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Intuitive Eating- 10 Principals

Intuitive Eating is a compassionate, self-care eating framework that treats all bodies with dignity and respect. This anti-diet approach can help you make peace with food and rediscover the pleasures of eating. Below are 10 principals of Intuitive Eating that are meant to be a framework, to guide you on your journey to becoming an intuitive eater.

Courtesy of Seneca Nation Human Resources Department

With 2021 now underway, many of us have resolutions on our mind. In 2020 our lives were turned upside down, our eating and drinking habits changed accordingly and many are working to get back on track in 2021. Intuitive Eating is a compassionate, self-care eating framework that treats all bodies with dignity and respect. Learn how this anti-diet approach can help you make peace with food and rediscover the pleasures of eating.

Principal #1- Reject the Diet Mentality – This includes rejecting diet culture, and the diet mentality that fuels it. It’s important to recognize that you are not the reason why every diet has failed in the past, it’s the system of dieting that is the problem. Holding onto the belief that you just haven’t found the right diet, and there’s a new food plan right around the corner that will finally “work”, will ultimately prevent you from being free to discover Intuitive Eating.

Principal #2- Honor Your Hunger – Keeping your body fed with adequate energy will prevent primal hunger that drives overeating. Excessive hunger causes us to be out of control around food and make impulsive decisions we would not have made if we were adequately fed. Honoring this biological signal to eat is key to rebuilding trust in yourself and in food.

Principal #3- Make Peace with Food – Give yourself unconditional permission to eat. Telling yourself that you “can’t” or “shouldn’t” have a certain food often leads to feelings of deprivation and can build into uncontrollable cravings and binging. You may find you eat much more of the food than you ever would have if you gave yourself unconditional permission to eat it in the first place.

Principal #4- Challenge the Food Police – Give yourself unconditional permission to eat. Telling yourself that you “can’t” or “shouldn’t” have a certain food often leads to feelings of deprivation and can build into uncontrollable cravings and binging. You may find you eat much more of the food than you ever would have if you gave yourself unconditional permission to eat it in the first place.

Principal #5- Discover the Satisfaction Factor – So often when we are consumed with diet culture, we are unable to truly enjoy our food. By allowing yourself to rediscover the pleasures of eating, you will find it easier to understand when you are properly nourished and have had enough to eat.

Principal #6- Feel Your Fullness – The first step in honoring your fullness is to trust that you will give yourself the foods that you want. Listen to your body’s signals that tell you that you are feeling full and satiated. Try pausing partway through a meal or snack and check in with your body- How does the food taste? How full are you feeling?

Principal #7- Cope with Your Emotions with Kindness – Food restriction can, both physically and mentally, trigger loss of control, which often feels like emotional eating. Although food can be a source of comfort, it’s not the most effective coping mechanism. It’s important to find other ways to cope with emotions without always using food.

Principal #8- Respect Your Body – Body diversity naturally exists. It will be difficult to reject the diet mentality if you are overly critical and unrealistic about your body shape or size. Instead, respect your body and recognize all bodies deserve dignity.

Principal #9- Movement- Feel the Difference – Once you shift your mindset around moving your body- from what will burn the most calories, to what makes you feel energized and manages stress- you will notice how much more you will enjoy moving your body and you might even do it more often.

Principal #10- Honor Your Health with Gentle Nutrition – Step back and look at your eating habits over time, and consider things like how food makes your feel, and your personal health goals. Try to make food choices that honor your health but also your taste buds and make you feel satisfied. You don’t have to eat “perfectly” to be healthy. One meal, snack or day of eating will not suddenly cause a nutrient deficiency or cause you to be unhealthy. What and how you eat over time is what matters. Focus on progress and not perfection!