Intuitive Eating - College Edition
As a new incoming freshman to the dorms at SDSU, I had heard of the “freshman 15” and became terrified. “Freshman 15” is the assumption for a new freshman to gain 15lbs within their first year of college. For the first time I was fully responsible for my own food intake and this transition alone was difficult. In addition, the stress of moving away from family made the transition more difficult. In fact, the National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA) estimates between 10-20% of women and 4-10% of men in college have an eating disorder, and they estimate the rates of eating disorders are rising.1 NEDA attributes an increase in likelihood of developing an eating disorders in college to “increased workload, less structure, and a new social context.”1 Dorm life consists of staying up late with friends, studying, and getting the late-night munchies. In addition, the simple tasks such as dishes, laundry, etc., which may have been done by a parent before, must be done by the new student and when tasks begin to pile up along with schoolwork and work schedules, diet and dietary patterns becomes less of a priority. With potential weight gain and the emphasis on a new social environment, students are likely to become more self-conscious and therefore increase the chances of developing an eating disorder.
For the individuals like myself, who became extremely conscious of what and how much food I was eating, this transitional time is important in developing healthy dietary patterns. While many college students adopt poor dietary patterns due to consumption of fast food, eating late, binge-eating due to stress, etc., many other students develop unhealthy dietary patterns by skipping meals, only eating “healthy foods,” dieting, etc. With an increase in social life and opportunities, there may be a great deal of pressure to fit in or be liked, and many people feel that they need to be a certain weight or size to have the opportunity to fit in. We need to change this stigma that size determines value. Size and weight do not determine value as an individual.
With all of the new things going on and various potential stressors, college becomes a critical time to develop a healthy relationship with food. While having the perfect body may seem ideal, it is not sustainable, and you will drive yourself crazy thinking that it is. In reality, no one has the perfect body, and appreciating all your body does for you is necessary. Intuitive eating is a sustainable dietary pattern that is not restrictive and allows for a renewal of connection with your own body. A study comparing the value of weighing and calorie counting versus intuitive eating showed that the more people engage in calorie counting and weighing, the more likely they were to have an elevated weight.2 Another study found that half of dieters actually weighed over 11lbs more than their original starting weight.3 This shows, along with many other studies, that dieting is not beneficial for weight loss. On the other hand, Intuitive eating has “been proposed as a healthier, more effective alternative to dieting for weight management.”4 However, intuitive eating only is effective and beneficial when you reject the diet mentality. This means realizing that the cycle of dieting- losing weight and gaining it back- is not effective and imposes more stress on the body, making it more difficult to lose weight.
Adopting intuitive eating behaviors may help college students develop healthy dietary patterns, reconnect with intuition, and aid in body positivity and appreciation. In addition, eating intuitively may help improve cholesterol levels, improve body image, self-esteem, and satisfaction with life, improve metabolism and reduce stress levels and the rate of disordered and emotional eating.5 To eat intuitively as a college student, you have to learn to turn down all the noise and stress and allow yourself to feel on a deeper level. One tactic to try is to eliminate distractions while eating. If you get rid of the distractions, especially during mealtimes, you open up some time to ask yourself how your food tastes, how hungry or full you currently feel, etc. These questions allow you to think about how your body is feeling in a given moment. At first, this will take practice, but it will become habitual if continued. You begin to honor your hunger, eating when and what your body desires. You also learn to stop when you sense fullness, preventing the uncomfortable “food baby.”
Another tip to eat intuitively is to challenge the food police.6 This means disregard what others say regarding the foods you eat, how you eat, and when you eat. College is a time full of peer interaction and peer pressure and you may feel pressured to listen to other people’s negative comments. However, once you begin to listen to your body and do what makes you feel good, it becomes easier to ignore other people's comments, especially when they are not able to understand how YOUR body feels.
A third tip to help you eat intuitively in college is to cope with your emotions kindly. It has been shown that high levels of stress are associated with decreased fruit intake, intended healthy meals and consuming healthy meals.7 College is definitely an emotional roller coaster and it is important to be kind to yourself and allow yourself time to deal with your stress, happiness, sadness etc. Once you begin to cope with your emotions, it becomes less likely that you will use food as a coping mechanism.
Remember, intuitive eating is a process. There is no right or wrong or pass or fail. It is a journey in which you begin to learn about yourself, your intuition, and your abilities.
References
Jacobson R. Eating Disorders and College. Child Mind Institute. https://childmind.org/article/eating-disorders-and-college/ Accessed December 2, 2020.
Romano K, Swanbrow Becker M, Colgary C, et al.Harmful or Helpful? The comparative value of self-weighing and calorie counting versus intuitive eating on the eating disorder symptomatology of college students. Eat Weight Disord. 2018: 23(6):841-848. doi: 10.1007/s40519-018-0562-6 Accessed December 2, 2020.
Wolpert S. Dieting does not work, UCLA research report. UCLA Newsroom. https://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/Dieting-Does-Not-Work-UCLA-Researchers-7832#:~:text=One%20study%20found%20that%2050,diabetes%20and%20altered%20immune%20function. Published April 3, 2007. Accessed December 7, 2020.
Denny K, Loth K, Eisenberg M, et al. Intuitive eating in young adults: Who is doing it, and how is it related to disordered eating behaviors? Appetite. 2013: 60(1): 13-19. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2012.09.029 Accessed December 5, 2020.
Rumsey A. 24 Benefits of Intuitive Eating. Alissa Rumsey: Nutrition and Wellness. https://alissarumsey.com/intuitive-eating/intuitive-eating-benefits/ Published July 23, 2019. Accessed December 7, 2020.
10 Principles of Intuitive Eating. The Original Intuitive Eating Pros. https://www.intuitiveeating.org/10-principles-of-intuitive-eating/ Accessed December 7, 2020.
Nicholas S. The effect of stress on undergraduate college students in relation to eating out behaviors and weight status. Surface University. https://surface.syr.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1480&context=etd Published May 2016. Accessed December 7, 2020.