Today I wanted to do a post revisiting the topic of Intuitive Eating. In case you aren’t familiar, Intuitive Eating is a framework for eating developed by two dietitians, Evelyn Tribole and Elysh Resch. There is nothing inherently fancy or “new” about Intuitive Eating — it is essentially relearning how to naturally eat and be in tune with our bodies, dismantling and untangling the (largely unhelpful) outside voices and influences that may have negatively impacted our relationship with food and natural ways of nourishing ourselves.

Intuitive Eating is 10 principles summarizing a process of how to do that — relearn to eat in a natural, intuitive, and life-giving way.

You can read one of my earlier blog posts sharing more about the nuts and bolts of Intuitive Eating here!

In TODAY’s blog post, I’m going through recent examples of how the 10 principles might organically show up in my everyday life and eating. When we are relearning how to eat normally, I find it can often be helpful to see examples of how others go about this.

When I’m eating and going about life, (outside of client sessions) I don’t really *think* about the specific and individual Intuitive Eating principles per se at this point in my food journey. BUT they definitely make regular and continual appearances even if they are mostly integrated on autopilot.

To recap… the 10 principles of Intuitive Eating are…

1. Reject Diet Culture
2. Honor Your Hunger
3. Make Peace w/ Food
4. Discover the Satisfaction Factor
5. Feel Your Fullness
6. Challenge the Food Police
7. Cope w/ Your Emotions w/ Kindness
8. Respect Your Body
9. Movement – Feel the Difference
10. Honor Your Health – Gentle Nutrition

Note: I find that the principles and book *can* be a bit black/white and overly simplistic at times, but, overall, I love the IE framework and concepts and highly recommend them for anyone getting started (or progressing in) his or her food relationship healing journey!

Examples of the 10 Principles of Intuitive Eating in Action

Last night’s dinner! For dinner I made salmon (w/ a lime + tamari marinade), roasted bell peppers + red onion, and coconut rice. Here I am pulling out the leftovers since I usually cook one night and then it’s leftovers the next night, etc.

Of particular interest for today’s discussion, I am *challenging the food police* by having WHITE RICE instead of brown. *The horror!!!*

Personally, I don’t feel any need to “always have brown rice.” I find that I get plenty of whole grains in, and generally opt for taste and what would be best for the dish I am going for. *Pursuing satisfaction* is the cornerstone of Intuitive Eating. When we eat foods in ways that are generally most satisfying, this is helpful for BOTH our nutrition and our relationships w/ food.

Sometimes I like brown rice (or black! or wild!), sometimes white. No more complicated than that, no *food police* knocking on my door!

Lately I have been limiting my grains for health reasons, thus employing some *gentle nutrition* strategies. Overly expensive masters’ degree in nutrition to the rescue!

Most of the time when I go about eating, I’m all about combining nutrition with flavor and taste to the max, whenever I can! Thus *satisfaction* is continually sought after.

Recently I have been into these “tiger nut breakfast bowls” that I totally made up. Tiger nut flour is a grain-free carbohydrate flour (ground from tiger nuts, which aren’t actually nuts but tubers, thus making them a good high-carb source for my breakfasts). The bowls consist of tiger nut bread that I chop into bite-sized pieces + a bit of whole-milk yogurt + plenty of peanut butter + drizzle of agave + cinnamon + whatever fruit I have on hand. I then finish it off with a good drizzle of almond milk so the bread is nice and moist (don’t worry — it doesn’t get soggy at all which would be gross).

*Gentle nutrition* + *satisfaction* for the win. I am also challenging some *food police* dynamics, with the whole milk yogurt (which I think is best from a *nutrition* standpoint anyway!), and adding allll the peanut butter.

Generally I am pretty full, thereby *feeling my fullness* and able to move on with plenty of energy for the morning, not thinking about food because I am *full,* *satisfied,* and know I will eat another nourishing and tasty meal at lunch!

Another thing that helps w/ me moving on from my meals is that I know if hunger randomly happens to strike, I am free to *honor my hunger* without any guilt for eating at an “unplanned” time.

For *movement* (or exercise) I’ve been absolutely loving the sunrises on my morning runs lately. As this principle of Intuitive Eating also suggests, I’m all about encouraging others in moving ways that you truly enjoy and that are positive elements to your day. For me, that includes getting outside on a run or walk most every day, and going to my favorite yoga studio once a week. I also love more adventurous activity whenever I have a chance — skiing, backpacking, hiking, etc.

What about you?? What would you enjoy doing for exercise and moving your body if you already appreciated and valued your body RIGHT NOW, and didn’t feel the need to urgently “fix it”? 

Like many people who wrestle w/ anorexia, one of the foods I avoided back in the day was ground beef. I don’t even really know if I had a conscious reason for this, it was just something that I started avoiding. (Note: this can be problematic for many reasons, including the connection between zinc deficiency and anorexia).

Now that I’ve *made peace w/ food* and clearly kicked the *food police* to the curb on this one, I love incorporating high-quality, organic red meat whenever I can. Not only is it a good source of protein, but also an excellent source of a number of micronutrients, including iron and zinc. Iron and zinc are also better absorbed from animal foods compared to plant sources. *Gentle nutrition*

Eating in a way that is most *satisfying* has plenty of overlap with eating in ways that are most *nutritious.* I added some extra veggies to my delish bolognese sauce — not necessarily a summery meal, but this has been one of my favorite things I have made all summer! Now that we are heading into fall, I’m looking forward to making this again soon.

The other night I made some of my favorite tahini brownies for our after-church lunch. I made sure to eat one while I was getting them ready to go! These are the gooeiest, best brownies!

When we have *peace with food,* we can incorporate any and all foods — fun, dessert-type foods included — on a regular basis, without chaos, obsession, and anxiety.

When we avoid these foods at all costs, seeking the “healthiest way of eating possible at all times,” we are more likely to over-consume the higher-sugar treat-type foods or whatever other foods we are trying to avoid in the first place.

Eating fun foods purely for enjoyment and pleasure, without guilt or strings attached, is generally *ironically* HELPFUL for having a balanced, nutrient-dense diet that is good for us physically. We can’t ignore the psychology of eating food, and we are also made to enjoy food.

Work day afternoon snack! I am generally a not one, not two, but THREE snacks a day kind of person. Sometimes even four depending on my hunger. (Usually right when I wake up, in the afternoon, and in the evening / before bed).

Intentional snacks (while tasty in and of themselves) can be thought of as TOOLS to help us stay calm with food and regulated throughout the day. When we go too long without eating, it’s harder to be in tune with our *hunger* and *fullness* cues, and we are more likely to feel ravenous and chaotic when we finally do eat. See my post on benefits of regular eating to read more!

I absolutely love my coconut cacao bars, so this is usually part or all of my afternoon snack, washed down with some almond milk because I can’t eat chocolatey things without some sort of milk! This is infinitely more *satisfying* in my opinion!

I also found some random gold kiwis at Whole Foods, which I had never had before. Apparently gold kiwis were developed by an agricultural company in New Zealand, and are less fuzzy and a bit sweeter than their green counterparts. I like them both, and appreciate the variety as part of a *gentle nutrition* strategy — sometimes I like to switch it up and buy different fruits and veggies beyond my typical go-tos, not only to discover new favorites but also to get some different micronutrients in!

Final Thoughts

My personal approach to eating tends to be a blend of knowledge, “what sounds good or what would be tasty,” and overall intuition.

Examples of my “knowledge-based approach,” includes eating foods that I know are nutrient-dense and provide the macro and micronutrients that I need, eating enough for my activity level, eating regularly throughout the day, and eating in a way that will give me optimal energy and the ability to be present and engaged throughout my day.

This is all combined with my cornerstone food principle –> pursuing satisfaction in eating. I’m constantly seeking to create and eat my meals and snacks in ways that will be the most satisfying and delicious. This in and of itself includes a mostly nutrient-dense diet, but also foods that are eaten just for fun and pleasure!

And lastly, per the focus of this post on Intuitive Eating, normal eating is in so many ways simply intuitive. It can and should look different for everyone, based on individual preferences, cultural preferences and traditions, physiological differences, and more.

If eating does not feel intuitive at all for you right now, do not lose heart! Disordered eating takes what once was an intuitive process for all of us and makes it feel so complicated and messy. With time and healing, you can get to where it feels easy and intuitive again. All it needs to take for now is getting started in some small way.

If you are feeling this way, it can be immensely helpful to have some support on your journey. Consider reaching out and we can chat further!

“Intuitive Eating is an empowering process, which not only promotes health, but is also your gateway to freedom. When you are freed from the tyranny of food and body anxiety, you have the space and renewed energy to pursue your dreams and discover your purpose in life. But becoming an Intuitive Eater requires a highly conscious decision and commitment. It means letting go of the old way of surviving and opening up to a new way of viewing life. It might take soul searching and introspective work to decide whether dieting [or restrictive eating] has been keeping you from your deepest appreciation of life. Making this viewpoint change can be difficult to accomplish initially, but can ultimately become a way of living that knows no return.”

// Intuitive Eating, 3rd edition (emphasis added)

What about you? Might there be ways in which your relationship with food is currently hindering you from living your fullest life?

I encourage you to take some time to sit with this question and consider what your next step might be!