A Guide to Intuitive Eating
2021 is officially here, and with the start of a new year comes a flood of New Year’s resolutions. One of the most common resolutions every year? Losing weight. Countless people start a paleo, keto, or Whole 30 diet, try intermittent fasting, or sign up for a new gym membership to finally achieve their goal weight. But if you’re planning on turning a new nutritional leaf this year, consider giving intuitive eating a try instead.
What is intuitive eating? The concept was first introduced by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch in 1995 in their book Intuitive Eating. Essentially, intuitive eating is the concept that you should listen to your body’s cues and fuel your body with the nutrition it needs. Intuitive eating encourages you to have a healthy relationship with food and asserts that your mental and physical health shouldn’t be at odds. Sounds simple, right? But intuitive eating rejects the diets which are so popular today: paleo, keto, Whole 30, you name it.
There are ten guiding principles of intuitive eating established by Tribole and Resch:
Reject the diet mentality. There is no perfect diet which will allow you to magically lose weight fast and permanently.
Honor your hunger. Seems easy, right? Eat when you feel hungry. But ignoring your hunger until you reach the point of starvation can lead to bingeing and unhealthy eating patterns. Listen to your body.
Make peace with food. Holding yourself back from eating certain foods can lead to guilt, anxiety, cravings, and bingeing. Don’t restrict yourself from certain foods; eat them when it feels right.
Challenge the food police. You are not “good” for eating a smaller portion and “bad” for eating potato chips. Don’t let weight loss culture dictate your relationship with food.
Discover the satisfaction factor. Eating what you want when you want it is such a satisfying experience that it leads to a more balanced, healthier relationship with food. Restricting yourself from the food you want leads to a cycle of deprivation and perpetual dissatisfaction.
Feel your fullness. Just as you should honor your body’s cues when it is hungry, you should also listen when your body tells you it is full.
Cope with your emotions with kindness. Sometimes, when you’re experiencing negative emotions, you may rely on emotional eating. But it’s important to recognize that food will not resolve the emotions you are experiencing.
Respect your body. Instead of tearing yourself down for the way you look, celebrate your body and respect that it is amazing just the way it is.
Movement - feel the difference. Ditch the mindset that you should exercise to lose weight. Exercise because it feels good and energizes you.
Honor your health - gentle nutrition. Respect your body’s needs and avoid foods that hurt you. Recognize that your long-term, not short-term food patterns are what matter.
It can be hard to reject the deep-rooted culture of weight loss in society today. As Tribole and Resch say, intuitive eating is all about learning to trust your body again and listen to its cues. Though it’s not easy, intuitive eating is the best way to establish a healthy relationship with food.
Allison Boyce is from Arizona and now lives in Dallas, TX. She loves to write about fiction, movies, books, and music in her spare time. When she's not working, she loves to get outdoors to run or hike.
