Tribole - Intuitive Eating

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To all of our clients and patients, who have taught us so much

Acknowledgments

There are many people whom we would like to thank, without whose help, encouragement, and inspiration this book would not have been possible.

David Hale Smith, Inkwell Management, LLC, our agent, who was instrumental in generating overwhelming interest in this concept.

Jennifer Weis, our editor, for her enthusiasm and support of Intuitive Eating and for her practical vision and input.

Mollie Traver, editorial assistant, for her clear and prompt communication, inspired ideas, and boundless encouragement in bringing the third edition of Intuitive Eating to fruition; Robin Carter, assistant editor, who good-naturedly helped expedite the publication of the second edition of Intuitive Eating ; and Tina Lee, editorial assistant, who cheerfully kept us on the straight and narrow with details in the first edition.

Desy Safan Gerard, Ph.D., for her psychological support.

Marc Weigensberg, M.D., who contributed spiritual guidance for the second and third editions.

Sue Luke, R.D.; Elaine Roberts; Diane Keddy, M.S., R.D.; and Kristin Loberg, B.A., member of the Authors Guild, for their review and comments.

Arthur Resnikoff, Ph.D., for his feedback on the psychological principles used in this book.

Andrea Volz, secretarial assistant, for her endless hours in the library.

And lastly, our families and friends, whose unselfish understanding gave us the freedom to complete this book.

Notice : This book is intended as a reference volume only, not as a medical manual. It is not a substitute for any treatment that may have been prescribed by your doctor. If you suspect that you have a medical problem, we urge you to seek competent help. Keep in mind that nutritional needs vary from person to person, depending upon age, sex, health status, and total diet. The information discussed here is intended to help you make informed decisions about your eating and health.

Contents

Foreword

This [the brains] integrative function illuminates how reasoning, once thought to be a purely logical mode of thinking, is in fact, dependent on the nonrational processing of our bodies.

Daniel Siegel, M.D., Mindsight, 2010

Intuitive Eating was originally published in 1995. Over the years, thousands of people have read this book. While reading it, they have had a sense, at a gut level, of getting it. Weve gotten many letters and e-mails saying, youre writing about me, or how did you know I felt this way, or finally someone gets it. Just as so many have gotten itthere are others who have asked what Intuitive Eating really means. Are we just driven by instinct? Do we just know what and how much and when to eat? In introducing this third edition, wed like to take this opportunity to be as clear as we can in answering the question of what Intuitive Eating really is.

Knowing a bit about the human brain can help to understand why were born with all the wisdom we need to be Intuitive Eaters. It can also help us to see how were able to live an Intuitive Eating life, even while being bombarded by the unending choices of natural and refined foods available to us every dayand the relentless diet messages that abound.

Humans are privileged to experience a dynamic interplay of instinct, emotion, and thought, which work together to orchestrate life, and are mediated by the brain. Psychiatrist and mindfulness expert, Daniel Siegel, M.D., calls this process Mindsight. There are three regions of the brain responsible for this powerful integration.

The first region is called the reptilian brain, because when the early reptiles roamed the earth, they acted and responded exclusively by instinct. They didnt rationalize or feelthey simply just went for it. As life evolved, another level of brain function developed, called the limbic brain, which mammals also possess. Emotions and social behaviors originate here. In the limbic brain, feelings are layered upon the instincts of the reptilian brain. The instincts originating from the reptilian brain are sent to the limbic brain, which serve to expand the awareness (Levine 1997). Eventually, the third key region of the brain evolved, called the rational brain, or the neocortex. The rational brain integrates instincts and feelings from the other two brain regions. The rational brain does not control instinctsinstead, it perceives the instinctual and feeling parts of our beings and reflects upon them. The rational brain creates thoughts and language.

Intuitive Eating embraces all three parts of the human brain. In infancy and toddlerhood, eating is mostly instinctual. As we grow older, thoughts and feelings often play a part in our decisions about eating. As we often tell our clients, our bodies are not just composed of the tongue and the stomach, but also the mind. We have often heard someone say, I thought that as an Intuitive Eater, I could eat whatever I wanted. So, now I eat whatever I want and as much as I want, whenever I feel like it! This comment actually distorts the premise of Intuitive Eating. Yes, make peace with food, and eat what pleases your palate. Yes, give yourself the freedom to eat unconditionally, and eat as much as you need to satisfy your body. But, eating whenever you feel like it, without regard to hunger and fullness, might not be a very satisfying experience and might also cause physical discomfort. Attunement with your bodys satiety cues is an important part of this process.

As an Intuitive Eater, you will be honoring your brain, because it is part of your body. As you go through the principles of Intuitive Eating, you will be storing information in the memory files that you create and house in your brain. When you feel hungry, you will need to pull up several of these files, while deciding what to eat. You will evaluate how hungry you feel and then think about what foods might satisfy your hunger and your taste buds. You might even go through a series of sensual imaginings of the taste and texture and temperature of different foods. You also may open the file to reflect on past eating experiences. You might ask yourself whether your present eating choice has worked out for you when youve eaten it in the past. Did it sustain you long enough? Did it make your blood sugar crash? Did you end up with indigestion? Or did you thoroughly enjoy the food and want to have it again? Your emotions may also come into play when you have the desire to eat. Might you be upset and are craving food to comfort and soothe yourself? Or are you bored and thinking about eating as a distraction? Considering these possibilities might inform your decision of what to eat, or even whether to eat at all.

In the beginning of your journey to reclaim your Intuitive Eater, you will probably be hyperconscious of hunger, fullness, satisfaction, thoughts, and emotions. Your brain will need to be highly in tune with your tongue and your stomach. As you become more adept at recognizing your inner signals, you may find that your instincts and intuitive wisdom take more of a prominent role in your eating experience. So, Intuitive Eating is truly about trusting that you will be able to access all of the information you need to have, by using all of the aspects of your brainyour reptilian instincts, your limbic connection with your emotions, and your rational thoughts.