How to Start Intuitive Eating | Where to Begin & Is It Right For You
Hello! My name is Meredith and I am an anti-diet Registered Dietitian Nutritionist here at Sunrise Nutrition. I provide compassionate, size-inclusive care for adults and adolescents seeking to reconnect with food in a positive way.
Intuitive Eating is a holistic, anti-diet approach to eating that emphasizes listening to your body’s natural needs, including hunger and fullness cues. The primary goal of Intuitive Eating is to cultivate a positive relationship with food that is free from rules and restrictions. Maybe you have heard about Intuitive Eating already, but you aren’t sure if it is right for you or where to begin. Let’s explore the foundations of Intuitive Eating and talk about some realistic, achievable first steps.
What is Intuitive Eating?
The Intuitive Eating approach was first introduced by Registered Dietitians Eveyln Tribole and Elyse Resch in their book, “Intuitive Eating: A Revolutionary Program That Works.” It is important to note that the concept of eating intuitively is certainly not new or revolutionary. Babies are born intuitive eaters. They eat when they are hungry and stop when they are full. It is only with exposure to diet culture that we begin to internalize guilt and shame related to food and body image. The Intuitive Eating approach can help us to reconnect with our body’s innate hunger and fullness cues to determine when, what, and how much to eat. This means that you eat when you are hungry and stop eating when you are full. This stands in stark contrast to the strict diet plans that involve counting calories, eliminating entire food groups, and dictating portion sizes and eating times.
There are 10 Intuitive Eating Principles:
Reject the Diet Mentality. Studies have shown that diets don’t work in the long-term. In fact, they can lead to a negative relationship with food and your body.
Honor Your Hunger. Listen to your body’s hunger signals and eat when you’re hungry.
Make Peace with Food. Stop viewing certain foods as “good” or “bad” and allow yourself to eat the foods you enjoy.
Challenge the Food Police. Silence that collective cultural voice that you have internalized about food and weight and reframe these distorted, damaging thoughts. Discover your own individualized intuitive eater voice.
Respect Your Fullness. Listen to your body’s fullness cues and stop eating when you’re satisfied.
Discover the Satisfaction Factor. Pay attention to how food makes you feel, both physically and emotionally.
Honor Your Feelings Without Using Food. Find alternative ways to cope with emotions instead of turning to food.
Respect Your Body. Accept and respect your body shape, size, abilities, and genetics.
Exercise: Feel the Difference. Focus on movement that you enjoy and that makes you feel good.
Honor Your Health: Gentle Nutrition. Make food choices that support your physical and mental health. Think variety, moderation, and balance. We are striving for body-food congruence.
So, where should you start? Check out these Intuitive Eating tips!
Mindset shift: A helpful first step is to change the way you think about food and your body. Instead of viewing food as “good” or “bad,” adopt a more neutral perspective. Recognize that food provides our bodies with energy and that all foods fit.
Get in touch with hunger cues. Start eating when you are hungry and stop eating when you are full. Try to be mindful of your hunger and fullness levels throughout the day and adjust your intake accordingly - not based on when you think you should be eating.
Say goodbye to food rules: Diets are often based on strict food rules and restrictions. With Intuitive Eating, you can free yourself from these rules and embrace the concepts that all foods can have a place. This means allowing yourself to eat whatever you want, whenever you want it. You may be surprised to find that, once you give yourself permission to eat whatever you want, you will naturally crave foods that supply the energy and nourishment your body needs.
Practice mindful eating. Mindful eating is a key component of Intuitive Eating. Eating more slowly and noting characteristics such as taste, smell, and texture can help you to build a stronger mind-body connection.
Ditch the scale. Intuitive Eating is not about losing weight or changing your body. It is about moving towards body neutrality and eventually body positivity. This is difficult to do if you are constantly focused on a number on the scale.
Cultivate a positive body image. Finally, it is important to strengthen your relationship with your body. This can be challenging in a culture that idealizes certain body types and shames others. Start by focusing on what your body can do rather than your appearance. Recognize that your body is truly amazing at the size and shape it is right now. Focus on self-care activities that make you feel good about your body.
Is Intuitive Eating for you?
Are you tired of being preoccupied with food? Is the burden of weight stigma preventing you from living your life fully? Intuitive Eating can help you appreciate your body as it is, increase your self-esteem, feel confident in what you eat, and set a clear a path towards a better relationship with food. Intuitive Eating can be a beneficial and healing approach for those who have struggled with chronic dieting and body image. It can also be part of the recovery process for disordered eating patterns such as binge eating or restriction. However, Intuitive Eating might not be the first approach for those actively engaged in eating disorder behaviors. One of the reasons for this is that hunger cues are suppressed with prolonged restriction and may no longer be present even though the body does in fact need nourishment. Fullness cues can also become disrupted in binge eating. In these cases, fully integrating the Intuitive Eating principles may not be the best fit right away. Instead, we encourage people to work with a dietitian to stabilize nourishment first. (Can’t build a house without a solid foundation - Intuitive Eating is the same way.)
In general, it may take some time to regain trust in your body, so take your time and practice self-compassion. There is no such thing as perfection when it comes to Intuitive Eating. A single meal, or even multiple weeks of meals, are not going to impact your overall nutrition and wellbeing. Because Intuitive Eating is not a diet, there is no way for you to fail. If you are struggling with an eating disorder or are looking for more support in developing a healthier relationship with food, a dietitian/nutritionist can create a safe and welcoming space for you to begin the healing process.
For Intuitive Eating counseling, reach out to us by completing our Get Started form.
Meredith LaFrance, RDN, CD is a dietitian based out of Seattle, WA. She specializes in the treatment of eating disorders, disordered eating and chronic dieting and relationship with food concerns.