Intuitive Eating: A Revolutionary Program That Works

by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch

Book Overview

First published in 1995, Intuitive Eating has become the go-to book on rebuilding a healthy body image and making peace with food. We've all been there--angry with ourselves for overeating, for our lack of willpower, for failing at yet another diet. But the problem is not us; it's that dieting, with its emphasis on rules and regulations, has stopped us from listening to our bodies. Written by two prominent nutritionists, Intuitive...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1250004047
• ISBN13: 9781250004048
• Release Date: January 1
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
• Length: 344 Pages
• Weight: 1.54 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.2" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Changing My Life

This is the first book I read on intuitive eating. It really made a lot of sense to me. I researched intuitive eating online, looking at the relevent studies. There's not much research, yet, but the research does support intuitive eating. Just knowing that diets fail 95% of the time, on average, tells the story right there. I jumped right into this eating approach with both feet about a month ago. When I started this diet I was a restrictive eater/binge eater. I was about 10-15 pounds overweight. I weighed myself one to four times a day. I never kept any food in the house that might truly make me want to eat a lof of it. Then, when I was out and had access to food that I craved, I would binge heartily. I'm extremely knowledgeable about nutrition, and only allowed myself to keep whole grains, no trans-fats, etc. in the house. I really thought that I had a very healthy approach toward food. Then, I started intuitive eating a month ago. At first, it was stadium franks, hot dogs, chocolate, cream horns, turnovers, and a lot of them. I weighed myself recently, and found that I had only gained 3 pounds after eating this way to my heart's content. I stopped when I felt satisfied, and only ate when I felt hungry. Just recently, do I feel the need for sugar/fat tapering. I'm starting to crave strawberries and cooked cabbage. I'm down to 2 cream horns a day, instead of 5. I don't even care to eat most of the other sugary food I keep around. I have to throw it out. My pants are starting to feel like they're loosening back up slowly. I can't believe it. I'm 33. I've obsessed about my eating, dieted and binged (sometimes on a daily basis) for the past 18 years, only to weigh more than ever. Now, to be surrounded by the food I always craved and binged on, and to not even want it is amazing!!!! I can't support this concept enough. Trust you body!!!! It knows what it's doing!

An excellent book

I really have to disagree with Yvonne's comment "But obese people do not start being overweight due to dieting!" As a child I always enjoyed eating, but I was not overweight. In fact, I didn't think too much about food at all. I went on my first diet at age 15, with the goal of losing 5 lbs. After I lost 5 lbs by eating a lot of salad and little else, I could fit into all my jeans and a few people commented on how good I looked. I was hooked.....I lost another 5 lbs. and looked great (probably too thin, but I thought I looked great!), but the constant restricting and hunger made me start to obsess about food! I would end a 2 day fast by eating an entire bag of cookies....My first diet was the beginning of a 20 year cycle of fasting and compulsive eating that left me 75 lbs overweight. I've been in lots of Compulsive Eating support groups over the years and I've heard the same story. If you put a child in a room filled with candy and junk food and tell her to eat whatever she wants, the food will quickly lose much of it's appeal......or tell her not to eat one bite and see how important that food becomes.... This book addresses many of the issues behind compulsive eating, and with lots of work on my part, it made me sane again (and 60 lbs lighter).

A wonderful book to help you get in tune with your eating

It is amazing how in the United States we have such an unhealthy relationship with the pleasures of eating. Either we are overstuffing ourselves with unreasonable restaraunt portions, or we are on a strict diet with a long list of "good" and "bad" foods. This wonderful book guides us into returning to our own natural instinct to eat when we are hungry and stop when we feel comfortably full or satiated. It is not about a diet "plan", there are no good foods, or bad .It is about getting in touch with what our bodies are telling us to eat and when. It is about regaining the pleasure and enjoyment of eating without guilt and punishment. It is about letting go of the diet mentality that has overtaken this country. This book has helped me realize the guilt and overindulgence I have experienced from the world of dieting. It is helping me to respect my body and do what's right for me.

Simple Stuff - But It Really Does Work

I've read quite a few diet books, and in the past ten years I never was at my desired weight. But now I am actually at the weight where I want to be (155), and partly it's because of this great book. I've also made some other changes, but this book was a big help. It's all simple stuff that you have probably heard somewhere before. But the authors have collected what I think is the key to getting to a healthy weight and being happy with it. (And that's what it is about for me: health and acceptance.) Simple example: Eat what you like in moderation. On previous diets, I tried to cut out chocolate, which I love. Now I eat lots of chocolate, probably a little bit too much if a certified dietician looked at my diet. But it's a good tradeoff for me. I am satisfied, and it's easy for me to stay at my current weight. Another example: accept and love your body. Health and self-acceptance should be the goals, not some billboard picture of a different body type.As I said, it's simple stuff. But I haven't found it anywhere in such a good package, and it worked for me. As opposed to calorie counting, forbidden foods, and making your life miserable.