When it comes to healthy living, there are many habits that can improve your overall well-being. For example, going for a walk after meals or eating protein-rich snacks, to name a few. However, intuitive eating – a principle that involves focusing on listening to your body – is a simple alternative to traditional diets that can help you eat healthier, tune out the “food noise,” and change your relationship with food for good. Not sure if this is the right choice for you? We spoke to nutrition experts to find out more about the intuitive eating approach and how it differs from your usual diet. Here’s more about the practice of intuitive eating and how you can benefit from making better food choices.
What is intuitive eating?
“Intuitive eating is a self-care approach to eating that combines instinct, emotion and rational thinking,” says Tracee Yablon Brenner, RD, CLT, HHCa registered dietitian at Holy Name Medical Center. There is no calorie, carb or point counting. We just listen to our bodies. No, really, actually listen – not our emotions or a number on a scale.
The practice was developed in 1995 by nutritionists Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch and their most important finding? It is not a diet.
Yablon Brenner adds, “Instead of relying on external stimuli like emotions, food availability, or social circumstances, intuitive eating encourages people to listen to their body’s natural hunger and fullness signals.” This takes the focus off of losing weight and encourages people to develop a “healthier, guilt-free relationship with food” – and often, this can mean losing weight without feeling like you’re even trying.
How has intuitive eating changed?
“Over time, the principle of emotional eating has evolved to be more about respecting emotions and processing them appropriately, rather than assuming that emotional eating is a bad thing,” explains Emily Van Eck, MS, RD, Certified Intuitive Eating Consultant with Emily Van Eck.
The most important thing is to be in harmony with your own body. The authors have now revised certain parts of their book based on new research findings.
Intuitive eating as “internal portion control”
Does portion control play a role in intuitive eating? The answer is: kind of – but not in the way you might expect. Van Eck says when it comes to intuitive eating, “we don’t really use the term portion control, but rather help people listen to and respect hunger and fullness cues.”
In addition, portion control involves external methods of eating for a short period of time, while intuitive eating focuses solely on the body in the long term. “It is used to estimate how much you ‘should’ or ‘need to eat,'” says Karen Louise Scheuner, MA, RDN Nutritional therapist and intuitive eating and body image coach at Mindful Nutrition. “Intuitive eating is often considered ‘internal portion control’ because an intuitive eater listens to the body’s signals about how much to eat and when to stop eating, rather than relying on external control methods like small plates, portions, serving sizes, weighing food, etc.”
What you should know before trying intuitive eating
Intuitive eating is more structured than people expect. Yablon Brenner says there is still a flexible aspect to it, though. “This flexibility offers guidance rather than strict rules, which requires a certain level of self-control to control your eating habits without being as restrictive as a regular diet. It also emphasizes emotional and mental health as well as physical health,” she says.
Experts agree that many people think intuitive eating means you can just eat whatever you want, whenever you want. But that’s not true. Read on to learn 10 ways you can incorporate intuitive eating into your diet.
The 10 principles of intuitive eating
As this practice emerged, Tribole and Resch developed ten principles that can help change your relationship with food through intuitive eating.
- Reject the diet mentality. You don’t have to go on a diet to eat better.
- Respect your hunger. It’s OK to be hungry. It’s part of being human. Recognize and accept it.
- Make peace with food. Treat yourself to food. Food is nourishing and necessary.
- Challenge the food police. Anyone who talks about “good” and “bad” foods or tells you what you should and shouldn’t eat is working their ass off.
- Respect your abundance. This is your body’s natural signal that you are finished eating. Try not to overexert yourself.
- Discover the satisfaction factor. Enjoy the feeling of enjoying your food and feeling full.
- Be kind to your emotions. Accept how you feel and that you cannot change your feelings.
- Respect your body. Meditate on how your body gives you life. It is a beautiful thing
- Practice to feel the difference better. Exercise is good for everything from high blood pressure to better sleep and concentration. And best of all, it can boost your mood.
- Do something good for your health with a gentle diet. Don’t force yourself to eat the salad you don’t like, and don’t consume every little new-fangled, expensive supplement. It’s all about balance.
Although the idea has remained largely the same, nutrition experts point out that it has changed to keep up with current eating habits and lifestyle changes.
Above all, the intuitive eating approach is a holistic lifestyle choice, as Yablon Brenner explains: “Intuitive eating is not about classifying food as ‘good’ or ‘bad’, but rather about making peace with food and your body and choosing foods that are good for your overall health, both physically and mentally.” And if you can eat to feel better in your body And Brain, it’s a win-win situation.
Other ways to have a healthier relationship with food:
The solution to whole-body fat: Eat 30 different plants a week to make weight loss easier
Top doctor calls resistant starch a “game changer” – how it promotes weight loss
Kefir smoothies for weight loss: 3 creamy and nutritious drink recipes that are prepared in 5 minutes
This content is not a substitute for professional medical advice or diagnosis. Always consult your healthcare provider before beginning any treatment plan.
