Intuitive Eating Pt. 2; 10 Principles of Intuitive Eating

The 10 principles of Intuitive Eating + my own interpretation of what each means.

1. Reject the Diet Mentality

Statistically, 95% of diets fail people. Notice I say diets fail people, people don’t fail their diets. Research also shows that dieting can actually do more harm than good. Diets go against our natural biology and can lead us to question our internal intuition. It has the capacity to knock our confidence down diet by diet, and leave us feeling like we are unworthy by societies standards. By rejecting the diet mentality and the idea that dieting works, you are saying no more to the yo-yo, the fatigue, the guilt, the obsession, the shaming and failure. With that no, comes a big YES to a much different way of living that leaves space for LIFE.

2. Honor your Hunger

Can you think of a time when you were hungry but opted to take the “righteous” road and not eat? Or maybe pick low-calorie foods as a means to save off hunger only to find yourself ravenous and feeling overly full later on? Your body needs food to fuel itself, period. By honoring your hunger, you are re-teaching your body to trust that food is not just available, but the type of foods it is asking for are available. Nourishing yourself in this way builds a trusting relationship where you can trust that your body will let you know what it needs and the body trusts it will get what it needs in return.

3. Make Peace with Foods

Yes this means allowing all foods back into your repertoire while giving yourself unconditional permission to eat any foods that aren’t medically restricted. By letting go of categorizing foods as “good” or “bad” and understanding that NO ONE FOOD has the ability to make you #1 unhealthy #2 a bad person for eating it #3 addicted or out of control, you open up the space of trust. By giving yourself full permission to eat a variety of foods even “fun” foods, you let go of the need to binge and restrict because your body learns that those foods are available to have again and it doesn’t need to eat everything in one sitting. Making peace with food is often a journey of un-learning and letting go of strongly engrained food rules as well as exploring what foods you actually like and dislike!

4. Challenge the Food Police

The food police are internalized thoughts that declare you are “good” for eating certain foods and “bad” for eating others. Unfortunately, we are exposed to food bias over and over when it comes to media making it hard NOT to internalize their rules and lead us down the road of guilt, shame, and righteousness. Often, the food police are guiding us towards our food decisions when we aren’t even aware of it. By beginning to notice our internal food bias, we make it possible to make food decisions based on what would be satisfying and pleasurable. This is a very important step in the process.

5. Feel Your Fullness

This step is all about becoming more aware while eating, but notice there are 4 steps before getting to this one. While learning our hunger and fullness cues remember there is no perfect process. Often when coming to intuitive eating after disordered eating or chronic dieting, figuring out what your levels are for fullness can take time and a lot of compassion. This principle is not meant to demonize feeling full, but to begin to notice what it feels like after certain amounts of food, to notice the taste and texture with curiosity and without judgment. Often feeling full is a wonderful way to remind your body that food is available and is often a common occurrence after restricting. It is also important to remember that anytime we get to a point where we are very hungry, it is normal to then eat to a point where we may consume to a place of discomfort.

6. Discover the Satisfaction Factor

Learning to find pleasure in food again. This is a great one because it helps us decipher the difference between feeling full and feeling satisfied. On the journey of intuitive eating, you may have moments when you notice you are full but still craving something or not feeling fully satisfied. Wonderful!! This is a great tool to explore what to eat based on what would be satisfying! Think about it this way, if you are eating from your list of food rules and decide to eat a salad when you really wanted a grilled cheese, you most likely won’t feel very satisfied after eating. However, if you begin to explore what would be pleasurable to eat and enjoy that food instead of eating 20 other things from your food rules, you’ll save yourself the angst and get to find pleasure surrounding food again. Food is not just fuel. Food is also about enjoyment, community, and self-care! Food is ALLOWED to be satisfying!

7. Honor Your Feelings

Emotional eating is looked at negatively in our culture, however reaching for food as a way to sooth DOES NOT have to be attached to guilt or shame. Eating to cope can be a great way to realize there is something going on that needs more attention. What if you used those moments to get curious and accept that there might be some feelings worth diving into there. This is also a great space to explore finding other ways to cope IN ADDITION to using food. Maybe you are able to find another activity that you enjoy that feels very nurturing and comforting. By opening yourself up to exploration you gain the ability to let go of the stigma and shame surrounding emotions and the need to cope with them to create a safe space.

8. Respect your Body

Yes, body love would be wonderful, but this is more about body liberation than body love. This is about accepting that just as you are a certain height, we all have our own set points when it comes to weight that will never be the same as your neighbor, your sibling, the model in the magazine. We have the right to total autonomy when it comes to our bodies, but wishing it into a different shape or size than it naturally wants to be is futile. Part of this process is beginning to understand our cultures fat phobia mixed with our own weight stigmas and learning to step away from feeling like we need to fit into any sort of societally acceptable body.

9. Joyful Movement

Movement for the purpose of finding joy, feeling good, and increasing endorphins..or not. We get movement shoved down our throats as the end all be all, but the goal should never be to burn calories, outwork certain foods, use exercise as punishment OR possibly most importantly, to achieve an idealized body type. Movement is supposed to be fun and energizing. If that means some gentle yoga in the morning or a walk outside, wonderful. If it means pushing weight in the gym, running a marathon, or hitting the snooze button, WONDERFUL. The joyful movement emphasizes shifting your focus to how your body feels, rather than the calories being burnt. Goals are wonderful, but if your only movement goal is weight loss, I suggest finding another one.

10. Gentle Nutrition

Yes, nutrition still comes into play in intuitive eating. Stepping away from the scale and rigid food rules might be one of the most important holistic nutrition moves you can make. By stepping away from restrictive diet mentality, we give ourselves space to explore health-promoting habits based on nourishment and pleasure. That’s why gentle nutrition is last in the principles. By healing our relationship surrounding food, we are then able to bring on nutrition that isn’t restrictive or rigid. Gentle nutrition looks at the whole picture, not individual foods. It does not categorize foods as good or bad but looks at food behaviors over time with the emphasis on adding in more nutrient dense foods, not taking things out. Again, all foods fit and the more of a variety of different foods we can consume with varying levels of nutrients the better. This means a variety of protein, carbohydrates, ad fats in a way that feels SATISFYING. By paying attention to what foods make us feel a certain way, we can better understand and learn what works well for our bodies. This doesn’t mean we never eat foods that don’t make us feel as good, but being aware of amounts as well as the time of day that certain foods work better for us without being controlled by food rules. Again, the focus of gentle nutrition is to actually be gentle and look at the big picture. This means when possible, choosing environments that feel healthy and safe. Whether that means removing yourself from an uncomfortable conversation, taking a walk outside to get some air, eating in an inviting environment, or creating an internal safe space free from judgment, all of those factors play into gentle nutrition.

Remember that food itself is a very small factor in overall holistic nutrition and wellness. Socio-economic status, availability, health care, stigmas, privileges, and mental health all play a massive massive role in overall well being. It is every individual's right as a human being to autonomously choose what is right for them and their bodies, nobody else. Privilege will always play a role in an individuals ability to care for themselves, and with that their ability to choose their foods. Nutrition at its core should not cause extra stress, anxiety, or disordered eating. If those symptoms come up, it may be important to take a step back and re-evaluate those 9 previous steps. It is also vital to mention the critical importance of adequate sleep when possible. Sleep is hugely tied to our overall health and a lack of it is important to explore.

Interested in Learning more about Intuitive Eating and stepping away from chronic dieting?

I work with clients in-person in the Cincinnati, OH area as well as virtually throughout the US to help end dieting, reframe relationships with food, and help end disordered eating for good. To learn more about my coaching head here for more information so that we can set-up a free initial consultation!