What is intuitive eating, really?
Today’s post comes from Kelsey Chadwick, MS RDN.
You may have heard the term ‘intuitive eating,' and wondered what it means. Coined by two dietitians, Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch in their 1995 book of the same name, intuitive eating is an evidence-based, self-care, eating framework. It is not the newest “trend” or fad diet to lose weight. It is about trusting ourselves to make food choices that feel good for our body without guilt or influence from diet culture. And counter to many descriptions online, intuitive eating is not about ignoring our health while eating anything we might crave in any moment…it is about finding satisfaction and pleasure in eating, while truly honoring our health and body.
We are born intuitive eaters, meaning we have the ability to eat when we are hungry and stop when we are full. However, as we grow older we begin to lose our intuitive eating skills and allow outside influences to guide our eating. These disruptive influences can come from a variety of places, including growing up in a household with strict food rules or even disconnecting from our body due to years of dieting and restricting.
Diet culture has taught us that there are “good” and “bad” foods and a “thin body” is the “perfect body.” There is no perfect body and food doesn’t have morality. Intuitive eating is about caring for ourselves in a body- and weight-neutral way. We all have a different genetic makeup, which should be celebrated and cherished. Intuitive eating is not weight-focused and aligns with the framework of Health At Every Size (HAES). When we put a focus on weight, it can lead us to focus in on external measures such as counting calories or “macros” or just the number on the scale, ultimately disconnecting us from our bodies own cues.
In order to guide you through the process of intuitive eating, Evelyn and Elyse, formulated the following 10 principles. These principles are not new rules to follow. They are simply a framework to guide you on your intuitive eating journey. I like to think of them as intuitive eating’s mission statement; something to guide you in the work you are doing.
The 10 Principles are as follows:
Reject the Diet Mentality
Honor Your Hunger
Make Peace with Food
Challenge the Food Police
Discover the Satisfaction Factor
Feel Your Fullness
Cope with Your Emotions with Kindness
Respect Your Body
Movement - Feel the Difference
Honor Your Health with Gentle Nutrition
Intuitive eating is a process and is an essential part of creating a healthy relationship with food. There will be ups and downs and you will move through the principles at your own pace and in any order you feel is best. With intuitive eating, you can let go of years of restricting, deprivation and weight cycling. If you’re ready to reclaim your intuitive eating skills, you are welcome to reach out for personal nutrition counseling with a member of our team.
Lastly, I’d like to leave you with these questions to help you explore if you are an intuitive eater. Read each question, answering each with a yes or a no. Each yes answer, likely indicates some areas that need work.
Do I view foods as good or bad?
If I am craving a certain food, do I restrict myself from having it?
I follow eating rules or diet plans that dictate what, when and/or how to eat.
I very often use food to help me soothe negative emotions and have few other coping tools I can call on.
I have difficulty determining when I am hungry and/or full.
Tribole, Evelyn, and Elyse Resch. Intuitive Eating: A Revolutionary Program That Works. St. Martin's Griffin, 2020.