Intuitive eating is eating in a way that feels connected and supportive for your body - both physically and mentally.
If we are feeling stressed about food or experiencing chaotic eating, the intuitive eating framework helps bring us back to natural, peaceful eating.
Let's dive deeper into what intuitive eating is, how intuitive eating works and how to start eating intuitively if it feels right for you.
Image section
Intuitive eating draws on the different pathways in our bodies that guide eating. These are our instinct (such as hunger, fullness & satisfaction), emotion (such as comfort, celebrating & social connection) and rational thought (such as food, body & health knowledge).
In situations where we focus only on the nutrition content of food to guide eating (rational food knowledge) such as a diet, we will still have the instinct and emotion pathways trying to guide us. By ignoring these pathways we usually end up feeling in a fight against our body.
This instinct and emotion is felt in the body through interoception - our sense of what is happening inside our bodies.
When our body needs something, like food, the sensation we feel will start out subtle and peaceful but over time will get intense and uncomfortable because our body is trying to get us to action it's need.
When we are less aware of, or ignoring, our body's messages through interoception, we will like not notice the sensations until they are intense and we feel discomfort in our body and strong thoughts towards that need (such as food).
Intuitive eating helps improve interoception so we can eat according to our body's needs peacefully rather than acting on urgent and intense needs which make us feel out-of-control
Intuitive eating has 10 guiding principles to stop food stress and eat in a way that feels good. All the principles are either focused on improving interoception (to connect with the body) or removing barriers to interoception (such as thoughts and behaviours that keep us stuck).
Here's a summary of the principles:
More than stopping a diet. Develop a deep understanding into the ways cultural messages influence our relationship with food and body.
Learn what hunger feels like at different levels and when is the right time to eat to stop urgent drives to food and obsessive food thoughts.
Let go of mental restriction which drives cravings and binges by learning how to give yourself unconditional permission towards all food.
Get rid of "good" and "bad" thoughts towards food which cause guilt and shame leading to stress and binge eating cycles.
If you are not satisfied you will keep craving food even if you are full. Learn how to feel satisfied with foods that feel good in your body.
Learn the right level of fullness you actually need to reach so you can stop eating at the right time for your body.
Learn when it's actually helpful to turn to food when emotions feel difficult and what to do when it may not be supportive for you.
Often we try to control our bodies which results in unhealthy behaviours. Learn how to focus on caring for your body, even if you don't like it.
Instead of moving for punishment or to burn calories, notice how much more relaxed and enjoyable (& healthy) it feels to move for pleasure and self care.
You can still choose foods based on health goals or body knowledge without it feeling restrictive, diet-y or boring. Learn how to feel healthy without stress.
If you are used to using food rules to guide you, you will still have your body's instinct and emotion sending you body messages through interoception. When we ignore the messages from our body in place of food rules, the messages get louder.
For example, if you are hungry but do not allow yourself to eat because you are following a diet, your body's hunger will not go away, but it will get more intense - both in your body and food thoughts. Or if you are struggling with difficult emotion and try to ignore it, it won't go away but will likely get stronger meaning your body may turn to food to soothe the intense emotion.
If you have been dieting frequently (experiencing famines as your body sees it), this will also change the way your brain processes food and body signals, leading to more urgency toward food, especially higher energy foods.
When we feel our body cannot be trusted it usually comes down to the intensity of hunger we are feeling, psychological food fears, strong emotion or brain processing changes due to stress. Intuitive eating works through all these areas by improving interoception to build connection and peace with the body's messages.
There's a myth that intuitive eating is about eating whatever we want, whenever we want it. And if you have foods you constantly crave, you might be worried you will eat these foods all the time. This is not what actually happens for intuitive eaters.
Intuitive eating is a mix of instinct, emotion and rational thinking. So we are not acting as a slave to instinct or emotion. Using our rational knowledge, we are able to make choices based on self care.
The main reasons for frequently craving foods we feel are unhealthy (or eating them in large quantities) is when we make them off-limits or "bad foods". This restriction mindset actually changes the way our body responds to these foods. So the first step to intuitive eating can be shifting the way we think about these foods and allowing them back in.
When learning intuitive eating you may find you are initially drawn to the foods you currently try to avoid. This is normal when in a restriction mindset and will pass as you practice intuitive eating.
No more fight between your body and mind. From enjoying food with friends to no more out-of-control emotional and binge eating. You will have so much more headspace for life!
Intuitive eaters are more confident in their body's physical appearance and in their body's ability to guide their eating and self care. So less time worrying about food and body, more time on your actual hobbies and important parts of life.
Intuitive eating is shown to improve both physical health markers (such as blood pressure and cholesterol) as well as mental health (mood, happiness, optimism).
Intuitive eating is designed to support people feeling stress, guilt or worry around food or experiencing unsupportive eating behaviours.
People who would benefit from intuitive eating:
You've spent time dieting (or using food rules) to guide your eating but this is not working for you.
Your weight is always changing (yo-yoing) or you fear your weight will shoot up if you stop dieting.
You feel disconnected from your body's hunger, fullness or emotions.
You know what you should eat but end up eating the unhealthy foods.
After eating you feel guilt, shame, worry or you second guess if you made the right choice.
You cannot stop thinking about food for a lot of the day.
You find yourself feeling out-of-control around food in the evening or on weekends.
When you feel stressed or strong emotion you often turn to food to numb or soothe.
You struggle with body image and are looking to feel more confident in your body.
Use caution if:
You have, or are in recovery from, an eating disorder
You are autistic or have ADHD
You have another condition that makes connecting with your body different.
Intuitive eating can still be a great tool but it might look or feel a bit different (which is true to a lesser extent for all of us). You might benefit from working with someone with knowledge of both intuitive eating and your unique characteristics or medical condition.
Intuitive eating is about changing the way you think and feel when it comes to food and body (and the behaviour change comes from there).
The Intuitive Eating Minis are bite-sized, affordable online courses to help you:
✅ Stop dieting for good
✅ Rebuild body trust
✅ Cope with your emotions
Packed with simple actionable steps, they are the perfect way to start or continue on your intuitive eating journey.