By Mira Jang,

“Everybody has a theory when it comes to nutrition, so we thought we would go to the experts for some answers about how to eat in a healthy way.
Registered dietitian Elyse Resch, co-author of “Intuitive Eating: A Recovery Book for the Chronic Dieter,” explains the methods to becoming an intuitive eater and stop dieting once and for all. Resch, who works in West L.A., says that intuitive eaters listen to their body for signs of hunger or satisfaction rather than eating for other external reasons. This technique allows everyone to eat what they want when they want to without any restrictions, provided that they obey their bodys’ signals for hunger. Resch also breaks some myths about nutrition and provides more information on health.

Intuitive Eating
“Everybody is capable of becoming intuitive eaters except for someone who has anorexia. She’s not going to get the signal because it’s been a long time since she’s eaten normally. Unless you have a serious eating disorder there’s absolutely no reason why you can’t get the signal. A lot of people who are dieting restrict themselves to food, and then they get really hungry later and end up overeating.”

Fat-Free Foods
“Too much fat-free food is not healthy because it sends a message to your head that says it’s OK to keep eating and eating. I’m not talking about naturally fat-free foods like apples, but rather cookies and crackers that are processed and made to be fat free. People just end up overeating.”

Eating at Night
“Your body needs a certain amount of calories over a 24-hour time period, and it doesn’t really matter when you have them except that if you eat all your food right before going to sleep or in one meal, your metabolism slows down; your metabolism speeds up the more often you eat. You’re probably more at risk of gaining weight if you just eat one time a day. But if you’re eating throughout the day and you want to have your dinner at 7 p.m. and then have a snack at 10 p.m., that’s fine.”

Drinking Water
“[Drinking a lot of water] does not help you lose weight. When people have been on very extreme diets they tell them to drink a lot of water because there are a lot of toxins that are released when you’re losing weight, especially fat. Water is important; you need about eight glasses a day. Water makes you feel full, but once it gets out of your system you’re not going to feel full anymore. It’s important to drink your eight glasses of water a day while you’re losing weight and when you’re not losing weight.”

Specified Diets (eating only proteins, fruits, vegetables, etc.)
“These are very unsafe. You’re only harming your body. If you eat only protein, it’s unhealthy for your kidneys. If you only eat fruits, vegetables, and carbohydrates, you’re breaking down your muscle tissue. You need protein everyday. When you start breaking down you muscle tissue, you’re harming your muscles and your heart.

Exercise
“You need to be active everyday. It’s best to be doing something fun and interesting. An hour a day of exercise is pretty optimal. The two big problems are that people either overexercise, which means going to the gym for two to three hours a day and it’s become an obsession, or they’re not exercising at all which isn’t good for your heart. If you don’t have enough time in the day, try to get in 15-minute exercises throughout the day; get at least a half-hour of exercise a day.””