We asked psychologist Svetlana Bronnikova to comment on excerpts from the diary of 30-year-old Yulia, who is mastering the skills of intuitive eating. Many remarkable changes are taking place before our eyes.
March 4
7.45 cappuccino, 2 sandwiches with smoked sausage;
12.50 festive table at work on the occasion of March 8 (salads);
19.00 banana;
20.40 turkey fillet in mushroom sauce, American salad.
Comments by Svetlana Bronnikova: The diary begins with a celebration at work. Julia does not try to “tighten her belt” either before or after the feast, and as a result she enjoys the festive table and does not overeat.
March 5
8.00 yogurt, latte;
11.00 banana;
13.45 banana;
15.20 shrimp roll, pie, glaze. (the pie is so-so, the glass is too sweet);
21.10 American salad;
22.20 cake.
S. B.: The next day, she eats fast food, apparently in a hurry, on the go. It is wonderful that, instead of blaming herself for what she has eaten, the girl notes the tasteless pie and the too sweet glaze. This is an important effect of the lifting of bans: many foods and dishes «show their true colors.» When they were forbidden and therefore highly desirable, we ate them with a mixture of delight and guilt that prevented us from tasting their true taste. And now Julia states: tasteless, too sweet. This is a sure sign that intuition will bypass this food next time.
March 6
7.45 hot sandwiches with sausage and cheese;
12.00 ice cream (she burst into tears while watching the film, saw parallels with her own life);
14.10 cake, dumplings with fish;
19.00 cutlet, pickled cucumbers;
20.00 ice cream (full).
S. B.: Judging by how often ice cream appears in the food diary, it was once the leader in the list of prohibited foods, and Yulia is at the stage of its legalization. It is with him that she consoles herself after watching a sad movie. «Legalization» in intuitive eating refers to the phase when previously forbidden foods are introduced into the diet without restriction, with an abundance that convinces us that we will never have to limit ourselves to this food again in our lives. At the beginning of legalization, the nightmare of a dieter comes true: all the time you want it, the forbidden one, and it seems that you can eat only ice cream (chips, gingerbread). This is a short period, after which the relevance of the product gradually decreases, and, finally, we retain only a slight interest in the once beloved forbidden dish. Does it happen that someone does not get bored with their favorite dish? No, this does not happen: general mental patterns work here, one of which is getting used to the stimulus.
- How You Eat: What Your Diet Says About You
March 7
5.30 yogurt and coffee;
11.35 2 sandwiches with pate, cappuccino;
14.50 macaroni and cheese, sausage, ice cream with coffee;
21.25 sausage, vegetable salad with mayonnaise.
S. B.: It was a long day, starting before 6 am, and a very austere menu for such a hard day. Judging by the level of satisfaction with food, which Yulia notes separately from the level of satiety, the chosen food quite fully reflects her nutritional needs — she simply does not need more.
March 8
11.25 sandwich with pate, sandwich with raw smoked sausage, 1 egg;
14.10 husband offered a cake and I couldn’t refuse, but it was too sweet;
19.00 chicken barbecue, rolls.
S. B.: Julia captures the nuances of various dishes more and more accurately. “Too sweet” is a typical state of the intuitive eater who is tempted by cake or pastry.
March 9
9.05 yogurt, a piece of cake;
12.20 3 pancakes with cottage cheese;
17.00 squids in sour cream, coffee, marmalade;
20.40 rolls.
S. B.: It may seem that Julia chooses exclusively «unhealthy» food. Meanwhile, our judgments about the nutritional value of foods are often skewed by dietary beliefs. Julia chooses food at will, eats whatever she wants, eats freely. What does she choose? The morning begins with a piece of homemade cake — carbohydrates in the morning will provide a surge of strength and energy. For lunch, three pancakes with cottage cheese — an excellent protein-carbohydrate lunch. Snack: squid in sour cream, which is fat (natural fats are extremely healthy, butter and heavy cream are excellent healthy food) and wonderful protein. And finally, rolls in the evening — again rice and fish. Complete and delicious.
- Intuitive Eating: Where to start?
March 16
8.25 sandwich with eggplant and cheese, cappuccino;
12.45 cottage cheese, coffee, half a cake.
S. B.: This day needs a separate comment. Yulia replaces smoked meat on her favorite morning sandwiches with vegetables and eggplant. This is not an accident, but a pattern: the body “asks” for food, which we usually refuse, because it is “useful” and has become disgusting. But as soon as we allow ourselves to eat everything, and soon it turns out that we want exactly what is useful …
Next in the diary is another entry: “didn’t eat enough, for dessert, bread with sea buckthorn jam.” Julia began to hear not only hunger signals, but also satiety signals — it is logical that at first we hear the signal “I’m not enough, give me more,” but then we begin to hear the signal “don’t feed me more, I’m full.”
The last entry is evidence of great changes that have taken place during this time. Half a cake! Who is able not to finish the cake, which is already on the plate? The ability to eat half or a quarter of a desired meal because it tastes different than expected because one is full is a sign that intuitive eating skills are developing, that the body has begun to communicate with its owner and that this is friendly and open communication. No more war: «I’m hungry — no, you can’t eat, we ate so well — now go work out in the gym»!
War leads to disharmony with oneself, to the feeling that food has incredible power. Intuitive eating relieves this internal conflict. It does not guarantee weight loss, it guarantees staying at the optimal physiological weight that allows our body to shine, be the most healthy, successfully resist infections and provide us with all the invaluable services that it is capable of.