Every few months, it feels like we hear about the miracles of a new, popular diet. Whether it’s Atkins or Keto, Whole30 or Weight Watchers, each new diet is marketed as the ultimate answer for people who want to lose weight. And since we know diets don’t work as effectively for most (and can make you completely miserable) it’s smart to be skeptical about intuitive eating, and wonder if this is just another complicated, restrictive diet.
At its core, intuitive eating is about eating foods that nourish you both physically and emotionally, in accordance with your hunger and fullness cues. This means moving away from diet culture and listening to your body. This idea can be really scary to people who have spent a lifetime restricting their food, binging, losing weight, and gaining weight.
Here are a few FAQs about intuitive eating:
Is intuitive eating just another diet?
Nope! Diets are restrictive in nature and focused on losing weight. Intuitive eating aims to help you find food freedom and move away from labeling foods as “bad” or “good.” This means eating all kinds of foods and honoring both physical and emotional hunger. If you are restricting food, denying hunger, or forcing yourself to eat foods you do not enjoy, you are not eating intuitively.
Is intuitive eating going to help me lose weight?
Nope! The goal of intuitive eating is not weight loss: It is about eating foods that you enjoy in an amount that feels good for your body. Sometimes this results in weight loss, and other times it does not.
Won’t I just binge on candy all of the time?
It’s likely that as you stop restricting foods that you previously labeled as “bad,” you will want to eat more of these foods. This is normal! Give yourself understanding and compassion in these moments. However, as you work to get in touch with your hunger and fullness cues, and allow yourself the freedom to eat the foods you enjoy, these foods will lose their grip over you. You’ll start to notice that you don’t feel great in your body if you only eat candy all day – just like you wouldn’t feel great if you only ate salad all day! Part of intuitive eating is learning which foods make you feel good, in both body and soul, and incorporating a variety of them into your diet.
Okay, so…what do I eat?!
This is completely up to you! Every single person has different caloric needs, food preferences, hunger cues, allergies…the list goes on and on. And for each person, these needs change every day. Some days you may find yourself hungrier than others, and craving more food than you typically do. Honor your hunger, and trust that your body knows best.
Intuitive eating can be really challenging to navigate at first, especially since we are so accustomed to diet culture. It may be a good idea to enlist the help of intuitive eating aligned professionals, such as therapists, nutritionists, and dieticians, to help you figure out the best way to go about this for you.
