Learning the intuitive eating principles

What is intuitive eating?

Intuitive eating is an eating-based philosophy often used in eating disorder recovery. It involves learning to recognize and honor the differences between physical and emotional hunger and approaching eating with a body-first mentality.

There is not necessarily one "intuitive eating" definition. The phrase is not an official medical term and may be interpreted differently by different doctors or nutritionists. But the general idea is to trust and allow the body to make food-related decisions that feel good without placing judgment on what it's asking for.¹

The principles of intuitive eating are what help you do this. Practicing these principles can help you get back in touch with your natural hunger and satiety cues and make food choices based on how you're feeling in the present moment rather than a preconceived idea about how you "should" be feeling or what you "should" be eating.

Unlike most traditional diets, which impose rigid and moralizing rules around food and eating, intuitive eating teaches that food is neither “good” nor “bad." The hope is to help people make peace with food and focus more on nourishing themselves rather than reaching particular diet or weight-based goals.

The principles of intuitive eating

The principles of intuitive eating help you work towards an attitude and approach to food that supports your physical and mental health.

There are 10 principles of intuitive eating, which focus on breaking away from dieting cycles and reaffirming the body’s natural cues when it comes to food.²

Lose the diet mentality

Diet culture isn't just pervasive; it's big business. Every year, dozens of weight loss companies, gyms, social media influencers, and publications work to convince people that there is only one "true" body shape or size worth striving for—generally, a lean and toned one—and that achieving this look should be prioritized above all else.

This sets up several harmful false dichotomies: 

• The idea that bodies can only be "the right shape" or not 
• That foods are either "good" or "bad"
• That people who are "in shape" are morally superior, and those who aren't are undeserving

This mindset isn't just wrong; it's potentially dangerous, with numerous studies finding frequent dieting behavior to be one of the strongest indicators of developing an eating disorder.³

Rejecting the diet mentality involves rejecting the ideas of "should"—that you "should" be eating certain foods, not eating certain foods, working out more, working out in a specific way, or attempting to reach a certain number on the scale. Letting go of these toxic ideas can not only help improve mental health but also free up mental space to adopt other, more inclusive philosophies, such as those involved in intuitive or mindful eating.

Recognize your hunger cues

Most diets are built on a preconceived structure that dictates what, when, and how much a person can eat. However, many other environmental factors can influence hunger and satiety cues, including only having a specific time to take a lunch break or even seeing advertisements for certain foods or restaurants.

These external guidelines all work to cloud the natural feelings we experience around hunger and satiety. And, as Pavlov discovered when training his dogs, the effect can be powerful and lasting.

Learning to undo environmental influences and recognize your own hunger cues is generally one of the most difficult intuitive eating principles to follow. But it's also one of the most important, as it can help improve the mind-body connection and empower you to literally trust your gut. Working with a nutritionist or using tools like the hunger satiety scale can help you learn how to tune out these pressures and tune in to your needs. 

Some people in eating disorder recovery may have additional concerns, such as not having consistent hunger cues or feeling uncomfortable with ideas like hunger or fullness. In these cases, it can be helpful to get support from a trained provider to develop a structure around food that will ensure that you are eating enough to meet your needs while working towards feeling more comfortable with listening to your body. 

Make peace with food

That foods are inherently "good" or "bad" is another lesson most people hear from early on in life. While sometimes well-intentioned—wanting a child to eat more vegetables, for example—the idea is misguided at best and potentially dangerous, feeding into the same mentality that drives diet culture and pathological eating habits.

The intuitive eating principles teach that food is neither good nor bad by nature, and you should likewise not feel good or bad about eating certain foods. The hope is to encourage people to release their inhibitions around food, which can help them lean into their natural hunger and satiety cues and learn to recognize what types of food their body is actually craving.

Removing these restrictions can lessen obsessive feelings that can develop around certain foods considered "forbidden." This type of mindset has also been found to help reduce binge eating and related guilt.⁴

Quiet internal criticisms

Often, what we eat or decline to eat is based not on what our body is feeling but on internalized societal expectations around food and eating. This voice in our heads is sometimes referred to as the "food police," as it tells us particular food or eating behaviors are "good" or "bad."

This mindset works to moralize food, reinforce rigid diet rules, and shame people for eating "more" than they should've or enjoying food that's supposed to be "bad." It can also work as positive reinforcement for disordered eating behaviors like restricting food intake, even when feeling physically hungry.

Intuitive eating encourages you to chase the “food police” away and to challenge the false beliefs that decisions around food make you a good or bad person. This may involve identifying internal and external food rules that show up for you and finding ways to challenge these rules and beliefs. 

Look for the satisfaction factor

Often, being stuck in the diet mentality can create a constant sense of deprivation or even resentment, making it difficult to fully enjoy food or feel satisfied, even when physically satiated.

Part of the intuitive eating definition involves trusting your body to know what feels good and allowing it to eat the food it wants. This can help encourage feelings of satisfaction or even joy around food and work to counteract the toxic idea that certain foods are inherently bad.

Approaching decisions about meals with the goal of satisfaction, rather than stress around adhering to specific rules regardless of how you're feeling, can also help reinforce trust in yourself. It can help cultivate future intuitive decisions about what type of meal or snack will satisfy your current needs. 

Feel your fullness

Just as important as recognizing and honoring hunger is recognizing and honoring fullness.

Many diets emphasize smaller portions or lighter meals, leaving most followers feeling mentally or physically unsatisfied. While eating past the point of feeling physically full is also problematic, it's essential to give our bodies the amount of food it's asking for.

How much food you need on a given day depends on several variables, including your activity level, state of health, and sleep schedule, among others. It's nearly impossible to predict how much food your body will want ahead of time, so tuning in and listening is the best way to ensure you feel satisfied and satiated at the end of a meal.

Tools like the hunger satiety scale can help you start to pick up on your natural hunger and fullness cues. Speaking with a nutritionist or other medical professional can also help, especially for those who have previously struggled with eating disorders and may need extra support finding a healthy balance.

Treat yourself with compassion

This intuitive eating principle helps people recognize whether they're experiencing physical or emotional hunger.

Some people use food or food-related behaviors to deal with uncomfortable thoughts or emotions, such as anxiety, stress, loneliness, or boredom. In some cases, these behaviors can escalate and lead to an eating disorder. However, treating yourself more gently in times of stress can help counteract these eating habits.⁵

Again, this can be a challenging connection to unlearn, but several therapies, strategies, and tools can help foster a more self-compassionate mindset.

Respect your body

Thanks to social media and constant exposure to heavily edited images, many people have unrealistic expectations of how their bodies could and should look. This often results in harsh self-criticism and low self-esteem.⁶

These expectations, even when held subconsciously, can make it difficult to reject the diet mentality, encouraging people to stay fixated on how others look and use appearance as a marker of worth.

Part of moving away from diet culture is challenging any ideas around how your body "should" or "needs to" look. This can help you cultivate more respect for how you feel and be more open to listening to your hunger and satiety cues.

Try to think of all the wonderful things your body can do for you instead of focusing on what it "isn't." Remember, every body is unique, and all need and deserve appropriate amounts of food, rest, and pleasure. 

Engage in safe, fulfilling, and joyful movement

Exercise and movement are also often considered eating behaviors, especially when they're used as attempts to control or lose weight. Once again, diet culture has co-opted this activity, turning it into purely a tool for weight control or body building when physical movement is so much more fundamental and important.

There are many different ways to move. Going for a walk, dancing, gardening, or even spending time with loved ones are all ways you can experience safe, fulfilling movement. It is never mandatory to do any specific form of exercise or exercise at all. For people with certain health conditions, including some people recovering from eating disorders, certain types of exercise may not be safe or appropriate. 

If you want movement to be part of your life, you can choose formal or informal ways to be active, which feel physically and mentally rewarding. Listening to your body’s intuition about when to rest can help reduce the likelihood of getting injured or engaging in disordered exercise behaviors. 

Practice gentle nutrition 

The principles of intuitive eating ask people to change their perspective on diet and food. But that doesn't mean forgetting about the principles of nutrition.

Even when releasing food-based inhibitions, it's important to continue meeting energy and nutritional needs with food. Intuitive eating doesn't mean giving yourself the excuse to eat only candy or more than you feel you need. Instead, it asks us to focus on what our body is asking for and not feel guilty if those requests differ from what we've been programmed to believe we need.

Many different patterns and styles of eating can provide us with enough energy and help us meet our nutritional needs. Letting our body guide us is one of the best ways to meet those needs.

Benefits of intuitive eating

Intuitive eating establishes that each person is the best authority on what, when, and how much they should eat. This can have many benefits for both physical and mental health.

Implementing the teachings of intuitive eating can significantly benefit your physical and mental health. Emerging research in the field suggests that intuitive eating is linked to improved self-image, healthier attitudes toward food, greater emotional functioning, and a reduced risk of developing disordered eating behaviors.⁷

Other studies have compared intuitive eating against restrictive diets and found that intuitive eating was associated with reduced levels of disordered eating behaviors and body image issues.⁸

Practicing the principles of intuitive eating

If you want to start practicing the principles of intuitive eating, you may wish to speak with your doctor first, especially if you have a medical condition associated with specific nutritional concerns, such as diabetes, celiac disease, or high blood pressure.

Working with a nutritionist or other medical expert can also be helpful for many people. These professionals are trained in a number of techniques that can help you adopt the principles of intuitive eating in a way that feels safe and sustainable.

Online resources are also available to help offer guidelines and other suggestions on practicing intuitive eating. But regardless of where you look for help, learning more about intuitive eating can help you create a healthier relationship with food and yourself.