Intuitive Eating

 Intuitive Eating: A Mindful Approach to Eating Well

The psychological aspect of weight loss is vastly important to consider and many diets and programs do not address it adequately.  Intuitive eating is an alternative approach that focuses on mindful eating and self-awareness while emphasizing how diet culture negatively impacts health. 

What is Intuitive Eating?

Intuitive Eating is an approach to eating that emphasizes listening to your body's cues, respecting your hunger and fullness, and enjoying food without guilt or shame.  Unlike traditional diets, Intuitive Eating is not focused on weight loss, but on building a healthy relationship with food and your body.  Some people who use this method may lose weight, while others may stay the same weight, or even gain weight.  It depends on how unhealthy the eating habits of the individual were before starting this lifestyle.   Intuitive Eating is based on ten principles developed by dietitians Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch, including:

1. Rejecting the diet mentality

2. Honoring your hunger

3. Making peace with food

4. Challenging the food police

5. Feeling your fullness

6. Discovering the satisfaction factor

7. Coping with your emotions without using food

8. Respecting your body

9. Exercising, feeling the difference

10. Honoring your health

Benefits of Intuitive Eating

Intuitive Eating has numerous benefits, including:

1. Improved body image: Intuitive Eating helps you develop a positive relationship with your body, which can improve body image and self-esteem.

2. Reduced stress: Traditional diets can be stressful and restrictive, leading to feelings of guilt and shame when you don't meet your goals. Intuitive Eating, on the other hand, is about self-care and self-compassion, which can reduce stress and anxiety.

3. Sustainable weight management: Intuitive Eating is not a diet, but a lifestyle change. By listening to your body's cues, you can naturally regulate your food intake and maintain a healthy weight without the need for restrictive diets.

4. Improved mental health: Intuitive Eating can improve mental health by reducing anxiety and depression, improving body image, and promoting self-care.

Downsides of Intuitive Eating

Intuitive Eating does not give a clear, structured program with specific action steps to take and it would be difficult for someone to implement it on a practical level.   It does not address what foods are healthy and denies the obesity epidemic in the United States.  Reviews from some individuals who subscribed to this lifestyle change have reported worsening of physical and mental health.  The studies that support Intuitive Eating were based on college-aged women and extrapolated to the general public, so results were quite skewed, therefore limited in evidence-based science.  

In conclusion, Intuitive Eating is a mindful approach to eating that promotes a healthy psychological relationship with food and your body.  The principles can be helpful if applied on a general level when combined with more specific healthy nutritional guidelines after weight loss goals are achieved.  However, we do not recommend it as a primary method for weight loss.