If you’re tired of feeling like you don’t know when, what, or how much to eat, then you are in good company. In our diet-obsessed culture, messages about “good food” and “bad food” seem to change from day-to-day, leaving us all wondering what to put in our bodies. Fortunately, there is a proven method for discerning our own personal nutrition needs. It’s called intuitive eating. In today’s post, I’m going to give a brief overview of the 10 intuitive eating principles.

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What is intuitive eating?

To give a 30,000-foot view of it, intuitive eating is about learning to get back in touch with your body’s signals about eating. We are all born with this knowledge, but it gets overridden as we grow up.

The intuitive eating principles come from a book written by two dietitian authors, Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch. The definition of intuitive eating given on their website is this:

Intuitive Eating is a self-care eating framework, which integrates instinct, emotion, and rational thought and was created by two dietitians, Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch in 1995. Intuitive Eating is a weight-inclusive, evidence-based model with a validated assessment scale and over 100 studies to date. (1)

Who are the intuitive eating principles for?

Fortunately, the intuitive eating principles are for everyone, including those with health conditions. (2)

I learned about intuitive eating during my first job after becoming a dietitian, when I was working at an eating disorder program. (The book even contains a chapter specific to eating disorder recovery.) But intuitive eating is not just for those in ED recovery; it is good for anyone, including diabetics. For instance, the results of a 2021 observational study concluded:

Eating intuitively, especially in accordance with body needs may be associated with lower chances of type 2 diabetics having inadequate glycemic control. (3)

How can I learn to eat intuitively?

In addition to their book, which has become hugely popular and is currently in its 4th edition, Tribole and Resch also offer certifications for dietitians. If you are interested in finding an RD near you who specializes in this, you can check out the directory on their website.

The 10 intuitive eating principles: an overview

What follows is just a quick list of the 10 intuitive eating principles, along with a 1-2 sentence description of each. I will go into detail about what each means in follow-up posts, so stay tuned:

Principle 1 – Reject the diet mentality

Stop dieting in all of its forms, and cease all dieting behaviors. This means no longer secretly hoping to lose weight, as this can sabotage your journey to intuitive eating.

If you want to learn more on this topic, check out this post: Stop dieting and start living: how to shift to a non-diet approach

Principle 2 – Honor your hunger

Allow yourself to eat whenever you are hungry, no strings attached. This includes when you are craving foods too, but aren’t physically hungry.

Principle 3 – Make peace with food

Give yourself unconditional permission to eat, and to eat what you really want.

Principle 4 – Challenge the food police

Challenge the voices in your head that label foods as good or bad. Question all the rules that you have internalized around eating.

Principle 5 – Feel your fullness

Just like honoring your hunger, get in touch with your body’s signals regarding fullness. Learn to feel, understand, and listen to your fullness.

Principle 6 – Discover the satisfaction factor

Eating is pleasurable; learn how to feel joy and enjoyment around food again. Then use your satisfaction level to determine when you are ready to stop eating.

Principle 7 – Cope with your emotions without using food

Discover when you are using food to cope with emotions. Learn strategies to handle those uncomfortable emotions that do not involve food.

Principle 8 – Respect your body

Accept and respect your body. Take care of it by feeding it, caring for it, and treating it with dignity.

Principle 9 – Exercise – feel the difference

Discover what it feels like to exercise out of a desire to move and care for your body, vs a desire to lose weight. Reclaim the enjoyment of physical motion.

Principle 10 – Honor your health with gentle nutrition

Create a realistic mindset surrounding food and nutrition, which allows for the imperfections of life. Learn when to choose a food for its health benefits vs when to choose a food just because it tastes good.

The 10 intuitive eating principles: in summary

Congratulations, you now know the 10 principles of becoming an intuitive eater! There is so much that can be learned about your body and your eating, and intuitive eating is such a powerful tool for facilitating this process. Stay tuned for more details about what each of the above steps means.

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References

1. Tribole, E. (2019) ‘Definition of Intuitive Eating’, Intuitive Eating, 17 July. Available at: http://www.intuitiveeating.org/definition-of-intuitive-eating/ (Accessed: 1 September 2023).
2. Johnson, Kourtney (2023) ‘Intuitive Eating Principles and Myths You Probably Believe’. Nutrition Entrepreneurs Spring Summit 2023, Virtual Conference, 6 March.
3. Soares, F.L.P. et al. (2021) ‘Intuitive eating is associated with glycemic control in type 2 diabetes’, Eating and weight disorders: EWD, 26(2), pp. 599–608. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-020-00894-8.
4. Tribole, E. and Resch, E. (2012) Intuitive eating. 3rd ed. New York: St. Martin’s Griffin.
5. Featured image credit: Photo by Nate Johnston on Unsplash.