Its name could not be more graphic:

intuitive feeding.

And, among many others, they say that it is Gwyneth Paltrow's secret to having that great body that we could see in all its splendor in the

spectacular golden

(and nude) pose with which she celebrated her 50th birthday.

"Intuitive eating was created in 1995 by two nutritionists, Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch, and basically what it proposes is that we eat,

listening to the signals that our body sends us

instead of obeying what 'social customs' dictate. ", says María Amaro, a specialist in Nutrition, tells us.

What does this mean?

Amaro explains it to us.

"Everyone,

when we are born, eats in an intuitive way.

It takes nothing more than to observe small children to realize this:

they eat when they are hungry and stop when they feel full

. And the amounts they eat depend on the needs have that day."

That is, according to Amaro, what we adults should do.

"However, as we get older,

we are taught that we should eat everything on the plate, that we should have dessert

... Then we start trying unhealthy foods and, in the end, we end up eating things that are not Intuitive eating, precisely, what it proposes is

to return to that original way of eating

that we had before society modified it."

Amaro confesses that she absolutely identifies with this way of conceiving food.

"According to her approach, which coincides with the one I give in the diet,

weight is not an indicator of health,

but rather how the person feels in the long term is taken into account."

For this reason, continues this specialist, "it is very interesting because it

helps combat this idealization of thinness,

which is doing us so much harm by becoming a breeding ground for the appearance of eating disorders, and

promotes greater body self-acceptance"

.

This is not a diet, in the strict sense of the word.

"There are no closed guidelines, nor is there a way to do it right or wrong because each one will respond to their body in a different way in a super interesting process because it

favors physical and mental self-knowledge"

.

It is a path, he points out, that "each one has to choose according to their needs and in it each one, too, will discover where they should go to

reach the body mass index that allows them to feel good

, not the one that marks the scale or the size.

It is undeniable that, by

not establishing schedules, or portions, or a specific list of foods

, "it enhances the

pleasure of eating

and promotes a

deeper

and more accurate self-knowledge of our body, by helping us to listen and satisfy its needs."

Without a doubt, following a diet of this type, "in addition to being healthier, is

more bearable

and, therefore,

sustainable over time

, which helps us control drastic weight gains and losses."

Efficacy more than proven by a hundred scientific investigations, there is no doubt that the intuitive diet helps "to

reduce triglyceride levels and increase good cholesterol

, in addition to improving

glycemic

control ."

DECALOGUE

But how do you follow?

"It has 10 basic principles, which are not rules, but tools that are used as a guide to be able to carry it out," says Amaro, who explains to us, one by one, what they are about.

1. Reject the mentality of always being on a diet.

"What I'm doing is listening to my body and my mind."

2. Pay attention to hunger.

"It is very important to differentiate

when I am hungry and how much appetite.

Hunger

is not selective and only asks us for food. It

appears gradually and it is not necessary to satisfy it immediately. We can wait and control it. When we feel full, we stop and do not feel discomfort or heaviness. Nor, 'fault' because what we have done has been to cover a physiological need: the lack of nutrients".

What happens when we are on a diet?

"That

we feel an appetite

that, unlike hunger, is related to selective eating, that is, with cravings and usually appears in specific situations. It appears suddenly and quickly. It generates a lot of anxiety because it has to be satisfied immediately Being an impulse, it has no end and pushes us to eat in such a way that, later, we feel physical discomfort and guilt."

2. Make peace with food.

"We stop feeling guilty about eating because, by doing so, we are satisfying an essential need."

3. Challenge the 'food police'.

"We are going to eat the food that provides us with the nutrient that our body asks of us: fish, fruit, carbohydrates, if we have done sports."

4. Feeling full:

"It is the response we receive when we cover a physiological need."

5. Discover the satisfaction factor.

"

Also, we learn to recognize that feeling of satiety and the satisfaction that comes from eating because our body needs it."

6. Face emotions with kindness.

"We are at peace with ourselves because we are at peace with our body and mind."

7. Respect our body.

"We eat healthy food because we don't feel that anxiety that pushes us to eat what we shouldn't, respecting our body."

8. Feel the difference of movement.

"Walking, cycling, doing yoga... We can choose what we like best, but we must integrate physical activity into our lifestyle."

9. Honor health with 'kind' nutrition.

"And, above all, ensure our physical and mental health, which right now is very damaged."

But, beware, María Amaro warns, that "this path cannot be undertaken alone, but must be done with the

accompaniment of health professionals who guide us on the path to this type of diet

, gradually. Obviously, The body will continue to ask for carbohydrates -because it needs them- but, for example, it will not demand sugar because it is something that we do not need as such".

Eat when you are hungry and what our body needs.

Of course, the plan could not be more appealing...

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