Let’s Talk About Intuitive Eating
Keep reading to learn more about principles of this framework and tips on how to practice in your own life!
Here at Liberated Nutrition one of the practices we specialize in and teach clients to use is intuitive eating. This framework of eating was developed by two dietitians, Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch, in 1995. It has recently made a big splash on social media so we thought it would be a good time to talk about what intuitive eating is and the guiding principles of the practice along with a few tips on getting started.
So what exactly is intuitive eating?
It is a self-care eating framework. As Evelyn Tribole says, it is the antidote to diets. Essentially, it is a paradigm that rejects traditional, weight-focused approaches to health and and instead guides people back to their innate wisdom and trust in their bodies. It is weight-inclusive and evidence-based. Intuitive eating has been studied extensively and was designed to help us learn how to tune into our unique physical sensations in our bodies in order to meet our needs while tuning out external cues and rules for eating (i.e. diet culture). IE is for anyone, regardless of their size, disabilities, chronic illnesses, dietary preferences/ needs or other identities.
What are the principles of intuitive eating?
Reject the Diet Mentality
This first principle is easier said than done, but it is vital to the framework. It is time to reject the idea that we need to control our weight and size and that the next fad diet will be the one to fix all our problems. You are worthy of care and nourishment just as you are and the cycle of dieting is not the answer.
Honor Your Hunger
This principle of intuitive eating asks us to listen to our bodies and feed ourselves with adequate food, including carbohydrates. Feeding our bodies when they send hunger signals helps us build self-trust. Nourishing ourselves with enough food keeps us functioning at our best and gives us the energy to crush diet culture.
Make Peace with Food
Making peace with food allows us to fully nourish ourselves with any food. All foods fit in the intuitive eating framework. With this principle, we give ourselves permission to eat any and all kinds of foods so nothing has power over us. IE/ HAES dietitians can help us make peace with fear foods and learn to eat in a caring and nourishing way.
Challenge the Food Police
The "food police" are the rules that we impose on ourselves about our food choices and eating habits. Often those come from diet culture and we need to challenge the rules or ideas that the food police are telling us to get our freedom of choice back. Fight back against food rules and allow yourself the freedom to enjoy foods and eating.
Discover Satisfaction
Satisfaction in food is important and it has a purpose. Our satisfaction helps us know when we have eaten enough and encourages us to eat a diverse diet. Food is meant to be enjoyed and appreciated and eating this way can help you feel more content with your food choices and eating experience.
Feel Your Fullness
Similar to honoring our hunger cues, we need to feel our fullness when we eat. When we feel our fullness we can more accurately notice when we are comfortably full and ready to stop eating. The more we practice this the better we will get at it and the more in tune with our biological cues we can be.
Cope with Your Emotions
Strong emotions are a part of life and sometimes they can be overwhelming. When we deal with our emotions in healthy ways, and with lots of kindness and care, we can support our mental health while still eating intuitively so that food can be a form of nourishment and satisfaction for us rather than a distraction.
Respect Your Body
Loving ourselves can sometimes feel hard but when we move towards healthy behaviors for our bodies and minds we have to do it with respect. When we care for ourselves with respect we give ourselves the freedom and care that we deserve. The relationship you have with your body is the longest relationship you’ll ever be in on this Earth, so like any healthy relationship, this should be a foundation of respect. No matter how you feel about your body, hating your way to loving it will never work.
Feel the Difference with Movement
As we have seen from the principles so far, intuitive eating isn’t only about eating; mindset and movement are important as well. Exercise can be many things - joyful, social, celebratory, powerful, etc - but punishment is not one of them. Dr. Shawn Talbott says that "the best exercise is the one you will do". So choose exercises that you enjoy as your choice of movement and feel the difference in your physical and mental health.
Honor Your Health with Gentle Nutrition
Gentle nutrition teaches us to choose foods with health and enjoyment in mind. With this in mind we are asked to take a birds-eye view of your diet patterns. This helps to take the pressure off of each bite of food. This helps leave room for a gentle plan of nutrition that helps you reach your long-term health goals. Here at Liberated Nutrition, trained dietitians can help you build the best gentle nutrition plan for your personal needs and goals without obsession or frustration.
Want to start working towards intuitive eating?
Here are some tips to start practicing these principles in your own life today!
Ditch your scale
Weight is not the focus with intuitive eating so throw out your scale (and toxic diet culture while you’re at it)
Do a social media cleanse
‘Unfollow’ anyone that you often compare yourself to or who promotes unhealthy thoughts and behaviors around eating and exercise
Explore foods that you think will be delicious, enjoyable, and satisfying
Get curious about different foods and allow yourself the freedom to explore
Think of this as an experiment in getting aquatinted with your preferences and how food feels in your body
Seek support
Find a nutrition professional (like a registered dietitian) that aligns with your values and can help you on your intuitive eating journey
Do you practice, or want to start practicing, intuitive eating? What are you still curious about?
Sources
https://www.intuitiveeating.org/definition-of-intuitive-eating/
https://www.intuitiveeating.org/10-principles-of-intuitive-eating/
