WHAT IS INTUITIVE EATING?
down your metabolism. Kristen Smith, a registered dietitian and the spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, says it’s also linked to disordered eating habits. Intuitive eating may just be the antidote. Singer Demi Lovato, who has been open about her struggles with an eating disorder and body-image issues, credits a more mindful approach to eating with helping her overcome harmful eating patterns.
Eating mindfully, also known as intuitive eating, is trending in the health and wellness world. But it couldn’t be more different from fad diets or other trends like fasting and cleanses, which have restrictive lists of rules and foods to eat or avoid. Intuitive eating starts by simply tuning in to your body’s needs and cues, but it goes further than that. As a Harvard Medical School article put it, “In essence, mindful eating means being fully attentive to your food — as you buy, prepare, serve, and consume it.” And that includes focusing on how different foods and eating habits make you feel, both physically and mentally. While this may feel … intuitive ... it’s easier said than done in a culture with consistent and often confusing messaging around what constitutes healthy eating. Even the tried-and-true method of calorie counting has raised doubts in recent years due to inaccuracies in calorie calculations for the nutrition labels and research on how calorie restriction can backfire by changing your hormone levels and even slowing
HOW INTUITIVE EATING CAN HELP YOU QUIT DIET CULTURE
HOW DOES IT LEAD TO BETTER HEALTH OUTCOMES?
Having a regular exercise routine and eating well have long been known as the two pillars of physical health. When it comes to the latter, intuitive eating helps you create healthy and sustainable eating habits. The upshot is that when you eat better, you’ll feel better. Being attuned to that connection is the foundation of mindful eating. Most of us know that we should eat whole foods, including lots of fruits and vegetables, but feeling the outcome of increased consumption of these foods will help you stick with and build the habit.
The concept of mindfulness has fully saturated mainstream culture at this point. Though it’s more likely to conjure up an image of someone sitting cross-legged with closed eyes than sitting at a table looking wide-eyed at mealtime, it’ll serve you just as well on your dinner plate as it will on your yoga mat.
THE SCIENCE BEHIND A WWI HEALING TACTIC PILATES: THE BEST PRACTICE FOR BACK PAIN
Research shows that over one-half of working Americans experience back pain symptoms every year. Those most at risk of back pain are overweight or inactive, those who sit a lot for work, and those whose jobs require lifting. However, stress and smoking are also important factors in your back pain — that’s just to say back pain is extremely common. Worldwide, back pain is also the single leading cause of disability, preventing many people from engaging in work and other everyday activities. That’s why at M3 PT, we love guiding our patients through Pilates. Pilates is one way experts have helped rehabilitate injuries since World War I, and research shows that it happens to be one of the best ways to recover from back pain.
pain. Your deep abdominal muscles help provide support to your back (operating similarly to a corset) — the weaker they are, the more prone you are to injury. By strengthening your deep abdominal, pelvic floor, and back muscles, you give your spine more support and a stronger base for movement and stability. That’s where Pilates steps in. It’s designed to strengthen those muscle groups specifically, and has been found to reduce chronic back pain and disability associated with back pain. While exercising in certain positions can worsen your back pain, Pilates can be modified so aggravating positions are avoided while relieving positions are emphasized. With our clinical Pilates program, we can also further customize your Pilates exercises by taking photos of your posture to identify problems, or even utilizing ultrasound to see which muscle areas need improvement.
If you or a loved one experiences back pain and want to improve or completely eliminate it with Pilates, don’t hesitate to reach out to M3 PT. Many of our own therapists, like Erika, have benefited from the healing power of Pilates, and we’d love to help you on your recovery journey!
People with back pain often have weaker abdominal muscles than those without back
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