Intuitive eating 101

Written By Jennifer Schmidt

We live in a culture filled with images of how we ‘should look’, pictures of photoshopped and/or unrealistic body types, pressures to be or look certain ways … along with a myriad of ‘diet plans’ that fuel disordered and unhealthy eating patterns.  It’s no surprise this often leads to mental, emotional and physical difficulty and problems. 

These are not new issues, but there are movements gaining ground that represent significant change in the areas of how we approach body image, eating and food in general.  

Intuitive Eating describes one of those movements for change. Intuitive Eating (IE) is a life philosophy and mindful practice for managing how we engage with eating in our lives  - that offers balance, compassion, nonjudgement and a focus on feeling comfortable in our bodies mentally, emotionally and physically.  Here is more info:

WHAT IS INTUITIVE EATING?

Intuitive Eating is less of a “thing”, is not a “health plan” and definitely is not a “diet” … it’s more of a mindful approach to how we eat. In a highly informative article from Cedars Sinai (link here), it’s noted as a “non-dieting approach to eating and wellness which emphasizes listening to internal cues instead of external diet rules”. The NEDA (National Eating Disorders Association) describes Intuitive Eating as “trusting your body to make food choices that feel good for you, without judging yourself or the influence of diet culture”.*

Below is a description of the 10 principles of IE that help as a guide to shifting thinking around food and our attitudes/mindset toward eating. The article linked above also contains helpful information regarding why the “cycle” of dieting often backfires and actually increases feelings of shame and negative self-view. On a positive note, the article additionally discusses the HAES (Healthy At Every Size) movement and how it aligns with the Intuitive Eating approach… more on that in another post!

  • What IE is:

    • An approach to food that helps you develop a positive relationship with food and your body

    • Consists of 10 Principles to help you tune into your body both physically and emotionally

    • An anti-diet, weight-neutral approach

    • Developed in the 90s by trained clinicians

  • What IE is NOT:

    • A food free-for-all

    • Focused on weight loss (nor)…

    • Anti-weight loss

    • Does not promote ob*sity

    • Anti-health

    • A quick fix

    • A rigid plan

    • NOT a diet… much more flexible and more free, focused on self-compassion and listening to your own individual body

THE 10 PRINCIPLES OF INTUITIVE EATING

  1. REJECT THE DIET MENTALITY - Move away from the gimmicks, false advertising and manipulative practices of the ‘diet industry’… as it is just that - an industry focused on profits above all else. The diet industry is a $72 billion business with a 95% failure rate**. Let that sink in… I mean, how are they able to survive those stats? (Manipulation, that’s how.) Research also tells us time and time again that cyclical (or yo-yo) dieting does not work and actually leads to more health issues. ***.

  2. HONOR YOUR HUNGER - Your body needs food. To live, to breathe, to function, to think… to practice contentment with life. When you feel you are hungry, nourish your body. Also - when we let ourselves be too hungry and restrict for longer periods of time, we actually trigger an urge to binge. This is our body’s survival reflex. Restricting is the main trigger for bingeing.****

  3. MAKE PEACE WITH FOOD - Let go of the ‘should/shouldn’t’ mindset and move towards a more peaceful co-existence with foods. Similarly with restricting - when we set certain foods off and away as ‘forbidden’ foods, we actually increase our desire to eat and then binge on them. This often leads to feelings of guilt and shame… which increases overall negative feelings and negative habits.

  4. CHALLENGE THE FOOD POLICE - Okay yes, we all do this: label foods as ‘good’ or ‘bad’. For many of us, it’s what we’ve grown up hearing and it’s really difficult to get that language out of our minds. Make a conscious effort to shift away from this language - catch yourself and rephrase it. For example, instead of “Omg, I am so bad for eating all of that Halloween candy - it’s just evil!” to…. “I might have eaten a bit more Halloween candy than I planned… it was delicious but thinking I might have a bit less next time around as it didn’t feel so great on my tummy after.” When we label foods as ‘good’ or ‘bad’, we are also subconsciously labeling ourselves as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ based on food choices - which has literally nothing to do with our character and worthiness as a human being.

  5. DISCOVER THE SATISFACTION FACTOR - I heard awhile ago about a guided journal noting that you could ask yourself daily “Did I nourish my body today? Did I nourish my taste buds today?”… I have utilized this kind, balanced directive many times as I think it’s a helpful prompt for reflecting on the need to consume the food your body needs today, while also eating foods that you enjoy. Making sure that you include at least some foods that you enjoy can help to create satisfaction with eating and contentment all around.

  6. FEEL YOUR FULLNESS - This is where mindful eating can really come in handy. Allow yourself pauses when eating to think mindfully and to build awareness and acceptance of your internal physiological cues. Take your time, slow down, think about how hungry you might still be, how full you might feel, how comfortable you are physically in that moment… think about how the food tastes, feels, what you appreciate about it. Allowing and practicing this mindful approach helps you to better understand and tune into natural and balanced responses to eating. A couple of links to mindful eating practices are below.*****

  7. COPE WITH YOUR EMOTIONS WITH KINDNESS - Most important with this principle is taking a self-compassionate approach. You are human - you have difficult emotions, bad days, maybe good times that pop up and lots of so-so feelings as well. Building acceptance of all emotions is addressed in many other posts on this blog - and is useful here. Allow yourself to feel and process through emotions - while realizing that food won’t provide you with an escape from dealing with ‘all the things’. It may seem that way in the moment - food appears to offer a way to avoid hard things (as do many other tactics for ‘checking out’). However, it’s a false promise that yields only temporary avoidance - we still have to deal with the struggles and emotions at some point.  And yes - sometimes you will just choose to escape with food - in those times, practice self-kindness and then move forward knowing you did the best you could at that moment. Reflect on the experience gently to yourself and brainstorm some alternative ways to process and feel emotions to let them through next time - a walk, a bath, a crossword, talking to a friend, practicing a way of allowing emotions to occur (see links on this site for some ideas).

  8. RESPECT YOUR BODY - This doesn’t mean you have to love your body all the time… it means that you respect your body. You treat your body with dignity whether you are loving, hating, feeling frustrated with it, overwhelmed by it or maybe really mad at it. You can still respect your body in these moments. Recognize these internal patterns:  Are you being super judgey to your body? Are you being overly negative or critical to your body? Are you picking apart your body and shaming it? … Instead - think about the amazing things your body does every day - it breathes, your mighty heart beats, your wondrous brain thinks, you feel/see/hear/taste/smell things, etc. Our bodies are a miracle regardless of size.

  9. MOVEMENT - FEEL THE DIFFERENCE - Please note that the operative word here is ‘movement’ and definitely not ‘exercise’… exercise is full of pressure, expectations, goals - while movement is simply making sure that you move your body in some way daily. Movement can be getting up from your desk for a quick stretch, walking across the room and putting some laundry away, taking a 10 minute walk around the block to see the beautiful sky, doing a short guided restorative yoga video to ease your body after a long day, etc. Movement is not about calorie burning, getting the rings closed on your watch or seeing a different number on a scale…. it’s about enjoyment of life, feeling good or relaxed in your body and allowing your body to connect with experiencing the world around you.

  10. HONOR YOUR HEALTH - GENTLE NUTRITION - This is NOT a diet nor a health guideline…. it’s a holistic practice focused on openness, acceptance, strengths building and being gentle with yourself within choosing foods and approaching eating.  As noted above, honor both nourishing your body and also your taste buds. Give yourself time to work on this one. See a registered dietician/nutritionist professional if you feel like that could be helpful and can find someone aligned with the Intuitive Eating philosophy. Perfection is not the goal here… progress, mindfulness, acceptance, respect and self-compassion are the guiding forces.

To note:  Many writings on Intuitive Eating suggest that you move through the above steps in order 1-10 as you focus on them. There is definitely logic to this in terms of building on each skill, which is helped by the previous skill or intention.

Please talk with a professional if you are struggling with eating in ways that you feel are significantly impacting your life.  You can search the Psychology Today online directory of therapists in your area (link below) - or access the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) helpline (link here).  

Lastly and most importantly - remember you are human, you have a busy life, lots of responsibilities and finding time to work on yourself can be super challenging. Take one day and one step at a time, practice self-forgiveness when you have a crappy day… and start the next moment and the next day with a sense of newness, hope, acceptance you are doing the best you can and that your potential for change is limitless. 

Best, Jenn

*The information presented in this blog is intended for general knowledge and use only.  It should not take the place of medical, clinical advice or licensed therapy.  To find a licensed practitioner in your area, the Psychology Today Directory is an excellent resource. 

Jennifer Schmidt
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