Are you tired of the endless cycle of dieting and bingeing? Do you feel guilty or ashamed for eating certain foods or breaking your food rules? Do you feel disconnected from your body and its signals of hunger and fullness?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, you might benefit from intuitive eating. Intuitive eating is a way of eating that makes you the expert of your body and its hunger signals. It’s different from a traditional diet. It doesn’t tell you what to avoid and what or when to eat. Instead, it teaches that you are the only person who can make those choices.
Intuitive eating was created by two dietitians, Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch, in 1995. They came up with 10 principles of intuitive eating that help you reconnect with your body and its needs, make peace with food and yourself, and enjoy eating without guilt or fear. Here are the 10 principles: Get the book today: Intuitive eating by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch
- Reject diet mentality: Stop believing that there is a perfect diet out there that will solve all your problems. Dieting only leads to deprivation, obsession, and rebound overeating. Break free from diet culture and its harmful messages about food and weight.
- Honor your hunger: Learn to recognize and respect your body’s signals of hunger. Don’t ignore them or try to suppress them with water or gum. Feed your body with enough energy and nourishment to prevent extreme hunger and bingeing.
- Make peace with food: Give yourself permission to eat whatever you want, whenever you want, without judgment or guilt. No food is off-limits or morally superior. When you stop labeling foods as good or bad, you reduce the power they have over you and the urge to overeat them.
- Challenge the food police: Reject the voices that tell you what you should or shouldn’t eat. These are the voices of diet culture, not your intuition. You don’t need to follow any rules or restrictions to eat well. You can trust your own wisdom and preferences.
- Discover the satisfaction factor: Eating is not only a biological need, but also a source of pleasure and joy. Allow yourself to enjoy the taste, texture, aroma, and appearance of food. Choose foods that make you feel good physically and emotionally. Eating satisfying foods will help you feel more content and less likely to overeat.
- Feel your fullness: Just as you honor your hunger, honor your fullness too. Listen to your body’s signals of satiety and stop eating when you feel comfortably full. Don’t feel obligated to finish your plate or eat past your point of satisfaction. You can always eat again when you’re hungry.
- Cope with your emotions with kindness: Food can provide comfort and distraction from difficult emotions, but it can’t solve them. Instead of using food to cope, find healthy ways to deal with your feelings, such as talking to someone, journaling, meditating, or engaging in a hobby. Be compassionate and gentle with yourself.
- Respect your body: Accept your body as it is today, without trying to change it or compare it to others. Recognize that your body is unique and worthy of respect and care, regardless of its size or shape. Treat your body with kindness and gratitude for all that it does for you.
- Movement – feel the difference: Exercise for the sake of feeling good, not for burning calories or changing your appearance. Find activities that you enjoy and that suit your abilities and preferences. Focus on how movement makes you feel physically and mentally, rather than on how it affects your weight.
- Honor your health – gentle nutrition: Choose foods that nourish your body and make you feel well, without sacrificing satisfaction or pleasure. Don’t worry about eating perfectly or following strict rules. Instead, adopt a flexible and balanced approach that supports your health and well-being.
Intuitive eating is not a quick fix or a weight loss method. It’s a lifelong journey of self-discovery and self-care that can improve your physical and mental health. Research shows that intuitive eating is associated with lower rates of disordered eating, higher self-esteem, better body image, lower stress levels, and greater well-being.
Health Hustle Fitness 