If you read our article on why we don’t track macros in FLLS, this may be your next question:
“So…if you don’t track macros in FLLS, is this more of an ‘Intuitive Eating’ program?”
We get this question a lot, and the answer is no! Keep reading to learn why...
What Is Intuitive Eating?
Since “Intuitive Eating” has become another internet wellness buzz word, let’s go straight to the source, IntuitiveEating.org. This site is run by the creators of Intuitive Eating, Evelyn Trible and Elyse Resch.
Intuitive Eating is defined by its creators as:
“A self-care eating framework, which integrates instinct, emotion, and rational thought and was created by two dietitians, Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch in 1995. Intuitive Eating is a weight-inclusive, evidence-based model with a validated assessment scale and over 100 studies to date.”
“Intuitive Eating is aligned with Health at Every Size, because the pursuit of intentional weight loss is a failed paradigm, which creates health problems: including weight stigma, weight cycling, and eating disorders.”
If you’re interested in Intuitive Eating, go straight to the source and read their books, or work with one of their counselors.
3 Reasons Why We Don’t Teach “Intuitive Eating” in Fat Loss Lifestyle School
1. Fat Loss Lifestyle School is a Fat Loss Program.
(I know - kind of obvious right? Since the words “fat loss” are right there in our name…)
Creators and proponents of Intuitive Eating are advocates of Health at Every Size and believe the pursuit of intentional weight loss is a failed paradigm that results in weight stigma, weight re-gain, and eating disorders. (Source: IntuitiveEating.org)
We do agree with the Intuitive Eating creators on this: "weight loss" doesn’t work (at least not the way it's taught in most mainstream diet programs.)
Here at REAL FITNESS, we believe the REAL problem is one-size-fits-all diet programs that focus on weight loss.
Weight loss and fat loss are NOT the same:
Weight loss diets embody a fundamental disregard for basic human physiology and ignore the complexity of the human body, especially as it relates to food, exercise, habits, and mindset.
At the heart of every one-size-fits-all weight loss diet is the same broken message,
“Just eat less and exercise more and you will lose weight. If you are overweight, it is because you eat too much, don’t exercise enough, and/or don’t have the willpower necessary to succeed.”
FAT LOSS LIFESTYLE SCHOOL teaches you to honor your unique physiology, personality, and preferences.
No two clients will finish our program with the same “fat loss plan,” because there is no one way that works for everyone.
Unlike Intuitive Eating, we do not judge or discourage you from wanting to lose body fat. It’s your body, you only get one, and if you want to change it, we’re here to help you do that in a sane, science-based, sustainable way.
2. Intuition Can Be Wrong
Having the ability to pause and ask ourselves thoughtful questions about hunger, emotional state, and food choices, and then make the best choices - well, that sounds amazing!
But in our increasingly fast-paced world, where cheap, calorie-dense, highly-palatable food is available at (almost) every turn, and food marketers have a vested interest in deceiving us, intuition can quickly lead us astray.
Like finance, budgeting, and other practical life skills our modern school system fails to teach, nutrition and exercise aren’t taught in schools. People don’t know how to eat or how to move because they’ve never been taught.
Instead, our beliefs and behaviors around food and exercise are shaped by a mash-up of how and where we’re raised, our experience and the experiences of those around us, and our own unconscious biases.
These influences could steer you right, or they could steer you very, very wrong.
(If I listened to my "intuition" - I'd drink multiple cups of coffee and eat my weight in dark chocolate every day...)
Intuition alone is no substitute for education, data, and practice. It can be the equivalent of the blind leading the blind.
Accurate intuition is a skill to be learned, mastered, and developed over time. Since the quality and quantity of food we eat has huge ramifications for our health and wellbeing, you deserve better than a 50/50 chance of getting it right.
3. Weight Loss CAN Improve Your Health and Quality of Life.
“An estimated 97 million adults in the United States are overweight or obese, a condition that substantially raises their risk of morbidity from hypertension, dyslipidemia, type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea and respiratory problems, and endometrial, breast, prostate, and colon cancers. Higher body weights are also associated with increases in all-cause mortality.” (Source: Clinical Guidelines on the Identification, Evaluation, and Treatment of Overweight and Obesity in Adults.)
Two out of three women are now overweight or obese, and the prevalence of obesity is increasing in every population group: men, women, minorities, children (Source.) There is strong evidence that weight loss:
Reduces blood pressure;
Reduces risk factors for diabetes and cardiovascular disease;
Reduces LDL (so-called “bad” cholesterol);
Reduces blood glucose levels
For overweight or obese individuals, evidence has shown that even a 5-10% reduction in body weight can decrease risk factors for chronic diseases related to obesity. (Source: CDC.gov)
You don’t need to be bikini model-lean to improve your health and quality of life. This is not about being a certain dress size or body fat percentage. The obesity problem is much too widespread, and the stakes are far too serious to hold everyone to these purely aesthetic standards of weight loss success.
If you can make slow, steady improvements to how you eat, how you manage stress, how much and how often you move your body, you WILL get healthier and reduce your risk factors for chronic diseases.
Yes, it’s true: the odds are stacked against us ALL in our modern, pleasure- and convenience-obsessed society, but that only fuels our fire here at REAL FITNESS.
We’re committed to educating and training as many people as possible and showing them it CAN be done. You DO deserve to feel good in your body and live a long, healthy life free of the pain and illness brought on my poor diet and lifestyle choices.
Want to learn more about working with us to change your lifestyle?
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