Intuitive Eating 101
A beginner’s guide to the Intuitive Eating principles.
As I touched on in my last blog, Mindful Meal Planning is rooted in two fundamental concepts: Intuitive Eating and Health at Every Size. But what exactly is Intuitive Eating? Is it another fad diet or can it actually help me live a happier, healthier lifestyle?
What is Intuitive Eating?
Intuitive Eating is an evidence-based eating approach focused on improving the relationship between food, mind, and body. Developed by two brilliant dietitians Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch in 1995, Intuitive Eating teaches you to honor one’s own health by allowing the signals coming from within your body (like hunger and fullness) to guide your eating behaviors.
Intuitive Eating is way more than just “eating when you’re hungry, stopping when you’re full.” Intuitive Eating embraces the nuances of our daily food choices, our access to certain foods (regionally and economically), and the satisfaction derived from eating different foods.
The 10 Intuitive Eating Principles:
1. Ditch the diet mentality - 95% of all diets don’t work. The diet industry knows that, yet they still sell trendy regimens and supplements for profit. Release yourself from the shackles of a culture that promotes eating disorders and unrealistic beauty standards. If you only see food for its calorie content, you’ll never rediscover the satisfaction eating has to offer.
2. Honor your hunger - No matter what diet culture tries to sell you, it’s not cool to not eat. Listen to your body and honor the signals of hunger it gives you. Learning to honor your hunger is the first step in rebuilding trust with your mind and body. Skipping meals only leads to excessive hunger, where rational portions and honoring fullness go completely out the window.
3. Make peace with food - Food is not your enemy. Give yourself permission to eat, to taste, to experience. There are no good foods or bad foods. Depriving yourself of a certain craving or sensation only leads to binge eating or self-shaming when you do indulge.
4. Challenge the food police - Don’t trust influencers, Instagram “doctors”, or outside noise with your food decisions or listen to arbitrary food rules. There are no rules for food. Food does not need to be policed. Don’t let someone else convince you to order a meal you don’t desire at a restaurant because it's the “healthiest” option. You are capable of making your own food decisions based on what you want and what makes your body feel at its best. Often times this means challenging the voice in your own head that polices your food choices.
5. Discover the Satisfaction Factor - When we speak about satisfaction in relation to eating, we mean specifically the sensory experience of consuming food and the pleasures that derive from such experience. What foods sound and taste good. What aromas are appealing. How do you feel about the volume and sustaining capacity of different foods? Diet culture reinforces the false idea that we can’t find pleasure in food. That is their biggest and most profitable lie. When you eat what you want, when you want, where you want, you are able to take pleasure in the experience of eating rather than seeing it as a chore.
6. Feel your fullness - Let your body dictate how much or how little you need to feel full. Trust that your body will give you indicators as to when mealtime is over. Constantly access your level of hunger while eating. Don’t wait until you're uncomfortable or can’t move to realize you may have overeaten.
7. Use Kindness to cope with your emotions - With the process of unlearning food restrictions also comes the process of self-forgiveness. Don’t beat yourself up for past decisions and failed diets. Food is not an emotional crutch. No amount of eating will magically fix feelings. It may feel good temporarily, but in all actuality, these emotions will just manifest elsewhere. Practice kindness and self-love when it comes to your body and your food choices. Seek comfort in other positive distractions like nature, relationships, and exercise.
8. Body Respect - Accepting the physical abilities and limitations of your body is the first step to reclaiming your body. Stop being overly critical and learn to respect your body shape and the bodies of others. Weight-centric thought only breeds insecurity. ALL bodies are good bodies and worthy of love.
9. Movement – feel the difference - Forget the Tik Tok trends and exercises that look more like military training than a recreational activity. Learn to take pleasure in the joy of everyday movement. Focus on how the movement feels in your body rather than the calories each exercise should burn.
10. Gentle nutrition - Make calculated, balanced food choices that honor your health without sacrificing the flavors and tastes you love. One high-calorie snack or meal will not destroy your entire wellness equilibrium. It’s your long-term eating habits that impact your overall health. If you struggle with poor dietary choices, learn to make small changes that will lead to progress over time.
The 10 Principles of Intuitive Eating work together to overcome obstacles related to self-hate and body acceptance. IE is NOT a fad diet. There are no food plans or calorie counting. No macros or points. It’s a journey of self-discovery and building a stronger connection between your mind and body.
✨Feel confident in your own skin and the food choices you’re making.✨
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