Intuitive eating: What it is and how to know if it's right for me
Intuitive eating can guide you on forming healthy relationships with food, movement, and your body.
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When we step away from diet culture it can often feel scary and confusing. That's where intuitive eating comes in, a philosophy that can guide you on forming healthy relationships with food, movement, and your body. You might be wondering what intuitive eating really means and if it’s a good fit for you. We're going to take a deep dive into what it looks like to practice intuitive eating and if it's right for you on your PCOS journey.
In this article we’ll be focusing on:
- What is intuitive eating?
- What principles is intuitive eating based on?
- Is intuitive eating right for you?
- How can one cultivate an intuitive eating practice?
What is intuitive eating?
Intuitive eating is a philosophy that includes physical activity for the sake of feeling good, rejecting the dieting mentality, using nutrition information without judgment, and respecting your body, regardless of how you feel about its shape. - Evelyn Tribole, MS, RDN, CEDRD-S (1)
In simpler terms, intuitive eating helps us to stop labeling foods as good or bad, stop restricting, and make peace with all types of food. It also helps us to establish health-promoting behaviors that come from a place of love and respect for our bodies, rather than shame. It is about tuning into your body with an open mind and listening to what it’s telling you. The truth is you have an innate ability to identify and meet your own needs as long as you are willing to trust yourself!
While intuitive eating includes all foods and does not restrict foods or food groups unless there is an allergy or medical need, it is important to know that it does not necessarily mean eating donuts and french fries as your main food groups! While there is space in intuitive eating to enjoy all types of food no matter how "healthy" they are, once one has been eating intuitively for a while it is common that they will gravitate to nutrient-dense foods just like they gravitate toward fun sweets and snacks. Our bodies are wise and once they start trusting us again after long-term restriction, intuitive eaters often find themselves craving nutrient-dense meals as well.
10 principles of intuitive eating
Understanding the principles that the concept of intuitive eating is based upon can help provide a deeper understanding of how it is different than other nutrition mindsets.
Diet culture has a strong presence in our world today, and many of intuitive eating's principles may seem difficult at first. As you read through the below list, take note of where your current strengths and gaps are, as well as whether the principles of intuitive eating embody values that you want to lean into.
- Reject diet mentality. Throw out the diet books and magazine articles promoting weight loss. Focus on nourishing yourself with nutrients over calories.
- Honor your hunger. Learn to honor the first biological signals of hunger. Trust yourself to know when your body needs food.
- Make peace with food. Give yourself unconditional permission to eat. Restricting a particular food can lead to intense feelings of deprivation and cravings.
- Challenge negative food thoughts. Let go of foods being "good" or "bad". You’re not “good” for eating minimal calories or “bad” because you ate a piece of chocolate.
- Respect your fullness. Listen for body signals that tell you that you are no longer hungry. Pause during a meal and ask yourself what your fullness level is.
- Discover the satisfaction factor. When you eat what you really want, the pleasure you derive will be a powerful force in helping you feel satisfied and content.
- Honor your feelings without using food. Find kind ways to comfort, nurture, and resolve your issues. Food may comfort you in the short-term, but won't solve your problems.
- Respect your body. Accept your genetic blueprint. Quiet your critical voice about your body shape and focus on all the ways your body supports you.
- Feel your body with exercise. Forget militant exercise. Shift your focus to how it feels to move your body, rather than the calorie-burning effect of exercise.
- Honor your health. Make food choices that honor your health and taste buds. Remember that you don’t have to eat perfectly to be healthy.
Adapted from Evelyn Tribole, MS, RDN, CEDRD-S (1).
Is intuitive eating right for you?
When deciding if intuitive eating is right for you, you might consider taking a closer look at your current relationship with food.
A great way to do this is a simple journaling exercise. Grab and pen and paper and jot down your answers to the following questions:
- What does health mean to me?
- When I think about food/movement, how does it make me feel?
- When I think about my body, how does it make me feel?
Next, check in to see if your answers align more closely with what diet culture says or what intuitive eating says.
Diet culture says:
- You must be a specific size or weight
- Eliminate food groups deemed as “bad”
- Count calories, track your food
- Avoid specific foods unless you’ve “earned” them
- Move your body to burn calories as a way to erase what you've eaten
- Feel guilty when you’ve eaten the “wrong food”
Intuitive eating says:
- Respect your body at any size
- Honor your hunger and fullness cues
- Challenge negative food thoughts
- Discover foods that satisfy you (physically, emotionally, mentally)
- Move your body in ways that feel good (and honor rest if that is what's needed)
- Make peace with all foods
Sometimes when we do a reflection like this we may notice that our definition of health doesn’t align with our feelings around food, movement, and our bodies. If this is the case, you might be falling into the diet-mentality trap (as many of us do!). Intuitive eating can provide you with tools to find more alignment between your vision of health and your day-to-day reality.
Remember: everyone’s experience and definition of health is unique to them! Don’t be afraid to follow what feels authentic to you and your journey.
How to cultivate an intuitive eating practice
Just like how your current habits and relationships with food, movement, and your body were not formed in a day, it takes time to create new habits and practices.
If you’re interested in integrating intuitive eating ideologies into your everyday life you can start small and see how it goes! Below you’ll find a few examples of intuitive eating practices to try out.
1. Honor your feelings without using food
Before turning to food for comfort ask yourself:
- What am I feeling right now?
- What do I need right now?
It’s okay if you don’t know what you need. The action of being aware, and checking-in is progress ~ if your needs were obvious you wouldn’t be turning to food.
2. Tap into your hunger cues
Take time to notice your hunger signals:
- How does your body feel when you're hungry?
- How does your mind feel when you're hungry?
When you notice your hunger, eat! Reaching excessive hunger sends intentions of moderate, conscious eating out the window. Learning to honor your body's signals sets the stage for rebuilding trust in yourself and in food.
3. Practice mindful eating
Mindful eating is an offshoot of mindfulness. Some tips include:
- Take time to express gratitude before each meal.
- Connect with your senses and enjoy each bite while eating
- Eat mindfully, slowly, and without distractions
Practicing mindfulness in other aspects of your life can also help with this. We recommend trying out quick sessions of mindfulness meditation on an app like Headspace.
You can also take a few moments to center yourself before a meal by practicing Box Breathing:
4. Prepare for possible changes to your body and seek out body neutrality or body positivity resources
When people try intuitive eating for the first time, it is not uncommon to gain weight. This is because we are allowing ourselves food freedom after restricting for so long. And speaking of restricting, it can take our bodies a bit of time to start to trust that it will be getting fed.
The combination of this can result in weight gain. Oftentimes people may find themselves gaining then losing weight before they find their body's "set point."
As discussed throughout this article, placing a moral "good" or "bad" label on our body's size is a slippery slope. But, unlearning diet culture is a long process. Having body image resources like the frameworks of body neutrality and body positivity in your back pocket is a helpful way to make sure that you have a toolkit ready to work through any feelings or emotions that come up with weight gain. And remember, a thin body does not necessarily mean a healthy body!
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