Reject the Diet Mentality with Intuitive Eating

Intuitive eating is a rapidly growing nutritional framework. It is a non-diet approach to eating that emphasizes internal messages instead of external food rules created by ourselves and society. Intuitive eating is a practice that has helped many people recover from eating disorders, binge eating, anxiety, depression, body dysmorphia and weight cycling. It is focused on health enhancement through improved body image and an improved relationship with food rather than numbers on a scale. Intuitive eating is comprised of ten principles that honor both physical and mental health and wellbeing. Let’s explore these ten principles:

1. Reject the diet mentality: Diets are set up for failure. Most individuals gain back one to two thirds of the weight they lost dieting within a year and almost all weight is regained within 5 years. Research shows the act of dieting actually increases your risk of gaining more weight. More than 60% of people who diet gain back more weight than they lost!

2. Honor your hunger: Your body is innately wise. It sends signals when it needs nourishment. If you do not eat when we are hungry, your body thinks it is being deprived which can fuel cravings and binge-eating behaviors. The body holds onto calories and nutrients for longer when it is not adequately or regularly nourished. Remember, we evolved in a world where we did not have access to food 24/7 and where a slowed metabolism could be life-saving. Eating when you are hungry encourages a healthy appetite and metabolism.

3. Make peace with food: Allow yourself to eat whatever you want. Do not categorize foods as “good” or “bad” – no one food can make you healthy, just like no one food can make you unhealthy. If you tell yourself you can’t have or shouldn’t have a certain food, you will eventually feel deprived which can develop into cravings and/or overeating. Overeating can then trigger more restrictive eating which causes more cravings and the cycle to continue.

4. Challenge the “food police”: These are the thoughts in your head that classify certain foods as either “good” or “bad”. There is no food that is inherently good or bad and consuming a salad for lunch does not make you a better person than if you were to have eaten a pasta dish. It is very difficult to enjoy food and honor your body and its’ needs when you hold yourself accountable to the strict rules set by the “food police”.

5. Respect your fullness: Check in with your body. Chew your food. Pause part way through a meal and see how you are feeling. How does the food taste? Dieting can make us feel like we need to eat a certain amount of food at specific meal times. Intuitive eating instead encourages increasing consciousness around your body’s needs and the messages it is communicating to you regarding when and what to eat.

6. Discover the satisfaction factor: We all have the right to enjoy the food we eat. Food is a part of the human experience and eating foods we enjoy is beneficial to our mental health and wellbeing. Consuming foods that taste good and that you actually want to eat leads to improved satiety and decreased incidence of over-eating.

7. Honor your feelings without using food to cope: Many of us eat for reasons besides physical hunger. Food can be used as a way to cover up sadness or other uncomfortable feelings. Food can certainly be comforting and there is nothing wrong with using it as part of a coping mechanism. Eating for comfort becomes problematic if it is your only coping mechanism or it isn’t actually providing you the comfort you seek.

8. Respect your body: If everyone ate the same foods and engaged in the same exercise routine we would still all look different. No body is the same as another body. Body diversity exists and should be celebrated! This is easier said than done, but we tend to feel better about our bodies when we are taking care of them by consuming nourishing foods, engaging in joyful movement daily, getting adequate sleep and utilizing appropriate stress management.

9. Exercise-Feel the Difference: Engage in movement that you enjoy. It is easy to get caught up in what we think we are “supposed to be doing” or obsessing over burning a certain amount of calories. Intuitive eating encourages letting go of this calorie-burning mindset and instead celebrating what your body is able to do and other positive effects of exercise including improved mood, sleep and overall sense of well-being.

10. Honor your health through gentle nutrition: You do not have to eat “healthy foods” 100% of the time. You do not need to eat a “perfect diet” to achieve your goals. Good health is formed by habits over time. It is not all or nothing. Allowing yourself to enjoy the occasional “unhealthy” food can be an important component of a healthy and well-lived life.

We are all born intuitive eaters. Babies cry when they are hungry and children go through phases of increased hunger during growth spurts. Unfortunately, many of us are introduced to food rules at an early age. These rules are placed upon us by family members, friends and society. Personally, the first food rule I remember being subjected to was at my grandparent’s home where I wasn’t allowed to leave the table until I cleaned my plate. Food rules steer us away from listening to and honoring our body’s signals and needs. Additionally, we are bombarded with messages from society that program us into believing that some body types are more valuable than others. This causes many to fall into a damaging cycle of food restriction and other disordered eating behaviors. Intuitive eating challenges the diet status quo and recognizes the body’s innate wisdom as a cornerstone to optimal physical and mental health and well-being.

References:

1. Warren, J, Smith, N, & Ashwell, M. (2017). A structured literature review on the role of mindfulness, mindful eating and intuitive eating in changing eating behaviours: Effectiveness and associated potential mechanisms. Nutrition Research Review, 30(2), 272-283. doi:10.1017/S0954422417000154

2. Bacon, Linda, PhD et al (2005). Size Acceptance and Intuitive Eating Improve Health for Obese, Female Chronic Dieters. Journal of the American Dietetic Association. 105(6), 929-936. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jada.2005.03.011

3. Van Dyke, N., & Drinkwater, E. (2014). Review Article Relationships between intuitive eating and health indicators: Literature review. Public Health Nutrition, 17(8), 1757-1766. doi:10.1017/S1368980013002139