Intuititive Eating for weight loss = eat what you want, when you want?

I just read an article from my Lifetime Fitness magazine, about how "Intuititive eating" can help you lose weight.  I've attached the web version of the article here.  It's an anti-diet, which sounds great for me because I hate the word "diet".  I don't ever enjoy saying that I'm on a diet, nor do I ever feel like I'm dieting.  I prefer to say that "I'm trying to lose weight."  Here's why...I love food and culinary arts.  I wish I knew more about food to be able to cook to an art form, or to know what goes well with what.  I want to be an amazing chef (not for a restaurant but for myself).  I think that food and cooking can be art.  I love discovering new ingredients, tasting new combinations, learning about the health benefits of ingredients, etc.  I love junk food and I love "healthy" foods.  Because of my love and appreciation for food, I don't like the idea of "restricting" myself from it.  What is happiness with restricting something you love?  What if someone took your significant other away from you, whom you love more than anything else in the world?  Okay, I'm not saying that I love food more than anything else in the world...because I don't.  I'm not Liz Lemon ;)  But you get the point.  Anyways, read the article if you're interested in learning about this technique.  I'm not saying I'm going to live by the principles of intuitive eating, but I think many of the principles are important and can be helpful for me (and everyone else).  And with an educational background in psychology, a lot of these points make sense to me.

PRINCIPLES of Intuitive Eating

1.)  Learn to recognize mild sensations of hunger that emerge even while you are busy doing something else, and feed them before you become ravenous or become tempted to make unhealthy eating choices.

2.) Give yourself permission to eat whenever you feel hungry, and let go of internal feelings of guilt of rigid rules that say you can't eat more than a certain number of calories a day or enjoy a slice of cake.

3.) Derive pleasure and satisfaction from the eating experience moment by moment, without distraction, and savor your food.  Notice when and how your hunger abates.  While you are eating, do not watch television, work at the computer or think about your plans for the rest of the day.  Instead, look at your food, observing color, shape, taste, smell, texture and quality.  Observe your own sensations and reactions.

4.) After a meal is done, take some time to focus on your inner feelings - sluggish or energized, anxious or calm?  Decide whether the meal and its contents are worth eating again.

5.) Don't eat to alleviate anxiety, boredom or depression.  If you find yourself overeating to treat a mood or emotion instead of to satisfy physiological hunger, search for the emotional root of the problem and then soothe or stimulate yourself through yoga, a long walk or a talk with a friend.

6.) Exercise and move for enjoyment - not expressly for weight loss or calorie burning.

7.) Notice how you feel when you choose healthy, high quality food.  Take stock of your physical, mental and emotional responses.

8.) Keep caveats in mind.  Many integrative health experts point out that the foods we most crave are sometimes those to which we are allergic or intolerant.  If you suffer from this sort of food "addiction," be aware that feeding it may make your cravings worse.