starting out, what you wanted was 221 00:16:37,160 --> 00:16:42,120 Speaker 1: to work with kids living with developmental disabilities, but that 222 00:16:42,240 --> 00:16:46,920 Speaker 1: didn't end up happening. Instead, doctors were sending patients to 223 00:16:46,960 --> 00:16:51,080 Speaker 1: her for weight loss to help improve health metrics like 224 00:16:51,360 --> 00:16:54,760 Speaker 1: blood pressure and blood sugar, and I wasn't interested in that. 225 00:16:55,160 --> 00:16:59,360 Speaker 1: Alice had previously struggled with an eating disorder, so she 226 00:16:59,440 --> 00:17:03,120 Speaker 1: doesn't of doing this kind of work. Then she comes 227 00:17:03,120 --> 00:17:06,640 Speaker 1: across some books that sparked a totally different way of 228 00:17:06,640 --> 00:17:10,280 Speaker 1: thinking about eating and weight. One of them was a 229 00:17:10,280 --> 00:17:14,359 Speaker 1: bestseller called Fat is a Feminist Issue. It was written 230 00:17:14,400 --> 00:17:18,199 Speaker 1: by the psychotherapist Susie Orbach and is still known today 231 00:17:18,280 --> 00:17:22,600 Speaker 1: as a classic anti diet book. The other book, called 232 00:17:22,800 --> 00:17:27,840 Speaker 1: Overcoming over Eating, was also geared at helping people stop dieting. 233 00:17:29,640 --> 00:17:33,359 Speaker 1: Lease is intrigued by this idea of letting go of 234 00:17:33,440 --> 00:17:38,879 Speaker 1: dieting and helping people trust themselves instead of depriving themselves, 235 00:17:39,880 --> 00:17:44,840 Speaker 1: so she gets together with another similarly minded dietitian named 236 00:17:44,840 --> 00:17:49,760 Speaker 1: Evelyn Tripoli, and they write a book. It's called Intuitive Eating, 237 00:17:50,600 --> 00:17:55,360 Speaker 1: first published it's sold more than five hundred thousand copies 238 00:17:55,400 --> 00:18:02,399 Speaker 1: to date. Back to our lesson plan, we were just 239 00:18:02,560 --> 00:18:07,040 Speaker 1: talking about how the first principle of intuitive eating is 240 00:18:07,080 --> 00:18:13,000 Speaker 1: to reject the diet mentality check. The next principle is 241 00:18:13,040 --> 00:18:18,199 Speaker 1: to honor your hunger a k a. Eating when you're hungry. 242 00:18:18,680 --> 00:18:22,359 Speaker 1: Like I mentioned earlier, that doesn't sound like it should 243 00:18:22,400 --> 00:18:28,360 Speaker 1: be so hard, but remember we've absorbed all these rules 244 00:18:28,440 --> 00:18:34,120 Speaker 1: about food from diets. Intuitive eating teaches that because of this, 245 00:18:34,880 --> 00:18:40,320 Speaker 1: we have to rediscover things like hunger and fullness. First 246 00:18:40,320 --> 00:18:44,840 Speaker 1: things first, how do you know that you're hungry? Your 247 00:18:44,880 --> 00:18:49,840 Speaker 1: stomach growls, right, Maybe you feel a little sick, dizzy 248 00:18:50,240 --> 00:18:54,119 Speaker 1: or tired. And for that matter, how do you know 249 00:18:54,280 --> 00:18:59,440 Speaker 1: you're full? You can actually feel it in your stomach. Right, 250 00:19:00,520 --> 00:19:05,400 Speaker 1: Maybe you're not as interested in your meal anymore. Again, 251 00:19:05,680 --> 00:19:08,840 Speaker 1: we're in class, so your homework assignment today is to 252 00:19:08,920 --> 00:19:12,040 Speaker 1: track how hungry and full you are over the course 253 00:19:12,080 --> 00:19:15,920 Speaker 1: of a day. This is actually an exercise Sammy private 254 00:19:15,960 --> 00:19:21,800 Speaker 1: assigned in our classes together. As you're eating, think about 255 00:19:21,920 --> 00:19:27,120 Speaker 1: enjoying your food. Are you able to savor it and 256 00:19:27,200 --> 00:19:33,520 Speaker 1: take pleasure in eating? Then, when you're finished, how does 257 00:19:33,560 --> 00:19:38,760 Speaker 1: that fullness feel do you feel a little too full, 258 00:19:39,880 --> 00:19:44,440 Speaker 1: does it feel pleasant? Or maybe you're not full at 259 00:19:44,480 --> 00:19:49,560 Speaker 1: all and you need to eat more. But it's not 260 00:19:49,800 --> 00:19:53,840 Speaker 1: enough to just tune into your bodily cues about eating, 261 00:19:54,800 --> 00:19:59,240 Speaker 1: Sammy take it away. To be able to listen to 262 00:19:59,280 --> 00:20:01,800 Speaker 1: the body, to be able to be intentional and aware 263 00:20:02,000 --> 00:20:06,119 Speaker 1: of hunger and fullness, we have to drop the guilt 264 00:20:06,160 --> 00:20:09,280 Speaker 1: and shame associated with food because so often what will 265 00:20:09,359 --> 00:20:14,159 Speaker 1: happen is people will want to listen to their hunger 266 00:20:14,240 --> 00:20:18,720 Speaker 1: and fullness and satisfaction, but they can't even tap into 267 00:20:18,760 --> 00:20:21,680 Speaker 1: that because there's so much noise going on in their 268 00:20:21,720 --> 00:20:24,800 Speaker 1: heads saying you shouldn't be eating that, why are you eating? That, 269 00:20:24,920 --> 00:20:29,199 Speaker 1: you're such a bad person. I bet a lot of 270 00:20:29,240 --> 00:20:32,360 Speaker 1: people listening right now have had these kinds of feelings 271 00:20:32,400 --> 00:20:36,560 Speaker 1: about food. I know I have, But it's kind of 272 00:20:36,600 --> 00:20:39,840 Speaker 1: crazy to think about because when you step back for 273 00:20:39,880 --> 00:20:42,480 Speaker 1: a second, I'm sure you can see that you're not 274 00:20:42,640 --> 00:20:46,280 Speaker 1: a bad person for eating a brownie, and you're not 275 00:20:46,359 --> 00:20:49,679 Speaker 1: a good person because you had grilled vegetables at dinner. 276 00:20:50,720 --> 00:20:53,280 Speaker 1: And yet we get these kinds of messages all the 277 00:20:53,400 --> 00:20:58,200 Speaker 1: time about food, which brings us to the third principle 278 00:20:58,359 --> 00:21:01,760 Speaker 1: of intuitive eating, we have to make peace with food. 279 00:21:02,240 --> 00:21:07,800 Speaker 1: Intuitive eating argues that the reason we overeat a k 280 00:21:08,080 --> 00:21:14,680 Speaker 1: a binge is because of restrictions on food. Dieting has 281 00:21:14,840 --> 00:21:17,960 Speaker 1: some form of restriction. We do that restriction as long 282 00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:21,680 Speaker 1: as humanly possible, right until maybe we don't have access 283 00:21:21,720 --> 00:21:24,480 Speaker 1: to food, or stressful life event comes up, or simply 284 00:21:24,520 --> 00:21:27,520 Speaker 1: we just can't do it anymore. And then we usually 285 00:21:27,760 --> 00:21:31,000 Speaker 1: binge or feel out of control around the foods that 286 00:21:31,040 --> 00:21:34,280 Speaker 1: were restricted. We say, see, this is why I have 287 00:21:34,400 --> 00:21:37,840 Speaker 1: to be on a diet. I can't be trusted around X, 288 00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:42,400 Speaker 1: Y or Z food. Right. This also aligns with how 289 00:21:42,560 --> 00:21:47,879 Speaker 1: researchers think about scarcity, which is that it leads people 290 00:21:48,040 --> 00:21:54,320 Speaker 1: to focus disproportionately on whatever is in short supply. If 291 00:21:54,359 --> 00:21:57,840 Speaker 1: I'm trying to avoid sweets and there's a dispenser of 292 00:21:57,960 --> 00:22:01,440 Speaker 1: chocolate covered almonds at work, I'm going to think about 293 00:22:01,480 --> 00:22:06,320 Speaker 1: them a lot. An Intuitive eating argues that I will 294 00:22:06,359 --> 00:22:10,680 Speaker 1: at some point eat those chocolate covered almonds, and probably 295 00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:14,560 Speaker 1: over eat them. Actually, you hit a breaking point where 296 00:22:14,600 --> 00:22:17,880 Speaker 1: you say about that I would like some cars. By 297 00:22:18,040 --> 00:22:24,000 Speaker 1: intuitive eatings, logic diets are actually creating the very issues 298 00:22:24,119 --> 00:22:29,920 Speaker 1: they're trying to stop Okay, so learning how to intuitively 299 00:22:30,040 --> 00:22:36,000 Speaker 1: eat means getting rid of food rules. Now, what does 300 00:22:36,080 --> 00:22:41,040 Speaker 1: intuitive eating mean? Basically just having whatever you want to eat? 301 00:22:42,600 --> 00:22:47,600 Speaker 1: Sammy says that this is sort of a misconception because 302 00:22:47,960 --> 00:22:53,680 Speaker 1: what you want might actually change once you let yourself 303 00:22:53,840 --> 00:22:59,480 Speaker 1: have it. That's the idea. Anyway. Now, when we are 304 00:22:59,520 --> 00:23:02,199 Speaker 1: going to big getting stages of our intuitive eating journey 305 00:23:02,200 --> 00:23:05,080 Speaker 1: and trying to make peace with food, we do allow 306 00:23:05,200 --> 00:23:09,080 Speaker 1: all foods and it will feel We call it a 307 00:23:09,080 --> 00:23:13,439 Speaker 1: couple different things. You might hear celebratory binge phase, honeymoon phase, 308 00:23:13,800 --> 00:23:16,800 Speaker 1: where we're eating a lot of those fun foods or 309 00:23:16,840 --> 00:23:20,680 Speaker 1: those playfoods, or those foods that were restricted for fifteen 310 00:23:20,720 --> 00:23:25,000 Speaker 1: plus years. Sammy teaches that over time, you get used 311 00:23:25,040 --> 00:23:29,320 Speaker 1: to it. Once you've given yourself permission, those foods may 312 00:23:29,320 --> 00:23:33,440 Speaker 1: not seem as exciting anymore. When there are no good 313 00:23:33,520 --> 00:23:37,960 Speaker 1: or bad foods, food is just food. You can have 314 00:23:38,119 --> 00:23:42,760 Speaker 1: it when you want it. Any good college class wouldn't 315 00:23:42,800 --> 00:23:47,639 Speaker 1: be complete without a case study. So here's an example. 316 00:23:47,880 --> 00:23:51,959 Speaker 1: A Lease Rush, one of the founders of intuitive eating, 317 00:23:52,680 --> 00:23:57,199 Speaker 1: gave me. She had this one client who loved to 318 00:23:57,240 --> 00:24:02,320 Speaker 1: eat grilled cheese sandwiches, but wouldn't let herself eat them. 319 00:24:02,359 --> 00:24:04,560 Speaker 1: So I said, well, how about having grilled cheese every 320 00:24:04,600 --> 00:24:06,800 Speaker 1: day for this coming week? Until I say it again, 321 00:24:07,200 --> 00:24:12,560 Speaker 1: that's right, grilled cheese every day for a week, prescribed 322 00:24:12,600 --> 00:24:16,400 Speaker 1: by none other than a dietitian. What do you think 323 00:24:16,400 --> 00:24:21,960 Speaker 1: of that? If your reaction to that was really you're 324 00:24:22,000 --> 00:24:26,040 Speaker 1: probably not alone. It's worth thinking about why that was 325 00:24:26,080 --> 00:24:32,960 Speaker 1: your reaction, Probably because it's really really hard to shape 326 00:24:32,960 --> 00:24:37,760 Speaker 1: diet culture and the messages it sends. I'd also gently 327 00:24:37,920 --> 00:24:41,000 Speaker 1: remind you that we're in coast today to learn to 328 00:24:41,080 --> 00:24:46,440 Speaker 1: make peace with food. Remember, but you almost can't do 329 00:24:46,520 --> 00:24:51,080 Speaker 1: that without principle four of intuitive eating, which is challenge 330 00:24:51,119 --> 00:24:54,800 Speaker 1: the food police. That refers to the way diets have 331 00:24:54,960 --> 00:24:59,159 Speaker 1: conditioned us to make all these moral judgments about food. 332 00:25:00,240 --> 00:25:03,800 Speaker 1: In this example, Elisa's client has been thinking of grilled 333 00:25:03,880 --> 00:25:09,119 Speaker 1: cheese as bad even though she enjoys it. Maybe she's 334 00:25:09,160 --> 00:25:14,600 Speaker 1: eating salads for lunch instead because salad is good. And 335 00:25:14,920 --> 00:25:19,679 Speaker 1: who was telling her that exactly? Other people or some 336 00:25:19,760 --> 00:25:24,880 Speaker 1: little voice inside herself. That voice is the food police, 337 00:25:25,200 --> 00:25:28,520 Speaker 1: as I learned from Sammy's class. And you challenge the 338 00:25:28,560 --> 00:25:33,560 Speaker 1: food police by letting food be neutral, cutting out all 339 00:25:33,600 --> 00:25:37,520 Speaker 1: the moral judgments about it. So let's go back to 340 00:25:37,520 --> 00:25:40,760 Speaker 1: Elsa's client, who has been told to live her best 341 00:25:40,880 --> 00:25:45,040 Speaker 1: grilled cheese life. What happened with that? She came in 342 00:25:45,080 --> 00:25:46,600 Speaker 1: the next week and I said, how did it go? 343 00:25:46,720 --> 00:25:49,320 Speaker 1: And she said, after about three days, I didn't want 344 00:25:49,320 --> 00:25:51,440 Speaker 1: to look at any grilled cheese, and all I wanted 345 00:25:51,480 --> 00:25:56,040 Speaker 1: was a salad. Imagine a world in which grilled cheese 346 00:25:56,280 --> 00:26:01,840 Speaker 1: isn't bad and a salad isn't good. They're just foods. 347 00:26:02,800 --> 00:26:06,399 Speaker 1: They both fuel you, even if one of them is 348 00:26:06,520 --> 00:26:11,080 Speaker 1: more nutritious, and you can choose the grilled cheese because 349 00:26:11,119 --> 00:26:14,480 Speaker 1: you're going to enjoy it more without feeling like the 350 00:26:14,600 --> 00:26:17,479 Speaker 1: size of your body means you need to make a 351 00:26:17,520 --> 00:26:22,439 Speaker 1: different choice. Intuitive eating says this world doesn't have to 352 00:26:22,480 --> 00:26:27,879 Speaker 1: live just in our imaginations, that it is entirely within reach. 353 00:26:29,480 --> 00:26:33,399 Speaker 1: You might be wondering by now whether people gain weight 354 00:26:33,560 --> 00:26:38,879 Speaker 1: when they intuitively eat, and the answer is yes, that 355 00:26:39,000 --> 00:26:44,800 Speaker 1: could happen. People could also lose weight, or their weight 356 00:26:44,920 --> 00:26:50,040 Speaker 1: could stay the same. Anything could happen. It seems to 357 00:26:50,080 --> 00:26:53,600 Speaker 1: me that the whole point is to take fear out 358 00:26:53,640 --> 00:26:57,800 Speaker 1: of the equation, to not think of your weight changing 359 00:26:58,040 --> 00:27:03,000 Speaker 1: as a consequence. Instead, the point is to develop a 360 00:27:03,040 --> 00:27:07,639 Speaker 1: new relationship with food, to see it as both fuel 361 00:27:07,840 --> 00:27:12,920 Speaker 1: for your body but also a source of enjoyment and pleasure, 362 00:27:14,320 --> 00:27:19,040 Speaker 1: and also to develop a new relationship with your body. 363 00:27:19,400 --> 00:27:23,119 Speaker 1: Recognize that you may never be in as small a 364 00:27:23,200 --> 00:27:27,360 Speaker 1: body as you would like to be, or as beauty 365 00:27:27,440 --> 00:27:31,560 Speaker 1: ideals say you should be. You might look the way 366 00:27:31,720 --> 00:27:37,000 Speaker 1: you look your whole life, and that would be okay, 367 00:27:37,240 --> 00:27:41,239 Speaker 1: because intuitive eating says that people can be healthy no 368 00:27:41,280 --> 00:27:45,879 Speaker 1: matter what they weigh. But I still couldn't help but 369 00:27:46,040 --> 00:27:51,360 Speaker 1: think about healthy eating. If we could eat whatever we wanted, 370 00:27:52,160 --> 00:27:57,359 Speaker 1: would we still make healthy choices? Elise and other intuitive 371 00:27:57,400 --> 00:28:01,560 Speaker 1: eating teachers say that we would. I think that's a 372 00:28:01,600 --> 00:28:06,280 Speaker 1: big misconception that having that food available will lead you 373 00:28:06,320 --> 00:28:08,679 Speaker 1: to only eating that food. If you're really listening to 374 00:28:08,680 --> 00:28:11,320 Speaker 1: your body, you're not going to feel very well. If 375 00:28:11,359 --> 00:28:14,720 Speaker 1: that's all you need, you might start craving a salad 376 00:28:15,080 --> 00:28:19,240 Speaker 1: after a few days of eating grilled cheese sandwiches like 377 00:28:19,359 --> 00:28:24,639 Speaker 1: Alice's client. Alice says that making peace with food is 378 00:28:24,840 --> 00:28:29,199 Speaker 1: emotionally healthier for us, and that when it comes to eating, 379 00:28:29,960 --> 00:28:34,800 Speaker 1: mental health is as important, if not more important, than 380 00:28:34,840 --> 00:28:41,120 Speaker 1: physical health. Intuitive eating also does teach people about nutrition, 381 00:28:41,840 --> 00:28:46,640 Speaker 1: which they call gentle nutrition. It is the last principle 382 00:28:46,960 --> 00:28:51,840 Speaker 1: of intuitive eating principle number ten, and was the final 383 00:28:51,960 --> 00:28:56,640 Speaker 1: lesson of the course I took. Alice says that eventually 384 00:28:57,280 --> 00:29:02,600 Speaker 1: you're not eating only so called bad foods or so 385 00:29:02,680 --> 00:29:07,160 Speaker 1: called good foods. You have a nice balance of many 386 00:29:07,240 --> 00:29:09,400 Speaker 1: different kinds of foods so that you can feel good 387 00:29:09,400 --> 00:29:12,480 Speaker 1: and get satisfied. And who doesn't want to feel good 388 00:29:12,520 --> 00:29:20,280 Speaker 1: and get satisfied. Even before I started reporting this series, 389 00:29:20,840 --> 00:29:24,640 Speaker 1: I have thought a lot about food and weight. They 390 00:29:24,680 --> 00:29:30,200 Speaker 1: are incredibly thorny subjects. We get so many messages about 391 00:29:30,240 --> 00:29:35,240 Speaker 1: them in society, especially as a woman. And also they 392 00:29:35,280 --> 00:29:41,440 Speaker 1: are completely unavoidable. You've got to eat, and no matter what, 393 00:29:41,840 --> 00:29:46,560 Speaker 1: you're going to weigh something, so you're faced with countless 394 00:29:46,600 --> 00:29:52,440 Speaker 1: fraud decisions each day about how to handle it. Intuitive 395 00:29:52,440 --> 00:29:57,160 Speaker 1: eating seems like it could offer a solution. Listen to 396 00:29:57,240 --> 00:30:01,400 Speaker 1: what your body needs. Let food be fuel and also 397 00:30:01,560 --> 00:30:06,240 Speaker 1: a source of pleasure. Stop judging yourself for what you eat. 398 00:30:07,200 --> 00:30:11,200 Speaker 1: You don't have to be thin to be healthy. In 399 00:30:11,240 --> 00:30:15,960 Speaker 1: some utopian world where what you eat doesn't matter and 400 00:30:16,000 --> 00:30:20,840 Speaker 1: there's no baggage or judgment about food and weight. This 401 00:30:21,000 --> 00:30:25,240 Speaker 1: is the way you might design things. It's very appealing. 402 00:30:25,560 --> 00:30:30,960 Speaker 1: In other words, there's a clear draw. But in the 403 00:30:31,000 --> 00:30:35,520 Speaker 1: real world you feel like you can't do that because 404 00:30:35,640 --> 00:30:38,800 Speaker 1: if you eat chocolate cake when you want to eat 405 00:30:38,880 --> 00:30:43,800 Speaker 1: chocolate cake, you worry about gaining weight and harming your health. 406 00:30:44,840 --> 00:30:50,000 Speaker 1: Intuitive eating gives you permission to eat and think about 407 00:30:50,040 --> 00:30:54,760 Speaker 1: your weight more on your own terms. Can you truly 408 00:30:55,080 --> 00:30:58,640 Speaker 1: make peace with food and your body if it means 409 00:30:58,720 --> 00:31:03,400 Speaker 1: that you change the world around you? Doesn't? And that's 410 00:31:03,440 --> 00:31:06,720 Speaker 1: not the only issue I ran into when I started 411 00:31:06,760 --> 00:31:12,520 Speaker 1: digging deep into intuitive eating, Like, for example, there's the 412 00:31:12,640 --> 00:31:16,760 Speaker 1: question of whether eating this way will actually make you healthier. 413 00:31:18,360 --> 00:31:23,840 Speaker 1: First the good Calling food the enemy may sound melodramatic, 414 00:31:24,520 --> 00:31:29,000 Speaker 1: but that is genuinely how it feels. Sometimes, Shifting to 415 00:31:29,080 --> 00:31:32,560 Speaker 1: think about food as fuel and also a source of 416 00:31:32,640 --> 00:31:37,600 Speaker 1: pleasure felt pretty empowering to me. I began to ask 417 00:31:37,680 --> 00:31:40,800 Speaker 1: questions about how hungry I was in a given moment, 418 00:31:41,360 --> 00:31:45,480 Speaker 1: and why some kinds of foods felt off limits, whether 419 00:31:45,520 --> 00:31:48,880 Speaker 1: I really needed to feel bad after eating chocolate as 420 00:31:48,920 --> 00:31:54,560 Speaker 1: an afternoon snack. Also, until this, I hadn't realized how 421 00:31:54,600 --> 00:31:58,440 Speaker 1: many diet foods I eat, even though I'm not on 422 00:31:58,480 --> 00:32:02,920 Speaker 1: a diet, they just have this hold on me on 423 00:32:03,040 --> 00:32:07,120 Speaker 1: lots of us. Really, when I see a hard boiled egg, 424 00:32:07,680 --> 00:32:13,200 Speaker 1: I almost immediately remove the yolk before eating it. Why 425 00:32:13,480 --> 00:32:18,840 Speaker 1: diet culture? I buy race cakes as a snack. Why 426 00:32:19,280 --> 00:32:24,320 Speaker 1: diet culture? Even the trend in recent years towards cauliflower 427 00:32:24,440 --> 00:32:30,560 Speaker 1: versions of everything from pizza crusts to pasta's diet culture? 428 00:32:32,000 --> 00:32:35,720 Speaker 1: Are we eating these things because we actually like them? 429 00:32:37,240 --> 00:32:42,440 Speaker 1: Intuitive eating, to its credit, asks these kinds of questions, 430 00:32:42,520 --> 00:32:46,040 Speaker 1: and it brings some important insights to the table. I'm 431 00:32:46,080 --> 00:32:49,240 Speaker 1: talking about how dieting takes these things we rely on 432 00:32:49,440 --> 00:32:54,240 Speaker 1: for life and twists them, turning them into bad things 433 00:32:55,440 --> 00:32:59,920 Speaker 1: like calories which fuel our bodies each day. And it's 434 00:33:00,000 --> 00:33:04,000 Speaker 1: holbalism which takes those calories and uses them to keep 435 00:33:04,120 --> 00:33:09,080 Speaker 1: us going. Yet we're afraid of having too many calories, 436 00:33:09,720 --> 00:33:13,680 Speaker 1: and we blame our metabolism for being too slow. Not 437 00:33:13,760 --> 00:33:18,760 Speaker 1: to mention, dieting makes us hate our actual bodies, which 438 00:33:18,880 --> 00:33:22,240 Speaker 1: do so many things for us besides look great in 439 00:33:22,320 --> 00:33:28,480 Speaker 1: a pair of pants, like breathe pump gallons of blood 440 00:33:28,560 --> 00:33:36,959 Speaker 1: each day, he'll broken bones, fight off viruses. Intuitive eating 441 00:33:37,280 --> 00:33:41,000 Speaker 1: points out how wrong it is to demonize the very 442 00:33:41,080 --> 00:33:45,800 Speaker 1: things keeping us alive. It also tries to take the 443 00:33:45,880 --> 00:33:50,880 Speaker 1: judgment out of food, treating food choices with gentleness and 444 00:33:51,120 --> 00:33:55,600 Speaker 1: understanding instead. No good or bad foods again, every offids 445 00:33:55,600 --> 00:33:59,360 Speaker 1: are emotionally equivalent. This appealed a lot to me too. 446 00:34:00,720 --> 00:34:04,440 Speaker 1: All this thinking inspired what I like to think of 447 00:34:04,560 --> 00:34:11,040 Speaker 1: as the great chocolate covered almond experiment of Yes, for 448 00:34:11,080 --> 00:34:15,360 Speaker 1: anyone who listened to episode one, we're talking nuts again. 449 00:34:16,560 --> 00:34:19,920 Speaker 1: What can I say? I've actually been eating a lot 450 00:34:19,960 --> 00:34:25,040 Speaker 1: more since that episode. I hadn't realized before how rarely 451 00:34:25,239 --> 00:34:29,120 Speaker 1: I eat them. We tend to think of nuts as 452 00:34:29,239 --> 00:34:33,680 Speaker 1: high calorie foods, but studies have found that they actually 453 00:34:33,719 --> 00:34:38,600 Speaker 1: have fewer calories than we thought. Of course, in the 454 00:34:38,680 --> 00:34:44,800 Speaker 1: world of intuitive eating, that also shouldn't matter. Nuts aren't 455 00:34:44,960 --> 00:34:49,479 Speaker 1: good or bad. They're just food, and you can eat 456 00:34:49,520 --> 00:34:54,800 Speaker 1: them if you want to. Chocolate covered almonds are probably 457 00:34:54,840 --> 00:35:01,040 Speaker 1: my favorite, probably because of the chocolate part. We have 458 00:35:01,160 --> 00:35:05,720 Speaker 1: them at work, and honestly I usually try to avoid 459 00:35:05,800 --> 00:35:09,880 Speaker 1: them because I've been thinking of them as not the 460 00:35:09,920 --> 00:35:17,400 Speaker 1: healthiest thing. Right, intuitive eating inspired me to buy chocolate 461 00:35:17,440 --> 00:35:24,560 Speaker 1: covered almonds and bring them home. I ate them as 462 00:35:24,600 --> 00:35:29,680 Speaker 1: an afternoon snack one day while watching TV. Another day 463 00:35:29,880 --> 00:35:33,920 Speaker 1: in the evening, I even shared a few with my partner, 464 00:35:35,640 --> 00:35:39,400 Speaker 1: and then the bag was done and I felt fine 465 00:35:39,560 --> 00:35:44,720 Speaker 1: about it. The earth didn't chatter or anything, my pants 466 00:35:44,760 --> 00:35:50,680 Speaker 1: still fit, nothing really happened. I like treating the almonds 467 00:35:50,719 --> 00:35:55,360 Speaker 1: like they weren't dangerous a threat to everything I hold 468 00:35:55,480 --> 00:35:58,759 Speaker 1: near and dear, Like I could have them and it 469 00:35:58,840 --> 00:36:04,759 Speaker 1: wouldn't really change anything. They were just chocolate covered almonds 470 00:36:04,800 --> 00:36:10,120 Speaker 1: after all. Still, I wondered if I was really eating intuitively, 471 00:36:11,040 --> 00:36:13,760 Speaker 1: was I doing it right? So I put the question 472 00:36:13,880 --> 00:36:17,360 Speaker 1: to Sammy, the intuitive eating teacher. Kudos to you for 473 00:36:17,480 --> 00:36:20,839 Speaker 1: that experiment, and you know, kind of digging deeper there. 474 00:36:21,520 --> 00:36:24,560 Speaker 1: Part of the reason I was second guessing myself so 475 00:36:24,680 --> 00:36:27,960 Speaker 1: much with the chocolate almonds is that they seemed like 476 00:36:28,040 --> 00:36:31,040 Speaker 1: maybe still a pretty healthy food at the end of 477 00:36:31,040 --> 00:36:35,200 Speaker 1: the day, even if they were liberally doused in chocolate. 478 00:36:36,120 --> 00:36:39,480 Speaker 1: I explained that to her. Was I still at the 479 00:36:39,600 --> 00:36:43,800 Speaker 1: end of the day buying into diets in some way 480 00:36:44,160 --> 00:36:48,120 Speaker 1: giving myself permission to eat but not too much permission? 481 00:36:48,600 --> 00:36:50,880 Speaker 1: Is there right or wrong food? Absolutely not. This is 482 00:36:50,880 --> 00:36:54,319 Speaker 1: going to be different for every one, And what I 483 00:36:54,320 --> 00:36:57,360 Speaker 1: would invite you to do is get curious about whether 484 00:36:57,400 --> 00:36:59,920 Speaker 1: it's chocolate covered almonds, whether it was the chocolate part 485 00:37:00,120 --> 00:37:02,719 Speaker 1: of the chocolate covered almonds. You know, what are the 486 00:37:02,800 --> 00:37:06,440 Speaker 1: messages you've gotten around chocolate covered almonds? Sammy is saying, 487 00:37:06,880 --> 00:37:09,160 Speaker 1: where did I get the idea that I can't eat 488 00:37:09,239 --> 00:37:12,719 Speaker 1: the chocolate covered almonds? My guess is it's because of 489 00:37:12,760 --> 00:37:17,680 Speaker 1: the chocolate part. Sweet treats like this are completely villainized 490 00:37:17,680 --> 00:37:21,560 Speaker 1: by our culture, even though depending on where you live, 491 00:37:22,320 --> 00:37:26,879 Speaker 1: they're also kind of everywhere. As a result, I've kind 492 00:37:26,880 --> 00:37:30,480 Speaker 1: of developed all these ideas about how often it's okay 493 00:37:30,480 --> 00:37:33,440 Speaker 1: to eat these kinds of desserts and also at what 494 00:37:33,520 --> 00:37:37,840 Speaker 1: times of the day self imposed rules that lead me 495 00:37:37,880 --> 00:37:42,080 Speaker 1: to avoid chocolate covered almonds at work. She also said 496 00:37:42,120 --> 00:37:44,520 Speaker 1: that what I experienced when I brought them into my 497 00:37:44,600 --> 00:37:49,000 Speaker 1: house is called food habituation. The big fear people here 498 00:37:49,000 --> 00:37:51,759 Speaker 1: when they're like, Sammy, you don't understand if I have 499 00:37:51,840 --> 00:37:54,720 Speaker 1: unconditional permission to eat I'm just going to eat chocolate 500 00:37:54,760 --> 00:37:58,120 Speaker 1: covered almonds, pizza cake, cookie, ice cream, brownies, like all 501 00:37:58,120 --> 00:38:00,760 Speaker 1: these foods for the rest of my life. But Sammy says, 502 00:38:00,800 --> 00:38:05,400 Speaker 1: actually you won't. So what you did is you normalized 503 00:38:05,680 --> 00:38:08,399 Speaker 1: chocolate covered almonds. Right, You brought them into the home 504 00:38:08,440 --> 00:38:10,479 Speaker 1: and said, I'm going to allow myself to eat these 505 00:38:10,800 --> 00:38:14,439 Speaker 1: whenever I want, however much I want, and they're here 506 00:38:14,840 --> 00:38:17,080 Speaker 1: and they're normal, and then by the end of the 507 00:38:17,120 --> 00:38:20,640 Speaker 1: week you're like, you know, I'm kind of like good. 508 00:38:20,920 --> 00:38:24,759 Speaker 1: The point isn't to like ruin chocolate covered almonds for 509 00:38:24,840 --> 00:38:29,160 Speaker 1: myself and never have them again. The point is to 510 00:38:29,280 --> 00:38:34,040 Speaker 1: stop being afraid of them by simply making them available. 511 00:38:34,960 --> 00:38:39,399 Speaker 1: If diet rules have made them feel off limits, make 512 00:38:39,480 --> 00:38:45,879 Speaker 1: them neutral instead. The idea is pretty simple. If you're 513 00:38:45,880 --> 00:38:51,680 Speaker 1: craving chocolate covered almonds, eat the chocolate covered almonds. But 514 00:38:51,800 --> 00:38:55,720 Speaker 1: when I was talking about this with my editor Kristin V. Brown, 515 00:38:56,440 --> 00:39:01,400 Speaker 1: she raised this interesting question. Here's she said, Can we 516 00:39:01,440 --> 00:39:04,680 Speaker 1: really trust the food cues our body are sending us? Like, 517 00:39:05,160 --> 00:39:08,000 Speaker 1: if you're stressed and eat a bunch of snacks, that's 518 00:39:08,000 --> 00:39:11,480 Speaker 1: not because you're actually hungry, And there is a difference 519 00:39:11,520 --> 00:39:16,360 Speaker 1: between physical hunger and emotional hunger. In fact, our environment 520 00:39:16,440 --> 00:39:18,960 Speaker 1: is pretty optimized to make us feel like we want 521 00:39:19,000 --> 00:39:24,040 Speaker 1: to eat, even if it isn't actually lunchtime. We smell 522 00:39:24,160 --> 00:39:27,680 Speaker 1: the fries being cooked, or see an enticing picture of 523 00:39:27,719 --> 00:39:31,960 Speaker 1: a slice of cake in a store window. Scientists sometimes 524 00:39:32,000 --> 00:39:38,560 Speaker 1: call things like this the obesogenic environment. It basically means 525 00:39:38,600 --> 00:39:43,800 Speaker 1: the kinds of unhealthy environments that surround us each day. 526 00:39:44,080 --> 00:39:48,640 Speaker 1: I asked Sarah Dowset, a psychologist who teaches an intuitive 527 00:39:48,640 --> 00:39:54,320 Speaker 1: eating class called Diet Culture Dropout, about that. She told 528 00:39:54,320 --> 00:39:57,840 Speaker 1: me that we can eat the fries or a slice 529 00:39:57,840 --> 00:40:02,880 Speaker 1: of cake. It's okay. Even if you don't feel so 530 00:40:02,920 --> 00:40:08,040 Speaker 1: good afterwards. That feeling will pass and you can move 531 00:40:08,080 --> 00:40:14,240 Speaker 1: on enjoying food and taking comfort in It is demonized 532 00:40:14,280 --> 00:40:19,480 Speaker 1: by our society, but they actually shouldn't be. If food 533 00:40:19,560 --> 00:40:24,880 Speaker 1: offers us comfort in a difficult time, maybe that's actually good, 534 00:40:25,760 --> 00:40:29,839 Speaker 1: not bad. It happens, and it doesn't make you a 535 00:40:29,840 --> 00:40:34,000 Speaker 1: bad person. Might do a behavior exercise where I ask 536 00:40:34,080 --> 00:40:37,160 Speaker 1: people to list five forbidden foods. I was just telling 537 00:40:37,200 --> 00:40:39,120 Speaker 1: Sarah that I have a bit of a sweet tooth, 538 00:40:39,440 --> 00:40:41,080 Speaker 1: so for you, it might be the chocolate and the 539 00:40:41,120 --> 00:40:46,720 Speaker 1: cinnamon buns. And to get five helpings of those foods. 540 00:40:46,719 --> 00:40:50,200 Speaker 1: So five sittings of those foods and allow yourself to 541 00:40:50,200 --> 00:40:53,160 Speaker 1: eat them just for that, just for that one time, 542 00:40:53,200 --> 00:40:55,560 Speaker 1: to take away the guilt, just to engage in the 543 00:40:55,800 --> 00:40:58,920 Speaker 1: pure pleasure of eating those foods. It turns out that 544 00:40:59,000 --> 00:41:02,040 Speaker 1: my chocolate covered on and experiment was pretty on point. 545 00:41:03,160 --> 00:41:07,600 Speaker 1: So okay, that's one part of intuitive eating, ditching diets 546 00:41:07,640 --> 00:41:12,320 Speaker 1: and food rules along with them, trusting your body, actually 547 00:41:12,440 --> 00:41:16,440 Speaker 1: enjoying your food instead of fearing it. And believe me, 548 00:41:16,960 --> 00:41:20,760 Speaker 1: I can get on board with all this, especially after 549 00:41:20,800 --> 00:41:25,400 Speaker 1: all we've learned about diets. But there's another part of 550 00:41:25,480 --> 00:41:31,200 Speaker 1: intuitive eating too. Maybe you remember this from our lesson earlier. 551 00:41:32,239 --> 00:41:38,719 Speaker 1: Intuitive eating means eating without worrying about your weight. I 552 00:41:38,760 --> 00:41:43,439 Speaker 1: can appreciate the value of looking inwards and questioning why 553 00:41:43,600 --> 00:41:47,800 Speaker 1: you eat the way you do. Are you enjoying it? 554 00:41:47,880 --> 00:41:52,520 Speaker 1: Is it serving you? But applying that knowledge moving forward 555 00:41:53,080 --> 00:41:56,360 Speaker 1: as I live my life was harder than I thought 556 00:41:56,400 --> 00:42:01,239 Speaker 1: it would be. Like does that mean no checking nutrition 557 00:42:01,320 --> 00:42:06,160 Speaker 1: labels anymore? Or that you shouldn't choose foods just because 558 00:42:06,200 --> 00:42:10,200 Speaker 1: they sound like healthier choices. And at the end of 559 00:42:10,239 --> 00:42:15,360 Speaker 1: the day, healthy eating is important. I didn't want to 560 00:42:15,400 --> 00:42:20,400 Speaker 1: lose track of that. All this, by the way, turns 561 00:42:20,440 --> 00:42:26,000 Speaker 1: out to be something other people find challenging too, especially 562 00:42:26,120 --> 00:42:31,160 Speaker 1: letting go of the weight calculation. But at last, Rush, 563 00:42:31,360 --> 00:42:35,399 Speaker 1: the Intuitive Eating co founder, we spoke with earlier says 564 00:42:35,440 --> 00:42:41,120 Speaker 1: it's absolutely critical. That is a very difficult part of this. 565 00:42:41,280 --> 00:42:44,160 Speaker 1: And as long as you're thinking about losing weight and 566 00:42:44,160 --> 00:42:46,480 Speaker 1: you're not going to be able to start trusting your 567 00:42:46,520 --> 00:42:50,200 Speaker 1: own body. In other words, diets and food rules make 568 00:42:50,320 --> 00:42:53,399 Speaker 1: a lot of background noise, and as long as they're 569 00:42:53,400 --> 00:42:56,080 Speaker 1: doing that, you can't listen to what your body is 570 00:42:56,160 --> 00:43:01,239 Speaker 1: really saying. Here's Sammy again, the entire your purpose of 571 00:43:01,280 --> 00:43:06,600 Speaker 1: it is to bring back trust and connection with your body, 572 00:43:06,800 --> 00:43:11,240 Speaker 1: so to quiet the external noise and rules of diet 573 00:43:11,280 --> 00:43:14,480 Speaker 1: culture and to be able to turn inward and trust 574 00:43:14,560 --> 00:43:18,560 Speaker 1: your body's cues. But there are limits to turning inward. 575 00:43:19,480 --> 00:43:23,719 Speaker 1: As I took intuitive eating classes and experimented with not 576 00:43:23,960 --> 00:43:28,600 Speaker 1: feeling guilty about eating chocolate covered almonds, I kept coming 577 00:43:28,640 --> 00:43:33,680 Speaker 1: back to this one thought. Does such an idealistic way 578 00:43:33,719 --> 00:43:38,319 Speaker 1: of thinking and eating work in the real world. Like 579 00:43:38,480 --> 00:43:43,440 Speaker 1: Sammy just said, intuitive eating means tuning out all of 580 00:43:43,480 --> 00:43:48,000 Speaker 1: the pressures and messages of the world and just listening 581 00:43:48,040 --> 00:43:53,560 Speaker 1: to your body. Is that even possible? The world that 582 00:43:53,640 --> 00:43:57,320 Speaker 1: we live in is full of pressure to eat better 583 00:43:57,640 --> 00:44:01,600 Speaker 1: and look thinner, But our world is also set up 584 00:44:01,680 --> 00:44:05,200 Speaker 1: in a way that it's often hard to do these things, 585 00:44:06,280 --> 00:44:12,560 Speaker 1: especially when money, time, and other resources are limited. We 586 00:44:12,640 --> 00:44:16,200 Speaker 1: live and work in places where it's hard to access 587 00:44:16,360 --> 00:44:21,879 Speaker 1: nutrient dense foods and easy to access the opposite, where 588 00:44:21,920 --> 00:44:26,479 Speaker 1: it's easy to drive but hard to walk, where long 589 00:44:26,560 --> 00:44:30,600 Speaker 1: hours at the office and other obligations like taking care 590 00:44:30,640 --> 00:44:35,320 Speaker 1: of your kids mean that healthy meals and exercise don't 591 00:44:35,360 --> 00:44:39,840 Speaker 1: always fit into a day. We can try to quiet 592 00:44:40,000 --> 00:44:44,560 Speaker 1: the external noise and rules of diet culture and listen 593 00:44:44,640 --> 00:44:49,040 Speaker 1: to our bodies, but there is plenty of other noise 594 00:44:49,120 --> 00:44:54,440 Speaker 1: out there already guiding how we eat and live. In 595 00:44:54,440 --> 00:44:59,719 Speaker 1: this way, intuitive eating seems a lot like dieting to me. 596 00:45:00,760 --> 00:45:05,480 Speaker 1: The goals of intuitive eating are different from a diet, obviously, 597 00:45:06,520 --> 00:45:09,960 Speaker 1: but its way of getting to that goal is sort 598 00:45:10,000 --> 00:45:14,279 Speaker 1: of the same. Both tell us that it's on us 599 00:45:14,400 --> 00:45:19,160 Speaker 1: to achieve whatever we want, while we'll sort of ignoring 600 00:45:19,440 --> 00:45:25,400 Speaker 1: the realities of life. Both insist on individual change in 601 00:45:25,440 --> 00:45:31,719 Speaker 1: the face of societal barriers. I don't know if we 602 00:45:31,760 --> 00:45:36,400 Speaker 1: can do that, and I'm skeptical that our bodies naturally 603 00:45:36,480 --> 00:45:40,279 Speaker 1: know how to be healthy. I don't think that the 604 00:45:40,320 --> 00:45:43,800 Speaker 1: biggest problem here is that we just haven't been listening 605 00:45:43,840 --> 00:45:48,560 Speaker 1: to what our bodies are telling us. I wondered whether 606 00:45:48,800 --> 00:45:52,799 Speaker 1: anyone had tried to answer that question. That brought me 607 00:45:52,880 --> 00:45:58,719 Speaker 1: to Jatta Banasi, a researcher at Columbia. Jatta recently did 608 00:45:58,800 --> 00:46:03,000 Speaker 1: an analysis with colleagues that looked at whether intuitive eating 609 00:46:03,680 --> 00:46:09,200 Speaker 1: is actually linked with health benefits. Remember, lots of studies 610 00:46:09,600 --> 00:46:15,160 Speaker 1: usually focus on weight loss. They didn't do that. Instead, 611 00:46:15,640 --> 00:46:19,560 Speaker 1: they were looking specifically at measures like blood pressure and 612 00:46:19,640 --> 00:46:23,880 Speaker 1: regulation of blood sugar, but not a lot of studies 613 00:46:23,960 --> 00:46:29,520 Speaker 1: had actually measured this, only about ten. There were some 614 00:46:29,640 --> 00:46:34,440 Speaker 1: signs that intuitive eating could improve these kinds of health 615 00:46:34,520 --> 00:46:40,920 Speaker 1: outcomes more than say, dieting, but that wasn't always the case. 616 00:46:41,480 --> 00:46:44,440 Speaker 1: To say these interventions are really what we're looking for 617 00:46:44,640 --> 00:46:49,120 Speaker 1: to promote the parameters is still difficult to to say 618 00:46:49,200 --> 00:46:52,799 Speaker 1: it's not possible at the current time. Seven of the 619 00:46:52,840 --> 00:46:57,319 Speaker 1: ten studies they looked at found that intuitive eating was 620 00:46:57,440 --> 00:47:02,680 Speaker 1: more effective than a control group dieting in improving cardio 621 00:47:02,719 --> 00:47:09,680 Speaker 1: metabolic outcomes like glucose regulation, lipid profile, inflammatory markers, and 622 00:47:09,719 --> 00:47:14,640 Speaker 1: blood pressure, but the results on those measures weren't consistent 623 00:47:14,800 --> 00:47:21,080 Speaker 1: across studies. Like with glucose regulation, two studies found intuitive 624 00:47:21,120 --> 00:47:25,560 Speaker 1: eating helped that more than the control group, while four 625 00:47:25,880 --> 00:47:32,480 Speaker 1: found no relative effect. So it's unclear weather intuitive eating 626 00:47:32,840 --> 00:47:37,880 Speaker 1: leads to better physical health, but the results were way 627 00:47:37,920 --> 00:47:41,640 Speaker 1: more clear when it comes to mental health. This kind 628 00:47:41,640 --> 00:47:44,719 Speaker 1: of intervention can be used to promote a better relationship 629 00:47:44,800 --> 00:47:49,520 Speaker 1: with food and body. Intuitive eating can help us feel 630 00:47:49,600 --> 00:47:54,040 Speaker 1: better about eating and our bodies, but when it comes 631 00:47:54,080 --> 00:47:58,680 Speaker 1: to our health, even though we have some promising signs, 632 00:47:59,200 --> 00:48:03,719 Speaker 1: the science is very mixed. We just can't say right 633 00:48:03,719 --> 00:48:08,960 Speaker 1: now that intuitive eating makes us physically healthier. The relationship 634 00:48:09,080 --> 00:48:14,800 Speaker 1: between the two is still to be determined. So keeping 635 00:48:14,840 --> 00:48:19,359 Speaker 1: that in mind, what's the value of intuitive eating if 636 00:48:19,400 --> 00:48:23,520 Speaker 1: it doesn't make you physically healthier, If it actually makes 637 00:48:23,520 --> 00:48:28,200 Speaker 1: you physically unhealthier but you're in a better place mentally. 638 00:48:29,600 --> 00:48:32,839 Speaker 1: I don't know the answer to that, but I think 639 00:48:32,880 --> 00:48:36,239 Speaker 1: it's hard to have confidence in a system that can 640 00:48:36,280 --> 00:48:40,520 Speaker 1: only do so much for you. Feeling better about yourself 641 00:48:40,760 --> 00:48:44,720 Speaker 1: is good, don't get me wrong, but it can only 642 00:48:44,840 --> 00:48:50,640 Speaker 1: go so far, especially if physically you're not feeling all 643 00:48:50,640 --> 00:48:54,439 Speaker 1: that good. There are things that we have to do 644 00:48:54,560 --> 00:48:58,480 Speaker 1: for our health that aren't always gonna be something we 645 00:48:58,520 --> 00:49:03,360 Speaker 1: want to do, and maybe harsh rules about what's good 646 00:49:03,360 --> 00:49:07,399 Speaker 1: and what's bad have screwed us up, but I think 647 00:49:07,440 --> 00:49:11,799 Speaker 1: sometimes people do need that, to be told to eat 648 00:49:11,840 --> 00:49:15,319 Speaker 1: your broccoli or get enough protein in your diet. Every 649 00:49:15,400 --> 00:49:21,560 Speaker 1: day diets have definitely taken it way too far, but 650 00:49:21,840 --> 00:49:27,840 Speaker 1: rules aren't always bad. People come to dieting to improve 651 00:49:27,880 --> 00:49:33,240 Speaker 1: their health. Intuitive eating pitches itself as a better way forward, 652 00:49:34,400 --> 00:49:39,520 Speaker 1: except we don't actually know that. People also come to 653 00:49:39,600 --> 00:49:44,120 Speaker 1: dieting to change the way they look. Intuitive eating makes 654 00:49:44,160 --> 00:49:48,200 Speaker 1: it pretty clear they can't do that for you. Changing 655 00:49:48,200 --> 00:49:52,680 Speaker 1: how you look isn't the point. But even in this world, 656 00:49:53,400 --> 00:49:58,080 Speaker 1: the same beauty ideals are perpetuated. I saw that as 657 00:49:58,120 --> 00:50:02,480 Speaker 1: I researched this episode, a lot of the prominent intuitive 658 00:50:02,520 --> 00:50:12,239 Speaker 1: eating personalities look a certain way thin, white, blonde. Are 659 00:50:12,280 --> 00:50:16,440 Speaker 1: people just following them because they want to look like them, 660 00:50:16,480 --> 00:50:19,960 Speaker 1: because they hope intuitive eating will get them that body. 661 00:50:21,440 --> 00:50:24,960 Speaker 1: How much of it is still about that elusive hope 662 00:50:25,160 --> 00:50:28,240 Speaker 1: of losing weight at the end of the day, being 663 00:50:28,280 --> 00:50:33,000 Speaker 1: white and thin cells. This is Delina Sodo, a registered 664 00:50:33,000 --> 00:50:38,480 Speaker 1: dietitian who's Dominican and lives in Philadelphia. Delina has brown, 665 00:50:38,600 --> 00:50:43,000 Speaker 1: curly hair and a big, expressive smile. She's also thin 666 00:50:43,160 --> 00:50:47,400 Speaker 1: herself and so when we see these big accounts, a 667 00:50:47,440 --> 00:50:51,960 Speaker 1: lot of the time, I think that people are gravitated 668 00:50:52,000 --> 00:50:54,560 Speaker 1: to them more because they fit that mold of what 669 00:50:55,120 --> 00:50:59,440 Speaker 1: the beauty standards that we have created are. She also 670 00:50:59,480 --> 00:51:01,800 Speaker 1: sees this as a problem, although there's a lot of 671 00:51:01,880 --> 00:51:05,080 Speaker 1: us trying to push back on that narrative, because again, 672 00:51:05,280 --> 00:51:09,000 Speaker 1: intuitivating isn't eat like me, look like me, right, it's 673 00:51:09,200 --> 00:51:12,840 Speaker 1: allowing yourself to um kind of like make peace with 674 00:51:12,880 --> 00:51:17,799 Speaker 1: your body and fight that weight neutrality. Except weight neutrality 675 00:51:18,040 --> 00:51:22,480 Speaker 1: isn't the norm today. There are all these really widely 676 00:51:22,560 --> 00:51:27,600 Speaker 1: held societal beliefs that being thinner is not only healthier 677 00:51:28,160 --> 00:51:32,640 Speaker 1: but better. Weighing more can sometimes even feel like there 678 00:51:32,800 --> 00:51:37,000 Speaker 1: is a moral judgment attached to it. The list of 679 00:51:37,040 --> 00:51:42,400 Speaker 1: people who are still very focused on the scale includes doctors, 680 00:51:43,000 --> 00:51:49,520 Speaker 1: family members, friends, co workers, and classmates. Intuitive eating says, 681 00:51:49,600 --> 00:51:53,120 Speaker 1: you're just supposed to choose a different path and have 682 00:51:53,440 --> 00:51:59,680 Speaker 1: different beliefs. But how do you do that throughout everything 683 00:51:59,760 --> 00:52:05,239 Speaker 1: you've thought you knew and start all over again? Maybe 684 00:52:05,280 --> 00:52:09,279 Speaker 1: the real question is what exactly are we trying to 685 00:52:09,320 --> 00:52:14,799 Speaker 1: accomplish here? Anyway, Dieting is trying to get people healthier 686 00:52:15,280 --> 00:52:19,480 Speaker 1: by making their bodies smaller, and by this point we 687 00:52:19,560 --> 00:52:23,200 Speaker 1: know that you can't really use dieting to make people's 688 00:52:23,239 --> 00:52:29,960 Speaker 1: bodies smaller. Intuitive eating isn't trying to do that. Instead, 689 00:52:30,280 --> 00:52:34,120 Speaker 1: it's about making people feel better about their bodies and 690 00:52:34,160 --> 00:52:37,759 Speaker 1: how they eat, and it's based on the idea that 691 00:52:37,880 --> 00:52:42,000 Speaker 1: you don't have to be skinny to be healthy. But 692 00:52:42,680 --> 00:52:47,600 Speaker 1: at the same time, intuitive eating isn't necessarily going to 693 00:52:47,760 --> 00:52:52,240 Speaker 1: lead to better health, and even if you feel better 694 00:52:52,360 --> 00:52:56,160 Speaker 1: about eating in your body, you still have to live 695 00:52:56,239 --> 00:53:01,359 Speaker 1: in a world where thinner is treated as better. In 696 00:53:01,360 --> 00:53:06,960 Speaker 1: that sense, intuitive eating only solves part of the problem. 697 00:53:07,000 --> 00:53:10,000 Speaker 1: You can try to change the way you think about 698 00:53:10,080 --> 00:53:14,840 Speaker 1: all this stuff, but you can't change how everyone thinks 699 00:53:14,920 --> 00:53:19,560 Speaker 1: about it. So you can certainly try, and that'll make 700 00:53:19,560 --> 00:53:24,560 Speaker 1: it harder for you too to stay the course. Let 701 00:53:24,560 --> 00:53:29,000 Speaker 1: me be clear, people have really messed up attitudes about 702 00:53:29,080 --> 00:53:33,640 Speaker 1: food and people in bigger bodies. We can and should 703 00:53:33,960 --> 00:53:37,960 Speaker 1: try to change that. But if it's just one person 704 00:53:38,160 --> 00:53:43,400 Speaker 1: at a time, will it work. Maybe at some level 705 00:53:43,640 --> 00:53:49,000 Speaker 1: these problems are unsolvable anyway. There's a reason people have 706 00:53:49,120 --> 00:53:53,319 Speaker 1: turned to dieting for hundreds of years. It has this 707 00:53:53,680 --> 00:53:58,680 Speaker 1: irresistible pull. We're drawn to the idea that everything in 708 00:53:58,719 --> 00:54:01,680 Speaker 1: our lives will be better, or if we just lost 709 00:54:01,800 --> 00:54:07,040 Speaker 1: that stubborn weight, that getting skinnier will stop us from 710 00:54:07,080 --> 00:54:12,919 Speaker 1: developing terrible sounding diseases or dying early. We want that 711 00:54:13,000 --> 00:54:16,839 Speaker 1: for ourselves and the people we love. We all want 712 00:54:16,880 --> 00:54:22,280 Speaker 1: to believe it's within our reach, but we can't actually 713 00:54:22,320 --> 00:54:26,800 Speaker 1: guarantee any of it, that we won't develop terrible sounding 714 00:54:26,840 --> 00:54:31,960 Speaker 1: diseases or die early or anything else. And we can't 715 00:54:32,000 --> 00:54:36,480 Speaker 1: guarantee weight loss either, even if we do all the 716 00:54:36,600 --> 00:54:40,920 Speaker 1: right things. It would be great to send you away 717 00:54:40,960 --> 00:54:44,880 Speaker 1: with this utopian new approach to eating that will solve 718 00:54:45,080 --> 00:54:48,480 Speaker 1: all of our problems. But I'm not going to do 719 00:54:48,520 --> 00:54:53,960 Speaker 1: that because giving you a simple answer to complex questions 720 00:54:54,200 --> 00:54:58,600 Speaker 1: is exactly what diets have done for countless years, and 721 00:54:58,680 --> 00:55:03,920 Speaker 1: the answer isn't eating. And even though intuitive eating brings 722 00:55:03,960 --> 00:55:08,600 Speaker 1: some valuable new ideas to the table, probably not intuitive 723 00:55:08,640 --> 00:55:14,840 Speaker 1: eating either. I hope instead that you'll walk away thinking 724 00:55:15,000 --> 00:55:20,360 Speaker 1: about change, how we can make it easier to be healthier, 725 00:55:21,120 --> 00:55:25,279 Speaker 1: but also how we can be more inclusive and let 726 00:55:25,360 --> 00:55:31,000 Speaker 1: people make their own decisions that freedom intuitive eating tries 727 00:55:31,080 --> 00:55:34,840 Speaker 1: to bring to the process of eating. I think we 728 00:55:34,920 --> 00:55:38,799 Speaker 1: could all benefit from that in ways that go far 729 00:55:39,000 --> 00:55:45,520 Speaker 1: beyond our dinner plates. Losing It is written and reported 730 00:55:45,560 --> 00:55:49,560 Speaker 1: by me Emma Court. Kristin V. Brown is our editor, 731 00:55:50,120 --> 00:55:55,280 Speaker 1: Magnus Hendrickson is our senior producer, Stacy Wong our associate producer, 732 00:55:55,680 --> 00:55:59,520 Speaker 1: and Blake Maples is our audio engineer. Our theme was 733 00:55:59,600 --> 00:56:04,040 Speaker 1: composed us and performed by Hannis Brown thanks to Francesca 734 00:56:04,120 --> 00:56:08,040 Speaker 1: Leavy and Tim Annette. Be sure to subscribe to Prognosis 735 00:56:08,080 --> 00:56:10,879 Speaker 1: if you haven't already, and if you like our show, 736 00:56:11,360 --> 00:56:14,879 Speaker 1: please leave us a review that helps others find out 737 00:56:14,920 --> 00:56:18,720 Speaker 1: about it. Thanks for listening, See you next season.