What Is Intuitive Eating?
Did you know that February 21-27 is Eating Disorder Awareness Week? Over 5 million Americans are affected by eating disorders every year, and they often face stigma and other obstacles while trying to access treatment.
The risk factors that can lead to eating disorders are many and varied. They include acute stress, past traumas, family health history, and more. Luckily, there are many tools and resources available to help you in your recovery journey.
One such tool is intuitive eating. When implemented properly, it can help you repair your relationship with food and relearn how to listen to your body's signals.
Interested in hearing more? Keep reading to learn what intuitive eating is and how you can start using it today.
What is Intuitive Eating?
Put simply, intuitive eating is an approach to eating that lets the cues of your body guide your behavior. It positions your body as the expert on what it needs on a day-to-day basis.
With an intuitive eating mindset, you eat when you're hungry, and you stop eating when you're full.
Health Benefits
Intuitive eating is still a relatively new concept (it was first talked about by scholars in the 1970s), but already the potential health benefits of this approach to eating are quite promising.
Some studies have shown that intuitive eating can lower rates of disordered eating and lead to higher self-esteem and body satisfaction. It may also lead to lower cholesterol, higher metabolism, and lower overall stress.
Intuitive Eating vs. Dieting
You might be wondering, "How is this different from other diets? Isn't this just another 'rule' for how I should eat?"
In some ways, intuitive eating is the opposite of dieting. Diet culture leads you to believe that there are good and bad foods, and it tells you that you should restrict the food you eat for the purpose of shrinking your body. When you don't do this, diet culture wants you to feel guilt and shame.
With intuitive eating, there is no goal to lose weight or make your body look any different than it does right now. It positions all food as being morally neutral. There are no good or bad foods out there; it's all just food. Rather than following an arbitrary diet plan or other nutrition guide, you're encouraged to listen to the hunger and fullness cues that your body gives you and use that information to guide your eating choices.
How to Get Started
Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch, the authors of the book Intuitive Eating, detail ten principles of intuitive eating in their work. While it's worth exploring the ten principles in depth, for the most part, they all center around honoring your body's cues, treating your body and emotions with kindness and respect, and rejecting diet culture in favor of striving for holistic wellness in your body and mind.
Book a Call to Learn More
As you can see, there are many benefits to intuitive eating, particularly for anyone in recovery from an eating disorder. Healing is possible, but it can be hard to do on your own. That's why I'm here, to help you get started on your healing journey.
As a Reiki Master, Certified Life Coach, and Certified Nutritionist, I'll get to know you, help you identify your goals, and provide support and accountability as you take steps forward on your healing journey.
Ready to learn more? Book a discovery call with me to get started today!