What is “intuitive eating” and is it right for me?

Author: Miranda Badolato, PhD

Intuitive eating is an adaptive style of eating that renounces dieting and fosters a positive relationship with food. By practicing an intuitive eating style, it means you accept that dieting is not the solution to all your health problems. Many people diet to lose weight; however, numerous research studies have demonstrated that dieting and food restriction often leads to weight gain overtime. Additionally, dieting behaviors may be associated with anxiety, struggles with body image, and other mental health issues.

Unlike traditional dieting, an intuitive eating style may help with weight management without food restriction or the judgement that comes with it. Instead, it allows you to shift your focus towards choosing foods that energize, satiate, and fuel your body while cultivating a more joyful eating experience.

So, what does intuitive eating mean for my health?

Following intuitive eating practices doesn’t mean abandoning your health. This eating practice means listening to your body’s hunger and fullness cues while also making space for other health behaviors. Examples of other health behaviors include practicing meditation, engaging in movement, going to therapy, nourishing your social circle, or getting enough sleep.

Several research studies have demonstrated that practicing intuitive eating may be associated with better body image, body appreciation, self-esteem, well-being, and mental health. Intuitive eating practices may also be associated with improved diet quality, eating behaviors, and physical health indicators like cholesterol or blood pressure.

 What does practicing intuitive eating look like?

There are ten principles to intuitive eating that Evelyn Tribole, MS, RDN and Elyse Resch, MS, RDN outline in their book Intuitive Eating, a framework for intuitive eating practices.

• Reject the Diet Mentality – this means eliminating the fear mongering that leads you to believe that dieting is the sole path to achieving better health outcomes.
• Honor Your Hunger – this means tuning into your body’s hunger signals and then timely supplying it with the satiating, balanced, energizing meals it requires.
• Make Peace with Food – this means absolute acceptance of yourself for eating foods that may have previously come with guilt, shame, or judgement.
• Discover the Satisfaction Factor – this means finding enjoyment in the eating experience through connecting with your senses and emotions.
• Feel Your Fullness – this means acknowledging the fullness cues and sensations that your body reports back to you to avoid eating past the point of comfortability.
• Challenge the Food Police – this means meeting the negative, preconceived dieting beliefs that bring chaos to your relationship with food head-on.
• Cope with Your Emotions with Kindness – this means taking the proper steps to uncover food-related coping mechanisms and gently shift to new strategies.
• Respect Your Body – this means honoring your body with dignity by treating it with kindness and minimizing critiques.
• Movement (for you!) – this means engaging in physical activity with the purpose of making your body feel good, not burning calories.
• Honor Your Health with Gentle Nutrition – this means nourishing your body with tasty sources of carbohydrates, fat, protein, and other nutrients important for health.

Medical Nutrition Therapy for Intuitive Eating

Consult with your dietitian to make sure this adaptive style of eating is right for you. For many people, moving towards an intuitive eating style may require taking smaller steps before leaping into this shift in mindset.

Familiarize yourself with intuitive eating. The Original Intuitive Eating Pros have featured podcasts and posts that may provide more insight into this style of eating.

Get nutrition support from a pediatric dietitian. Interested in helping your little one on their intuitive eating journey? Consider taking Branz Nutrition Counseling’s self-paced Raising Intuitive Eaters Course that will give you the tools you need to implement intuitive eating in your family and with you little ones. .

Sources:

Babbott, K. M., Cavadino, A., Brenton-Peters, J., Consedine, N. S., & Roberts, M. (2022). Outcomes of intuitive eating interventions: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Eating Disorders, 31(1), 33–63.

Linardon, J., Tylka, T., Fuller-Tyszkiewicz, M. (2021). Intuitive eating and its psychological correlates: A meta-analysis. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 54(7), 1073 – 1098. 

Pélissier, L., Bagot, S., Miles-Chan, J. L., Pereira, B., Boirie, Y., Duclos, M., … Thivel, D. (2023). Is dieting a risk for higher weight gain in normal-weight individual? A systematic review and meta-analysis. British Journal of Nutrition, 130(7), 1190–1212. doi:10.1017/S0007114523000132

Stewart, T. M., Martin, C. K., & Williamson, D. A. (2022). The Complicated Relationship between Dieting, Dietary Restraint, Caloric Restriction, and Eating Disorders: Is a Shift in Public Health Messaging Warranted? International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(1), 491.

Tribole, E., & Resch, E. (2020). Intuitive eating: A revolutionary anti-diet approach. (4th ed.). St. Martin’s Essentials.

Van Dyke, N., & Drinkwater, E. J. (2014). Review Article Relationships between intuitive eating and health indicators: literature review. Public Health Nutrition, 17(8), 1757–1766. doi:10.1017/S1368980013002139