Bulimia and Nutrition: The Role of Intuitive Eating

Transcript from our October 2014 TweetChat with Elyse Resch.

 

“Bulimia and Nutrition: The Role of Intuitive Eating”

Welcome to today’s #EDHchat!  Our topic is “Bulimia and Nutrition:  The Role of Intuitive Eating”.  Special thanks to Elyse Resch for helping us make this twitter chat possible!  Elyse is a Registered Dietitian who specializes in the treatment of eating disorders through Intuitive Eating.

Please tell us a little bit about yourself and your background.

I am a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, with a MS in Nutrition and have been in private practice for 32 years as a Nutrition Therapist.  I mainly treat people with eating disorders and disordered eating utilizing the principles of Intuitive Eating.  Intuitive Eating is the book I co-authored, which is in its 3rd edition.

I am a Certified Eating Disorder RD (CEDRD), a Fellow of IAEDP & a Fellow of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.  I was the nutritionist on the eating disorder unit at Beverly Hills Medical Center back in the ’80s.

What is Intuitive Eating?

Intuitive Eating is a dynamic interplay of instinct, emotion, and thought.  We are born with all the wisdom we need to have to know how to eat but are sometimes disconnected from this wisdom.  Instinctually, the reptilian part of the brain sends the message to eat for survival purposes.  Sometimes that instinct is hidden, due to eating disorder thoughts, malnutrition, anxiety, illness, etc.  At that point, the intellectual part of the brain needs to be used to send a message to eat, even if the instinct isn’t available.

The emotional part of the brain impacts the eating process by sending a message to either eat more than needed or not enough.  Therefore, utilizing all three parts of the brain working together is the true meaning of Intuitive Eating.

What sets intuitive eating apart from other dieting trends?

Intuitive Eating is not a dieting trend.  It is a basic part of a human’s internal wisdom that needs to be re-found, if someone has been disconnected from this wisdom.  It’s an autonomous, internal process, in which one learns to trust the body to know when to eat, how much to eat, and what to eat.

A diet is an external force, which takes away autonomy by instructing when to eat, how much to eat and what to eat.  Diets involve restriction and rules, which ultimately lead to deprivation and rebellion.  Intuitive Eating involves trust and freedom that allows one to make decisions about eating based on his/her internal voice.

How can intuitive eating help someone who is in recovery from an eating disorder?

Often, someone might be far along in the healing process, no longer showing any symptoms of the eating disorder…  The noise in that person’s head which speaks fear of eating, of being out of control, of poor body image is still loud and clear

Intuitive eating offers a model for eating that will allow for complete freedom from these negative thoughts… and a world where the person will be able to trust his/her body to know when to eat, what to eat, and how much to eat.

The recriminations and guilt that have gone with the eating disorder will be fully resolved…  This is a result of reconnecting with intuitive signals.

If I am recovering from an eating disorder, how do I know if I’m ready to begin the intuitive eating process? 

At any point in the healing process, a person can be taught about the ten principles of Intuitive Eating.  The principles of honoring hunger and feeling fullness cannot be practiced if the person is underweight and malnourished…  This is because the signals of hunger and fullness are distorted at this point.  But working on finding satisfaction, making peace with food, challenging the food police, respecting the body… rejecting the diet mentality, coping with emotions without using food can be practiced early on.

What are some obstacles/fears an individual may face when following IE?

People often worry that if they give themselves permission to eat whatever they desire, they’ll never stop eating that food.  Actually, by lifting the restriction on a food, what goes along with that is the disappearance of deprivation.

Once one is no longer deprived of a particular food, the excitement and urgency about seeking it dissipates.  Eventually, habituation takes place.

Habituation can be described as a decreased response to a continued stimulus.  If you can eat potato chips any time you feel like eating them, they soon lose their heightened response.

People are also concerned that they will have endless weight gain.  While weight gain is necessary if someone is underweight, weight gain may not happen.  If it does, it will be a small amount and will be temporary, if one begins the process at a normal weight.  This is a result of eating more of and more often the foods which have been previously restricted.  Over time, people end up eating just what they need, and weight normalizes.

What things do I have to look forward to as I become an Intuitive Eater?

As an Intuitive Eater, you will finally feel free of the fears and struggles that come with an eating disorder.  You will regain the trust in your body that you had as a toddler, before you were distracted and taken away from that trust.  You will find that you are getting more satisfaction out of eating and more satisfaction out of life.

Once the obsessive and negative thoughts about food and body have gone away, what emerges is room for many wonderful things…  More enjoyable thoughts and actions that come in to replace the negativity.  People are amazed at the increase in creativity and productivity that emerges in their lives.

If I am interested in learning more about becoming an Intuitive Eater, where do I start?

You begin by reading the third edition of the book, which was released in 2012.  You can then listen to the audio book, which has the chocolate covered strawberry on the cover.  This is not a verbatim reading of the book but a discussion format with guided practices for all of the IE principles.  After reading the book, you focus on figuring out which foods you truly enjoy…  You will also figure out which foods give you the most satisfaction in your eating experience.

If you focus on satisfaction, you will see how that focus informs all of the other Intuitive Eating principles.  You’ll learn that if you begin eating when you’re moderately hungry, you will derive more satisfaction in the meal.  You’ll also learn that the greatest satisfaction comes before you get overly full and the food’s taste diminishes.  You will see how the principle of satisfaction helps you to achieve the other Intuitive Eating principles, as well.

Having the intention of being mindful in your eating experiences is an important first step, as well.  If you use the guided practices in the audio book, they will help you reinforce all you’ve learned in the reading of the book.

How can a RD help me in the process of becoming an Intuitive Eater?

An RD will guide you through the process, identifying your strengths and your vulnerabilities.  She/he will teach you the scientific concepts and facts, which you will need to store in your mind…  As well as resources for challenging your cognitive distortions about food and how your body works.  You will be assisted in identifying these myths, which you carry around and practice challenging them.

You will be helped in finding a way of eating which is both taste bud and body satisfying to you.  You will be guided & supported in finding ways to nurture yourself & incorporate healthy coping skills to deal with emotions.  Instead of using food or eating disordered behaviors to deal with them.

Your nutritionist will be with you all the way on this path to healing your eating disorder.  Your nutritionist can help you reconnect with your internal intuitive eater.

 

Thank you Elyse for sharing this great information and insight about the intuitive eating process.  If you or a loved one has been suffering with an eating disorder, we hope this information brings you hope.  Making peace with food and your body is possible!  For more information about Elyse and Intuitive Eating, visit her website at www.elyseresch.com

Thank you to everyone who participated in our Twitter Chat today!  And thank you for the great insight Elyse Resch!

Please stay tuned for future Twitter Chats from EDH!

If you are in need of resources for an eating disorder, visit our website at EatingDisorderHope.com