A Beginners Guide to 10 Powerful Intuitive Eating Principles

What is Intuitive Eating?

Intuitive eating is an evidence-based eating approach that embraces positive eating choices that make you and your body feel good without judgement from diet culture. It’s a concept created by dietitians Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch in 1995, based on their experiences with clients. 

Per Tribole and Resch, intuitive eating serves as an empowerment tool, to re-possess what is innately natural. As we grow older, we lose our inner intuitive eater to rules and restrictions surrounding food. We’re told to finish all the food on our plates, that dessert is a reward, carbohydrates are bad, and not to eat too much of this or that. 

What are the benefits of practicing Intuitive Eating?

More and more research has shown that intuitive eating can significantly change the trajectory of our lives. Intuitive eating is associated with greater life satisfaction, higher self-esteem, and improved body image in addition to lower rates of disordered eating and cholesterol. 

The intuitive eating notion allows individuals to focus entirely on themselves instead of being limiting. It completely eliminates diet culture mentality, allowing room for internal cues of hunger, fullness and satisfaction. Intuitive eating is not a diet. We weren’t born measuring portion sizes, keeping track of macros or counting calories. You are the expert of your own body -- do what feels best for you. 

At first, becoming an Intuitive Eater can feel overwhelming or impossible, and that’s totally valid! It is a daily practice that takes time to adopt, especially when diet culture has easily seeped into our lives unconsciously over the years. Working with a Certified Counselor and Registered Dietitian to work through Tribole and Resch’s 10 principles can be extremely helpful to get you to where you need to be. Check out a quick summary of the 10 principles below to get you started on your journey. 

10 Intuitive Eating Principles

Reject the Diet Mentality.
Let go of diet tips and tricks that promise fast weight loss. Be angry at all the lies you’ve been fed from social media. 

1. Honor Your Hunger.
   Listen for internal cues, give your body adequate energy and carbohydrates. Giving up particular foods you shouldn’t have leads to uncontrollable cravings and/or bingeing. 

2. Make Peace with Food.
   Give yourself permission to consume what you want, when you want.

3. Challenge the Food Police.
   There is no merit based on what you are or aren’t eating, food is neither good or bad. 

4. Discover the Satisfaction Factor.
   Find satisfaction with what you’re eating, always. Have enjoyable eating experiences.

5. Feel Your Fullness.
   Our bodies let us know when we’re hungry and full, listen to your body for feelings of fullness.

6. Cope with Your Emotions with Kindness.
   Many of us resort to emotional eating to cope with feelings. Find non-food related activities to cope with feelings, i.e. walking, running, meditating, etc. 

7. Respect Your Body.

8. Rather than criticizing your body, recognize that it is capable of many things.

9. Movement - Feel the Difference.
   Shift the focus from weight loss to exercise/activities that are enjoyable for you. 

10. Honor Your Health - Gentle Nutrition. 
    The food you eat should be amazing and make you feel good about yourself.