“Intuitive Eating” Core Principles
The authors of Intuitive Eating suggest ten principles. When I loan my clients a copy of this book, I tell them to take what resonates with them and leave the rest. You may practice many of these core principles already while others may be novel and new. So, take what you want and leave the rest! (This information is gathered from pages 20-29 of Intuitive Eating.)
Principle 1: Reject the Diet Mentality
Yup, for many that’s easier said than done. But for so many people it’s an enormous relief to be “allowed” to quit believing the “quick fix” baloney that saturates the media. I like the authors’ comment about this, “If you allow even one small hope to linger that a new and better diet might be lurking around the corner, it will prevent you from being free to rediscover Intuitive Eating.” (p. 20) It’s time to stop believing that there’s a magic powder or perfect shake that will just make the pounds slip away.
Principle 2: Honor your Hunger
What!? I’m supposed to starve if I’m on a diet, right? Uh, no. Your body needs fuel and when you’re starving, you tend to overeat. Trust your body’s hunger signals that tell you it’s time for food. This also means that if you’re not hungry, give yourself permission to not eat or to stop halfway through. Just because it’s 6:30 pm doesn’t mean you have to eat dinner.
Principle 3: Make Peace with Food
“Give yourself unconditional permission to eat.” (p. 22) We all know that if we restrict something it becomes more enticing and harder to resist. “I’m never going to eat chocolate again.” REALLY? Allow yourself to eat the foods you love and don’t make anything forbidden.
Principle 4: Challenge the Food Police
Do you have that voice in your head that says, “No, you can’t eat that” or “You’ve been a good girl today, you’ve only eaten 800 calories”? The “Food Police” have made up ridiculous rules that pulse through our brains. Maybe you had a dance teacher or a wrestling coach who said you needed to lose 5, 10, 15 pounds. Give yourself permission to talk back to the food police and to quiet their unreasonable and destructive messages.
Principle 5: Feel your Fullness
Wait, Intuitive Eating isn’t about gorging? No, it’s about recognizing what our bodies need and respecting that. Slow down, feel your body, see if you’re still hungry in the middle of a meal or while having a snack. Stop when you’re no longer hungry and give yourself permission to eat more if you’re hungry later.
Principle 6: Discover the Satisfaction Factor
Yes, food is pleasurable. Eat the foods you like, don’t eat the foods you don’t like. Do you eat a whole bag of pretzels because they’re “good” or “healthy” when what you really want is a handful of real, “sinful” fried potato chips? Do you avoid an apple fritter because it’s “bad” and instead gorge on something (or somethings) that are “good” and still not feel satisfied? By allowing yourself to eat the food you WANT and that satisfies, you will begin to feel satisfied and not be driven to consume, consume, consume.
Principle 7: Cope with your Emotions without Using Food
Many of us have learned to soothe ourselves by using food. I mentioned this in a previous post, but think of the times children are rewarded or comforted with a “treat” or how it’s ubiquitous to see a lonely woman in a movie drown her sorrows in a bucket of ice cream. We know that food doesn’t really fix anything, but we’ve been taught that it can. Find different ways to handle tough situations.
We also tend to celebrate with food. Is it necessary for food to be the center of a celebration or get together? Play games and enjoy the people you’re spending time with.
Principle 8: Respect your Body
I discuss this in my post titled “WHEW!” Recognize there is no “perfect” body, acknowledge what your body does for you, don’t compare yourself to other people and honor your body. I suspect that when we dislike or don’t respect our bodies that it’s easier to stuff them with food we don’t like and to be distrustful of them and their ability to tell us when we’re hungry and when we’ve had enough. If you don’t love your body now, what makes you think you’ll love it if it’s 10, 15, 20 pounds lighter? Find a way to respect your body.
Principle 9: Exercise–Feel the Difference
Instead of using exercise as a punishment or simply as a calorie burning activity, pay attention to your body and notice how it moves and feels when you’re being active. Notice the tingling in your legs when you’re walking fast, notice the sound and rhythm of your breath when you swim, feel the new way your body moves doing yoga, sense your muscles getting strong and powerful when you’re lifting weights. If you hate running, DON’T RUN! Find something that gives you pleasure and feel it.
Principle 10: Honor your Health–Gentle Nutrition
“Make food choices that honor your health and taste buds while making you feel good.” (p. 29) Don’t use nutriton as a “diet weapon,” choose foods that make you feel good and taste good. Relax, try new foods, discover what foods you enjoy and which foods you don’t. Don’t obsess, but try new things and pay attention to how they taste, feel, sound and smell. (Broccoli may be called a “super food” but if you don’t like it, don’t eat it!)
May you be happy, healthy and trusting of yourself,
Regan
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