By Evelyn Tribole, MS, RD

Unbelievable. Disturbing. The April issue of Vogue magazine prominently features a cover story about a mother who puts her 7-year old child on a weight loss diet, triggered by the pediatrician classifying her as obese.
     

We are happy to announce that our online community has officially been launched.   Our vision for the Intuitive Eating Community is to provide a safe and nurturing place--free from "diet talk", "fat talk", and body bashing. This is a place to get inspiration & support for your Intuitive Eating journey.

By Evelyn Tribole, MS, RD

     The National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) asked if I would contribute an article on the dangers of dieting (specifically, how dieting increases weight gain)  as part of their outreach for National Eating Disorders Awareness week, which begins February 26, 2012.  Of course, I said yes, and here it is.

This is quick update to let you know that there are exciting things underway for Intuitive Eating in 2012.

Intuitive Eating-New Edition. Elyse and I just finished our final tweaks on the manuscript for a newly updated Intuitive Eating (the 3rd edition), which will be released in July 2012.  We are especially excited about this update because in addition to updating our entire book, we added two new chapters:

by Evelyn Tribole, MS, RD

There has been a lot of media attention on food addiction research.  Scientists are curious about this possibility because the brain region (and neurochemicals) involved with substance abuse, are also implicated in overeating.   But there are a lot of reasons, other than addiction, that can explain the rewarding aspect of eating.

by Evelyn Tribole, MS, RD

There seems to be a common perception that mindless eating is a condition in which you have no idea that you just ate, akin to “eating amnesia”. Many of my clients eat while distracted—but don’t consider themselves mindless eaters, because they are aware that they are eating while engaging in another activity, such as watching television.

My patients often express difficulty being around enthusiastic friends, who incessantly talk about their new weight loss diet.  The friends are usually well meaning, with no intent to harm.  Yet, this diet talk stirs up a bunch of mixed feelings, such as:

•    Envy of the quick weight loss
•    Fantasies of embarking on just one more diet—(get the weight off, and then deal with “the issues”)
•    Triggering for patients with eating disorders

If dieting programs had to stand up to the same scrutiny as medications, they would never be allowed for public consumption.  Imagine, for example, taking an asthma medication, which improves your breathing for a few weeks, but in the long run, causes your lungs and breathing to worsen.  Or, imagine taking a medication to unclog your arteries, but ultimately, caused increased blockage.

After creating the Intuitive Eater's Holiday Bill of Rights, I thought about the collective wisdom of Intuitive Eating Professionals on LinkedIn, (which consists of over 800 allied health professionals).  And so I posed the following question to the group:

Intuitive Eater's Holiday Bill of Rights

by Evelyn Tribole, MS, RD

What if peace on earth could begin at the dinner table? Imagine experiencing an inner peace, free from incessant worry about what to eat. It's hard to enjoy the holidays when you are preoccupied with eating or worried about what to say to relatives who have an annual tradition of telling you what and how to eat.

by Evelyn Tribole, MS, RD

I often get asked, "What is the difference between Intuitive Eating and mindful eating?" It can be a bit confusing since the terms seem to be used interchangeably [1,2].