THE 10 INTUITIVE EATING PRINCIPLES

If you want to understand what intuitive eating has to offer, the 10 principles are a great place to start. One way to use these principles: Work through them in order. Master one, and then move on to the next, which is what the creators originally intended.

Principle #1: Reject the diet mentality.

Intuitive eating isn’t about weight loss, and that’s what I’ve come to realize as a Nutrition Coach. 

I’ve noticed that many of my clients felt stressed and upset when they stepped on the scale or tracked their measurements. So when I introduced them to an intuitive eating approach I started noticing my clients getting better, healthier, happier, sustainable results it was MUCH EASIER for them to stick with an eating plan, enjoy foods they loved, and didn’t have to sacrifice any of it.   

If you’re interested in trying this approach, think about your goals outside of weight loss by using a thought experiment called The 5 Whys.

You start with the question: What do you want to accomplish? And then ask yourself why five times to get to the root of what you really want.

Often, people start by saying they want to lose weight. By the end, they end up with goals about confidence, happiness, and having a good life—all of which can be achieved without weight loss.

Principle #2: Honor your hunger.

The more we try to resist hunger, the more we want to eat. (Thank evolution for that one.)

And once we get extremely hungry? Our plan to eat a perfectly portioned chicken breast with a side of kale becomes a bucket of fried chicken with mashed potatoes and a side of cheesecake.

The solution? When you’re hungry—eat.

But that begs the question: How do you know when you’re truly hungry? Try ranking your hunger on a scale of 1-10. Usually, we think of 7 as “time to eat,” but what feels right for you might be different.

Letting your hunger guide you may mean eating at new and different times.

For instance, you may normally eat breakfast at 9 am out of habit. But maybe you’re super hungry right after you wake up at 7:30 am. Or you may find you’re not actually hungry until 10 am. Whatever your body tells you, go with it.

Principle #3: Make peace with food.

Give yourself unconditional permission to eat.

When people are restricting really hard, that pushes them into binge eating and shame eating and emotional eating. You’ll never address a restriction problem with more restriction. It just doesn’t work.

If you’ve ever gone on a super restrictive diet and then crashed and burned face-first into a tub of caramel popcorn, you know what we’re talking about.

The goal of making peace with food is to avoid situations like that. But in order to get there, intuitive eating says you need to welcome yourself to eat that caramel popcorn whenever you want.

You’re probably wondering: Won’t unconditional permission lead to donuts the size of people’s heads coupled with a lifetime without vegetables?

Not usually.

Quite often, the opposite happens. Once people allow themselves to eat what they really want, their cravings suddenly don’t feel as urgent. That yearning for a whole box of cookies eventually turns into a more manageable desire for just one or two.

Fair warning, this principle can take a while to master.

One thing that might help: Self-compassion, which is an attitude of generosity, honesty, and kindness towards yourself. Try to notice what you say to yourself when you eat—especially if you are going for foods that you haven’t given yourself permission to eat in the past. If your internal chatter is negative, take a deep breath and consider: “Is this how I would talk to someone I love?” If not, think about what you might say to a friend who is trying to break free from a negative relationship with food. Then say those words—to yourself.

Principle #4: Challenge the food police.

The food police are those little people in your head telling you not to eat such a big portion, that this food is “good,” and that food is “bad.”

Of course, once those annoying head mates deem a food “bad,” that food becomes all the more attractive and irresistible.

If you’re planning a special meal that goes outside of what you’d normally eat, you could try calling it a “choice” or a “FREE” meal instead of a cheat one.

Principle #5: The SATISFACTION factor.

Taking pleasure in what you eat—enjoying food that you truly like in a comfortable environment—helps you innately decide when you’ve had “enough” to eat, whatever that means to you.

To do it, consider transforming your meals into an event.

Rather than scarfing things down over the sink or in the car, sit down—at a table. Maybe put some mood music on. Then consciously think about:

What does your meal taste like?

What’s the texture like?

What does the chair you’re sitting in feel like?

Who are you eating with? Is that part of your meal enjoyable? What’s good about your experience of eating this meal?

Principle #6: Feel your fullness.

As you eat, look and listen for the signs you’re no longer hungry.

Imagine your fullness on a scale from 1 to 10. One is “I don’t feel like I’ve eaten at all” and 10 is “I’m completely full and can’t eat any more.” Five is something like “I’ve eaten some food, but I definitely have room for more.”

Principle #7: Cope with your emotions with kindness.

Intuitive eating nudges you to ask important questions, especially when you find yourself turning to food when you’re not physically hungry. Rather than berating yourself, you gently explore what’s really going on by asking yourself:

“What do I really need? Is it connection? Better relationships? Am I feeling tired, stressed, frustrated?”

Those questions might lead you to much more nourishing solutions that happen to be located far outside of the kitchen.

“Intuitive eating is about being willing to listen, trust, and respect your thoughts and body.  It’s not a free-for-all; it’s actually about digging deep. It takes time, patience, practice, and self-compassion.”

Principle #8: Respect your body.

Stop measuring your body against outside standards of how it “should” look. Instead, try to accept your body as it is.

In a world where we’re bombarded with images of what our bodies are “supposed” to look like, this is often a challenge. But it’s crucial.

All bodies are different, and for many of us, it can be helpful to accept that our bodies may never look like the ones on the cover of fitness magazines. With intuitive eating, you’re encouraged to lean into that and practice not feeling bad about it.

Principle #9: Move to feel the difference.

Choose movement that feels good to you, and that you genuinely enjoy. Hate running? Don’t force it. Love Zumba? Stick with that.  Love Strength Training, have at it!

Or maybe you don’t like purposeful workouts at all. In that case, you might just focus on moving your body as much as possible throughout the day.

Principle #10: Honor your health with gentle nutrition.

Intuitive eating is basically the opposite of most other approaches when it comes to how they handle the nutrition piece. Generally, diets focus on the relative health of various foods and what to eat before anything else.

Intuitive eating, on the other hand, deliberately does the opposite. You focus first on tapping into hunger and fullness signals, emotional awareness around food, and body respect.

Then you start talking about practical points like how much protein you need or the idea that adding veggies to your meal is usually a good move. And even when you consider these nutritional fundamentals, you do so hand-in-hand with pleasure. This isn’t about forcing yourself to eat nutritious foods that you hate.