Self-awareness applied to food and diet? Ephemeral hype? Deep wisdom? Mere feel-good-ism? "Intuitive Eating" gurus say, "Eat when you're hungry, stop when you're full." Sounds like the Zen proverb:
"Master, what is enlightenment?"
"When hungry, eat. When tired, sleep."
... though the backstory of that is a constellation of mindfulness practice developed over millennia, some fraction of which may have evidence of benefits. Intuitive Eating gurus offer ten principles:
- Reject the Diet Mentality
- Honor Your Hunger
- Make Peace with Food
- Challenge the Food Police
- Respect Your Fullness
- Discover the Satisfaction Factor
- Honor Your Feelings without Using Food
- Respect Your Body
- Exercise—Feel the Difference
- Honor Your Health with Gentle Nutrition
Hard to argue with any of that, vague, redundant, and non-orthogonal as they may be. Data — controlled, statistically sound studies — doesn't seem to exist for increased health, happiness, or success in any other positive dimension related to Intuitive Eating. But there are books and coaches aplenty. Perhaps that's ok — sometimes, for some people. Affirmation and acceptance of oneself, including size, aren't bad. Then again, the same could be said for discipline, quantitative metrics, and achievement.
And there's the inimitable Bob Newhart psychologist-therapist skit that advises, when tempted to do something counterproductive, "Stop It!" ...