What Is Intentional Eating?
Intentional eating is an eating approach adopted by. Gabrielle Fundaro, in collaboration with Shannon Beer, bridges the gap between intuitive eating and macro counting. Intentional eating shapes one’s nutrition behavior while considering important factors such as one’s experiences, preferences, and personal health goals. Intentional Eating tends to be best for people who are working towards health or performance goals but need to step away from precise tracking, who enjoy intuitively eating but have health goals, who are on a vacation, or who want to simply feel healthier. It is imperative to note that Intentional Eating may not work for everyone. In this article, we’ll take you through two of the many behaviors used in Intentional Eating.
Creating A Plate with Intention Using Hand Estimates
Intentional Eating replaces the food weight scale with hands. Using your hands is an externally regulated behavior in Intentional Eating. In other words, you are doing something to satisfy an external demand. In many cases, this is a health goal or performance goal. If you are trying to let go of using precise tracking methods and still have health performance goals, consider using this approach. Using this approach allows you to understand the relationship between normal portion sizes and your health goals. Here are some hand estimations guidance:
- 1 fist = ~ 1 cup carbohydrates
- 2 handfuls= 1-2 servings of fruits and vegetables
- 1 palm = 3-4 oz protein
- 1 thumb = ~ 1 TBSP healthy fat
Observing Hunger and Fullness
Intentional Eating allows you to get in touch with your hunger and fullness levels. This is an internally regulated behavior in Intentional Eating. In other words, you are aware of what is going on inside of your body. You must be aware of what physical hunger feels like to you and what being too full feels like to you as well. You can utilize the hunger scale to observe hunger and fullness before, during, and after your meal. Ideally, we want our bodies to stay between a 3-6 on the hunger scale. Let’s take a look at the hunger scale:
1- Starving, feeling weak, dizzy
2- Very hungry, irritable, low energy, stomach growling
3- Pretty hungry, the stomach growling
4- Beginning to feel hungry
5- Neither hungry nor full
6 -Comfortably full and satisfied
7- Too full; slightly uncomfortable
8- Too full; feeling stuffed
9- Very uncomfortable
10- Extreme discomfort; feel sick
Final Thoughts…
Intentional Eating is a combination of internally and externally regulated behaviors that shape one’s overall perception of what food is and what it will do for our bodies. Understand that Intentional Eating may not work for everyone, but if you are curious to try Intentional eating, consider giving these two behaviors a try!
Resources:
What is comprehensive coaching? VitaminPhD Nutrition. (n.d.). Retrieved October 8, 2021, fromhttps://www.vitaminphdnutrition.com/what-is-comprehensive-coaching.
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