Dieting habits of the Poles – what they say about us
The latest Cateromarket report, entitled “Poles on a diet. What diets we follow and why”, shows that Polish people are increasingly aware of the importance of diet. Compared to previous years, we have stopped looking at diet solely as a way to achieve a slim and attractive body. Instead, we have started to focus on how food affects our health and well-being. This is a huge positive change of perspective! However, not everyone knows what should be done to achieve good health and well-being.
The report shows that as many as 49% of Poles believe that healthy eating is not simple, and 10% are not sure whether eating ‘smart’ is easy to achieve. Not knowing how to build healthy eating habits, we jump from one diet to another and fall into a vicious cycle. Elyse Resch, a specialist in the treatment of eating disorders and lecturer at the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, says: “The data show that 95% of people who go on diets fail at them, and if they’ve lost weight, two thirds of them gain even more weight back. The only alternative is to start trusting the body and feeling the freedom and enjoyment of food that comes with that”*.
Trust your intuition and eat healthy
Intuitive eating is a programme developed by two American dietitians: Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch. Together, they wrote a book titled “Intuitive Eating: A Revolutionary Anti-Diet Approach”, where they address ten principles of their dietary philosophy. They are formulated as follows:
1. Reject the diet culture
… or forget the expectation that you should follow one diet or another.
2. Honour your hunger
… or don’t ignore hunger, and don’t treat it as your enemy. Hunger is your body’s signal telling you it needs nourishment.
3. Make peace with food
… or reject external guidance and advice on what you can and cannot eat.
4. Challenge the food police
… or don’t treat food as good or bad, and don’t judge yourself by what you eat (and don’t let others do the same).
5. Discover satisfaction
… or make eating a pleasant experience: savour the flavour and eat your meals in a comfortable position and setting.
6. Feel your fullness
… or reject the belief that you should eat portions of a given size. Finish your meals when your body gives you the signal that it has had enough.
7. Cope with kindness
… or avoid emotional eating and find alternative ways to boost your mood (read more about how not to overeat HERE).
8. Respect your body
… or eat what you like and what makes you feel good.
9. Perform joyful movement
… or get regular physical activity that you’re most likely to enjoy.
10. Provide gentle nutrition
… or don’t berate yourself for how you look. Instead, appreciate your strong points.
As you can see, this philosophy of eating is based primarily on listening to your body and responding to what it is telling you. Sounds simple? In fact, it is! To take the most important step towards intuitive eating you need to change the way you think about food in universal, culturally or socially imposed categories.
Advantages of intuitive eating
Are you wondering what you can gain from intuitive eating – apart from giving up the habit of counting calories? According to research, this way of eating keeps your body weight stable, improves health indicators – including cholesterol and triglycerides – and reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease. Intuitive eating is known to be associated with psychophysical well-being, improve the quality of life, and increase self-confidence and body acceptance.
Trust your intuition and enjoy new flavours. Experiment in the kitchen, and look for products and ingredients that suit you best. Remember that eating breakfast with your smartphone in hand or eating lunch late in the evening, after working long hours, is the worst choice you can make.
We have made use of the following publications:
*https://www.focus.pl/artykul/jedzenie-intuicyjne-antydieta-cud
**https://zdrowie.pap.pl/dieta/czy-polacy-kochaja-diety-nowy-raport-o-zwyczajach-zywieniowych-polakow-komunikat