While intuitive nutrition is not right for everyone, it has helped many people. I have seen close and personally how intuitive nutrition has helped many of my clients develop a peaceful, balanced relationship with food and cultivate a health approach that honors their wisdom.
I have also seen how The course to adoption of intuitive consumption may be quite different in young adult women than for women in middle life or older. Looking specifically to women in menopausal years, it is easier to embrace intuitive food, but in other ways it is more difficult.
You may have noticed that there is a much more open debate about menopause today than ever existed. Menopause is less likely to be regarded as something shameful and secret, and right, because it is something that all females go through. It’s a natural transition to life (even when it doesn’t feel like that).
It is also a period of life when women are at increased risk of developing eating disorder For the first time or seeing a resurgence of former dietary disorder symptoms. This is partly many women experience other life transitions around the era of menopause (career changes, children who leave nest, divorce, care for older parents). Unfortunately, the new “conversation” on menopause involves new pressure to control body changes during this period, which I am afraid to further enhance the risk of eating disorders.
Thus, intuitive diet can be more important than ever in the middle life. What smooths the way to this path and what can a key to the projects throw?
Hitting Diet Rock Bottom
A small study examined the adoption of intuitive consumption between women after menopause He noted that an advantage of age is the experience of life and for some women, the accumulation of the negative effects of the diet-the weight of the recovery, the investigation of nutritional nutrition.
This is in line with the previous research that found that it became skeptical about the diet after experiencing the weight that recovery was part of what prompted adults to larger bodies to shift to a non -diet approach to food and health. They realized that weight loss diets were sources of deprivation that lead to frustration and food compensation – and a strong sense of guilt.
(It is not surprising that the first IE principle is “rejected the nutrition mentality” because the hope of finding a new and improved weight loss diet can make you try to control your diet, block your body signs for food and do well.)
Another key to successful adoption of intuitive diet is learning body acceptance and actively resist the dominant diet culture Causing weight stigma and socio -cultural patterns of beauty and subtlety. Acceptance of the body and weight is a crucial step, because if one continues to struggle with it, it is difficult to fully develop a peaceful relationship with food. That is why I incorporated body image and integration tips into my work.
Other factors that smooth out how to become an intuitive eater, according to this small study, were:
- Allowing flexibility to daily nutrition and needs predictions.
- Learning to identify and accept emotions (for those who fight with emotional consumption).
- Developing food satisfaction for nutritional foods.
The lure of the fine ideal
The practice of intuitive consumption – whether learning or “naturally answered” – is linked to the lowest BMI. However, the Union does not prove the cause and the result and certainly the people who have struggled with their weight may find that they gain weight, lose weight or remain around the same weight after adopting intuitive food. (This depends on the part of the weight recovery cycle of weight loss when it begins intuitive consumption.)
One reason for this union is that Those who naturally have BMIs in the “normal” range may feel “allowed” to stop trying to make their bodies even thinner and hug intuitive food, While those with BMIS in higher rows may feel more pressure to keep trying to make their body smaller.
Indeed, research has found that even when one wants to get away from weight loss diets, The existence of significant weight concerns can lead to ambiguity for actual diet abandonment (or other means of weight loss), setting an obstacle to the course of intuitive consumption.
The study of after menopause women found that even if a woman had experienced the unwanted consequences of weight loss diets, if they had internalized unrealistic ideals-and compared to these ideals- The resulting dissatisfaction of the body prompted her to still try to limit her diet to lose weight. And unfortunately, the research has found that the body’s dissatisfaction remains with age. I had customers in the 1970s who were still longing for their teenage body.
(From my experience as a nutrition therapist who also lives in this world and is in the social media, I see an increased pressure to lose weight which is a combination of the availability of GLP-1 drugs and increased messages about the “dangers” of average life profit.)
Another obstacle is that while women in the study agreed that respect for internal points related to hunger, completeness and satisfaction, incorporating this into everyday life felt difficult when they faced family obligations, timetables or the influence of others.
More food for thought
Changes in the body that accompany the transition of menopause can lead to a panic feeling and the need to control the body – which is a reason for increasing the risk of diet disorder during this time.
Women may also be concerned about the increased risk of chronic health -related conditions such as heart disease, diabetes or cancer and the feeling that weight loss or at least preventing body weight gain will reduce this risk. The reality, however, is that many factors affect health and eating nutrients and are physically active – along with non -smoking, alcohol intake, cultivating positive relationships, the existence of a purpose in life and maintaining preventive health projections.
And, let’s call a shovel a shovel, not only our society praised the subtlety, it also celebrates the youth. Many women are motivated to try to look younger (not for anything that beauty and youth culture are running on a parallel path to nutrition culture) – or at least try not to be as “old” and “fat”.
The pressure is real. Maybe you feel it yourself, maybe you have seen it a second hand among female friends or family members – or those horrifying “This 90s actress was hot, but now it looks like a horrible housewife” articles that contrast the old films or official photographs.
That is why I agree with the elements of the research findings that emphasize the importance of the work of the body image and what could be called social justice (promoting irrational social ideas on how to look) when it is removed from diets and diet. This may be hard work, but it makes sense, satisfactory work. And I like to be a guide to it!
Hi, I am Carrie dennett; Mph, rdn, a weight-inclusive Registered Dietitian, Nutrition Therapist and body image consultant. I help adults of all ages, shapes, sizes and sexes who want to escape from disturbed food or chronic diet, Learn how to Manage IBS symptoms with food, or Improve their dietary and lifestyle habits to help manage A current health concern or just support them overall health and prosperity. This post is only for information purposes and is not a personalized diet or medical advice.
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