Rules around food often cause us to lose touch with what our bodies really require

A COUPLE of months ago, I was introduced to the concept of Intuitive Eating and I have become almost evangelical about it, says Louise O’Neill

I feel compelled to tell everyone I know that this system will change your life. “You just eat when you’re hungry!” I say, over and over again. “And stop when you’re full! Viva la revolution, my friends!” (I have no friends anymore.)

The system was created by two American nutritionists, Elyse Resch and Evelyn Tribole, and has played a crucial part in the ever popular anti-dieting movement that’s taking place globally. If you practice Intuitive Eating, you eschew calorie counting and re-learn to trust your body’s hunger and satiety signals. You stop labelling certain foods as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ and follow your own instincts about what you want to eat, and when you want to eat it.