Intuitive Eating
A beginner's guide to the "non-diet" diet.
What is Intuitive Eating?
To start, let’s first discuss what Intuitive Eating is not. It’s not a diet, it’s not a meal plan. Instead, it’s an evidence-based approach to eating that helps people to get back in touch with their biological hunger cues which may have been distorted by societal influence or years of yo-yo dieting.
In 1995, two dieticians - Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch - first coined the term “Intuitive Eating” and eventually drafted the 10 Principles of Intuitive Eating, which serve as guidelines for how to practice this approach to eating. Tribole and Resch continue to be the two leading experts in Intuitive Eating, having published one book, two audiobooks and two workbooks on the subject. To date, over 100 studies have been published on Intuitive Eating, and in the last few years, Intuitive Eating has been quickly gaining popularity on social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok. To date, #intuitiveeating has been tagged over 1.4 million times on Instagram.
Studies show intuitive eaters have lower levels of disordered eating and emotional eating. They also have higher levels of self-esteem, body acceptance, proactive coping, psychological resilience and good cholesterol. Additionally, several studies have shown that scoring high on Intuitive Eating assessments is inversely associated with having a BMI in the overweight or obese range.
How does Intuitive Eating work?
Intuitive Eating works by helping people reconnect with their biological hunger cues. It asks you to let go of the idea that there are “good” and “bad” foods and instead learn to listen to your body and recognize what it wants and needs. Pretty much every diet out there is built around a set of specific rules that tell you what you can and can’t eat and when you should or shouldn’t eat. Not only does this ask you to tune out your body’s wants and needs, but it can also lead to feelings of failure, guilt and shame when you deviate from the list of “acceptable” foods.
Additionally, studies show diets don’t really work. Researchers have found anywhere from 80-95% of dieters regain the weight they lost within one to three years. Years of dieting, calorie counting and restricting certain foods leave most adults struggling to recognize when they are hungry and need to eat and when they’re comfortably full and can stop. The Hunger-Fullness Scale is often used when transitioning to Intuitive Eating as a way to help people tune into what their body is telling them before, during and after eating.
Unlike most diets, the goal of practicing Intuitive Eating is not weight-related. Instead, Intuitive Eating is a weight-neutral approach to food that, over time, can help your body find it’s “set point,” or the weight where it functions optimally.
What are the 10 Principles of Intuitive Eating?
Reject the Diet Mentality
Decide you’re done with diet culture - stop reading articles like “How to Lose 10 Pounds in a Week” and googling “fat-burning foods.” Commit yourself to rediscovering how to eat according to what your body tells you it needs versus what today’s culture says it needs.
Honor Your Hunger
Provide your body with sufficient nutrition at the first signs of hunger - if you allow yourself to reach levels of excessive hunger, you open the door to overeating.
Make Peace with Food
Give yourself unconditional permission to eat - whenever and whatever your body needs. Denying yourself certain foods can lead to feelings of deprivation which can eventually lead to bingeing on that food when you finally decide to “give in” which can, in turn, lead to feelings of guilt and further degrade your relationship with food.
Challenge the Food Police
Fight back against the voice in your head telling you you’re bad for eating something you’d previously deemed off-limits. As long as the food police are alive and thriving in your mind, it will be impossible to eat intuitively.
Discover the Satisfaction Factor
Allow yourself to fully appreciate your meals by choosing foods you want and enjoying them in a pleasant setting. In addition to providing nourishment, food should also provide satisfaction.
Feel Your Fullness
Watch for signals from your body telling you you’re full. Observe how you feel when you’re comfortably full. Take a few moments to pause in the middle of a meal to check in with yourself and gauge your level of fullness.
Cope with Your Emotions with Kindness
Recognize that food can’t solve your problems. Emotional eating might act as a bandaid in the short term but won’t actually help you resolve your issues. In the long term, “eating your feelings” will do nothing but harm.
Respect Your Body
Accept your genes. Accept your bone structure might be smaller or bigger than other people’s. Realize that all bodies are unique and deserve dignity. Try not to set unrealistic expectations or be overly critical of your body.
Movement - Feel the Difference
Focus on how exercise makes you feel and all the other positive effects of physical activity - reduced rates of depression and anxiety, increased energy and stronger muscles and bones - instead of focusing on the calorie-burning effect.
Honor Your Health - Gentle Nutrition
Choose foods that will honor both your cravings and your health. Take note of how different foods make you feel and how satisfying they are to you. Once you’ve fully let go of rigid food rules and embraced intuitive eating, you can make choices that support your health instead of the “diet mindset.”
Wait, so does that mean I can just eat ice cream all day?
Nope. One of the most common myths surrounding Intuitive Eating is that it’s a dietary “free-for-all.” While one of the most important parts of Intuitive Eating is giving yourself unconditional permission to eat, it’s also about learning to recognize what your body is asking for, which is not sugary treats 24/7. When you’re able to get rid of fear and judgment towards certain foods, you might find they no longer seem as tempting, as they’re no longer “off-limits.”
Think of it this way: someone bakes a batch of your favorite cookies. If you know you can only have cookies one day a year, you’d probably feel tempted to make the most of that one day and eat as many cookies as possible, likely leaving you feeling overly-full and kind of yucky. But if you know you can have a cookie anytime you want one, you’d probably be more likely to eat one cookie and leave the rest, knowing you can have another one later that day, or tomorrow or next week, when you truly want it.
A key aspect of Intuitive Eating is recognizing that some days your body might want a salad and some days it might want chocolate - and accepting that both types of days are equally okay. One of Intuitive Eating’s core concepts is that when you allow yourself to eat any food without judgment, over time your cravings for foods you once deemed “off-limits” will decrease.
But what if I hate vegetables? Does that mean I never have to eat them?
Again, the answer here is nope, Intuitive Eating does not mean you get a free pass from ever again eating anything green. Remember that, at its core, Intuitive Eating is about getting in touch with your body and respecting both its needs and wants. While you may not want vegetables, your body does, in fact, need them. In order to truly honor your body and take care of it, you might need to make a conscious decision to practice self-care in the form of eating vegetables, even if you’re not craving them, in order to give your body the nutrients it needs.
Additionally, ask yourself - what is it about vegetables you don’t like? Taste? Texture? Maybe you’ve only ever had the same three or four veggies and the solution is to branch out and try new things. Maybe you’ve only ever had soggy, limp, tasteless broccoli and the solution is to find a new way to prepare it, like roasting it in the oven with some garlic, chile peppers and lemon zest. Once you give yourself permission to eat whatever you want, you might find you love experimenting with new foods and cooking techniques and discover a whole host of new foods to enjoy.
Will Intuitive Eating help me lose weight?
Let me repeat this - Intuitive Eating is NOT designed to help you lose weight. When someone starts practicing Intuitive Eating, there are three possible outcomes: they might lose weight, they might gain weight or their weight might stay the same. Whichever one happens, it’s whatever your body needed in order to reach its healthiest place, according to Aaron Flores, RDN.
Kelly Igo, a recent college graduate who is currently studying to become a registered dietitian, points out that without eating in a calorie deficit, someone will not lose weight.
“It may not be the best option for someone’s weight loss goals due to increased variability in nutritional intake and possibly taking them out of a caloric deficit which is required for fat loss to occur,” Igo said.
Who can benefit most from practicing Intuitive Eating?
Anyone who’s tired of:
depriving themselves of foods they love
relying on external cues to know when to eat
eating the same foods each day because they fit whatever diet they’re currently following
being afraid of certain foods
feeling guilty after eating something “bad”
counting calories
tracking macros
labeling foods as “good” or “bad”
Basically, anyone who’s tired of ignoring what their body is trying to tell them.
How do I start practicing Intuitive Eating?
Before beginning Intuitive Eating, it’s important to have a basic understanding of nutrition and what a balanced meal looks like, according to Igo.
“People who have had some experience utilizing portion control, tracking macros or tracking calories would be in a good place to intuitively eat,” Igo said. “Alternatively, folks who are looking to make a switch to a healthier lifestyle and maybe don’t want to jump right into tracking macros/calories. They could start by swapping their nightly ice cream out for yogurt, regular bagels for whole grain and things of that nature!”
In addition, many people find it helpful to use the previously mentioned Hunger-Fullness Scale when learning to eat more intuitively. The scale ranges from one to 10, with one being “famished, faint and irritable” and 10 being “overstuffed and feeling sick.” Alissa Rumsey, MS, RDN, recommends you begin eating when you’re feeling around a 3 or 4 and end when you’re about a 6 or 7. She also suggests taking a few seconds in the middle of a meal or snack to check in with your body and register how hungry or full you feel. By taking the time to consciously pause and think about how your body feels before and after eating, you can start to get better in tune with your hunger and fullness cues, which eventually leads to eating more intuitively.
Finally, familiarize yourself with all 10 Principles of Intuitive Eating and work to implement them in your own life and quest for better health.
Resources to learn more about Intuitive Eating
Books
Intuitive Eating: A Revolutionary Anti-Diet Approach by Evelyn Tribole, MS, RDN, CEDRD-S and Elyse Resch, MS, RDN, CEDRD-S, FAND
Body Kindness by Rebecca Scritchfield, RDN, EP-C
Anti-Diet: Reclaim Your Time, Money, Well-Being, and Happiness Through Intuitive Eating by Christy Harrison, MPH, RD
Healthy Eating for Life: An Intuitive Eating Workbook to Stop Dieting Forever by Cara Harbstreet, MS, RD, LD
Podcasts
Social Media
Rachael Hartley, RD, LD @rachaelhartleyrd
Kara Lydon, RD, LDN, RYT @karalydonrd
Alissa Rumsey, MS, RD @alissarumseyrd
Robyn Nohling, FNP, RD @thereallife_rd
Kylie Mitchell, MPH, RDN, LD @immaeatthat