Intuitive Eating is an anti-diet approach to making peace with food and cultivating a healthy relationship with food and your body. There is oftentimes some misinformation about Intuitive Eating so this is post is going to cover 5 things you may not know about Intuitive Eating.
5 Things You May Not Know About Intuitive Eating
- 1. Intuitive Eating is NOT a diet.
Intuitive Eating is NOT another diet or weight loss plan. A diet is anything that gives you external rules to follow such as what to eat, how much, or when. Intuitive Eating is a personal process of rediscovering what your body needs and getting back in touch with your body’s hunger and fullness cues. It is weight-neutral, which means it doesn’t make any promises about weight changes, because weight is not the focus. Also because weight does NOT equal health.
If you see someone promoting “Intuitive Eating for weight loss,” please know they are co-opting Intuitive Eating and turning it into a diet. That was not the intent when the authors of the Intuitive Eating book came up with this approach to eating and living.
- 2. Intuitive Eating is NOT anti-weight loss.
Wait, what? Remember, Intuitive Eating is weight-neutral, meaning the focus is not on weight and does not promise any weight changes. There are over 100 factors that influence a person’s body weight, and therefore, we cannot predict what someone’s body will do if/when they make behavioral changes.
Intuitive Eating is not anti-weight loss same as it is not anti-weight gain. A person’s body weight is not indicative of their health, happiness, or worthiness, despite what our thin-obsessed, diet culture society might tell you. People can be healthy in a variety of sizes, and the emphasis of Intuitive Eating is to cultivate a healthy relationship with food and your body.
- 3. Intuitive Eating is NOT eat whatever you want, whenever you want, all the time.
People often think that Intuitive Eating means we throw out all food rules (this part is true) and that means we eat whatever we want, whenever we want, in whatever amount we want, all of the time. Therefore, people often think, “I’ll just eat {insert “bad” food here} for the rest of my life! How is that healthy?”
Intuitive Eating is nuanced. It does include principles such as “honor your hunger” and “feel your fullness” but that doesn’t mean “ONLY eat when hungry and ALWAYS stop when full.” It recognizes the multitude of reasons why people make the food choices they do.
And, Intuitive Eating does incorporate gentle nutrition, which means that nourishing your body is part of the process. Eating and moving your body in ways that feel good for YOU is the ultimate goal. There may be a time period of eating lots of previously restricted foods or eating past comfortable fullness as your body unlearns diet rules and re-learns to regulate and honor its needs.
- 4. Intuitive Eating can be beneficial for everyone.
People often think, “Intuitive Eating can’t work for me because….” But the truth is, Intuitive Eating can be beneficial for everyone. You can practice Intuitive Eating even if you have a health condition. You can practice Intuitive Eating even if you are recovering from an eating disorder (although this may not be the first step in your recovery). You can practice Intuitive Eating even if you’ve been dieting your whole life and don’t believe you can trust your body.
Again, Intuitive Eating is a personal process and journey. It is NOT one-size-fits-all. It takes into account your personal preferences, your lifestyle and schedule, your history, your health concerns, etc. It is fluid and flexible, because what feels good for you one day may not feel good for you another. What feels good for you in one season of life may not be appropriate in another season of life.
- 5. Intuitive Eating IS correlated with improved health outcomes.
People who are anti-Intuitive Eating might try and tell you that it’s “giving up” or “not caring” about your health. This is not true! There are over 100 research studies that show the improved health outcomes associated with Intuitive Eating. These include:
- Greater body appreciation and satisfaction
- Positive emotional functioning
- Greater life satisfaction
- More diverse diet
- Better self-esteem
- Greater motivation to exercise
- Weight stability
- Reduced eating disorder symptoms
And there you have it! 5 things you may not know about Intuitive Eating. Did any surprise you? What other questions do you have about Intuitive Eating? Comment below!
More Intuitive Eating Resources
Do you feel like thoughts of food and your body are all consuming? Download my FREE Guide – 5 Steps to Stop Obsessing About Food and Your Body
Are you ready to improve your relationship with food? My January 2023 Intuitive Eating Support Group for Women is enrolling soon!
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