Q. I started obsessing over food and body image about 7 years ago—in which I Iost and gained the same 20-30 pounds. I’m familiar with Intuitive Eating and recently listened to your Intuitive Eating audio CDs.

I recently caved in and joined Weight Watchers. They claim they are not a diet, but they are. Now I feel like I’m really caught up in the dieting cycle trap. Now I feel like I'm not allowed to eat when I'm hungry. My question: Can I trust my body to send me the correct hunger signals if I have made it a habit of eating immediately feeling any tinge of hunger? Please help! —CS from Ketchikan, Alaska.

In short, yes, you can cultivate the ability to hear and respond appropriately to your body's cues of hunger. But it can be rather confusing trying to attune to your biological cues, while counting points. (What do you do, if all your points are gone after lunch?)

I consider dieting a form of "nutritional trauma". It might sound a bit dramatic, but once your body experiences the biological and psychological deprivation from dieting, your body gets smarter. Consequently, it gets harder to stick with each new diet, because your cells know what to do. (See my earlier post, Is it True that Dieting Makes You Gain Weight?).

Your "habit of eating immediately feeling any tinge of hunger"—sounds like a reactive response from the dieting process, where hunger is a feared sensation, rather than a natural process that gears up and down, depending on when, and how much you ate.

While there is nothing wrong with eating this way, it tends to make hunger cues difficult to assess. And if you eat just until the hunger goes away, you will likely be hungry sooner, which sets up a cycle of constantly thinking about food and what to eat.

If you feed your body on a regular, consistent basis, by honoring your hunger, it will help build "body-trust". Here's what I suggest:

1. Ditch the diet.

2. Try sitting with your "tinge of hunger" sensation for a few minutes. Observe how hunger feels, physically. (Don't judge, just notice the sensations). During this time remind yourself, you will feed your body—you are merely checking in, just getting to know your body.

3. When you eat—take note of your hunger level (rate from 1-10) before, during and after eating.

4. Notice the experience of your food choice (whether it's a meal or snack). Did it sustain you? Was it satisfying?

5. You might want to consider aiming for "meal-based" eating—as it will provide stronger cues of hunger and fullness.

Lastly, be patient and compassionate with yourself—it takes time to learn how to become an Intuitive Eater, especially when you have been at war with your body.

Copyright © 2010 by Evelyn Tribole, MS, RD  Published at http://www.EvelynTribole.com

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