Kelsey Rich, an eating disorder dietitian guest blogs her ideas on “Intuitive Eating”
What is Intuitive Eating?
It is January—meaning New Year’s resolutions and the diet mentality is ever-present. In the United States, we spend $60 billion a year on diet and weight loss products. This is despite the fact that 95% of diets will fail within 3-5 years. This means that within 3-5 years of the diet you will gain the weight back (and sometimes more). The diet industry aside, most of us would not invest in ANY product or business scheme that had a 95% failure rate. Why is the diet industry so different? Many blame themselves when a diet fails—why not blame the diet? We keep trying to fight biology (hunger, fullness, weight set points, etc.) and it is just not working.
I was introduced to Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch about 12 years ago when I was in school and have preached the principles of intuitive eating ever since. Intuitive eating rejects the diet mentality and the philosophies focus on making peace with food and getting back in touch with internal cues of hunger, fullness, pleasure, and satisfaction. Intuitive eating is about trusting our body that it knows what to do with the food we give it AND knows what it needs. Let’s take a look at the 10 principles of intuitive eating:
1. Reject the Diet Mentality
Many are fearful of letting go of the diet cycle. Common fears that I hear from clients are: “If I give up dieting, I won’t be able to stop eating,” “If I allow myself to eat ‘my bad foods’ that is all I will eat,” “I will be out of control,” “I won’t know what to eat,” etc. Dieting may have been a form of coping or has become part of your identity. That can be scary to give up. Many come to see me when they have hit rock bottom and determine that dieting is not serving them well. They are frustrated that they can’t lose weight like they used to OR that they have gained more weight. They are not getting pleasure out of food anymore or some have dwindled their food options down to 4-5 items and are fearful of eating anything else. How do you reject the diet mentality? Step one: recognize the damage that dieting has caused, Step two: beware of the diet mentality thoughts and behaviors, Step three: get rid of your dieting tools (i.e. cookbooks, scales, diet foods, etc.), and Step four: work on self-compassion.
When you decide to stop the diet cycle, be watchful of “pseudo-dieting” (i.e. counting carbohydrates, eating safe foods only, cutting back on portions, becoming gluten-free/dairy free/vegetarian/etc. for the sole purpose of being “healthy” or “losing weight,” limiting your eating to certain times of the day, etc.
2. Honor Your Hunger
Dieting starves the body. Intuitive eating aims to keep the body fed. If we are not eating enough, we trigger our primal instincts to overeat. Work on identifying and honoring your biological hunger cues. Start eating before you are too hungry. Dieting may have caused your hunger/fullness cues to be inconsistent and unreliable. If this is the case, you may need to eat structured portions and at set times in the beginning. A registered dietitian who uses intuitive eating philosophies can help you with this process.
3. Make Peace with Food
Work on giving yourself unconditional permission to eat. Take the labels of “good,” “bad,” “healthy,” “not healthy,” “dirty,” and “clean” off of food. Work on seeing all food as food. There is no moral attachment to food, i.e. I am not good because I ate a salad and I am not bad because I ate a piece of cake. When we take the labels off of food, we can eat without shame and judgment. Feeling shame about what we eat increases the likelihood of overeating and cravings. People tend to eat less when they give themselves unconditional permission to eat.
4. Challenge the Food Police
The food police is the diet mentality. Challenge the thinking errors that arise around food and body. The diet mentality is not very logical. Use a wise mind and logic to challenge the thoughts that come. Most importantly, remember that thoughts don’t need to be acted upon.
5. Feel Your Fullness
Listen to the body signals you are receiving as you are eating. Stop eating before you reach an over fullness—the goal is to feel satisfied and comfortably full after eating. Like I mentioned earlier, your cues may not be reliable in the beginning and you may need to eat portioned meals and snacks at specific times. During this beginning stage, you may be eating until you are uncomfortable because your body may not be used to “normal” fullness levels. Work with a registered dietitian to help you through this process.
6. Discover the Satisfaction Factor
The eating experience brings pleasure and satisfaction. This is often lost when dieting. Rediscover your food preferences and find joy in connecting with others over food. Work on making your eating environment positive.
7. Cope with Emotions without Using Food
Find ways to cope with emotions without using emotional eating or restriction. When you use food (or restricting) as a means of coping, you are not actually “dealing” with the underlying emotion or trigger—the problem will still be there when you are done. You may find it helpful to work with a registered dietitian to help you differentiate between biological and emotional hunger/fullness and a therapist to help you with coping and self-soothing skills.
8. Respect Your Body
Bodies come in all shapes and sizes. Bodies change throughout the different stages of life. Work on accepting your biological weight—the weight that your body likes to be at. Show your body respect by taking care of its needs, even if you don’t like it.
9. Exercise—Feel the Difference
Exercise is often abused in the diet industry. Instead of adopting a rigid exercise regimen, find activities you enjoy. Find the joy and satisfaction that comes from just feeling your body move. And remember that your body needs fuel no matter if you are moving OR not moving.
10. Honor Your Health with Gentle Nutrition
Give your body a variety of foods. You don’t need to micromanage your food intake to make sure your body is getting all of its nutrients. The body works on averages and will get what it needs if you are eating variety. If you have food allergies or health conditions that require changes in your food intake, honor that.
If you would like help with your intuitive eating journey, find a dietitian that utilizes intuitive eating principles. They can be a guide for your journey.
Kelsey Rich, MS, RD, CD, CEDRD
Owner/Dietitian of All Food Fits, LLC
Ready to begin Eating Disorder Treatment in Utah?
You don’t have to stay stuck in your eating disorder. You can learn to utilize intuitive eating and fully recover from your eating disorder. This Utah County Counseling Practice has an eating disorder therapist who specializes in eating disorder treatment. To begin counseling, follow the steps below:
Meet with a mental health professional
Begin eating disorder recovery
Online Therapy in Utah
When you are struggling with an eating disorder I know how important it is to see a therapist who specializes in eating disorder treatment. Unfortunately there are many places in Utah that don’t have access to this specialized care. This is why I provide online therapy in Utah. Online counseling allows us to meet together over a video platform. It’s just as effective as an in-person therapy session.
Online therapy allows me to work with clients in Logan, Salt Lake City, Heber, St. George, Cedar City and more.
Other mental health services offered in Utah County
Eating disorder treatment isn’t the only service provided at this Northern Utah Counseling Clinic. Other mental health services provided at Maple Canyon Therapy include trauma therapy including for birth trauma, binge eating disorder treatment, anxiety therapy, and body image therapy in Utah.