How Intuitive Eating Can Support Body Image

What is intuitive eating? Why is it considered an “anti-diet?”

Intuitive eating (IE) is a holistic approach to eating that prioritizes listening to your body's hunger and fullness cues, rather than relying on external rules or restrictions. IE involves tuning in to your physical sensations and emotions to make food choices that honor your body's needs and preferences.

IE is considered an “anti-diet” because it directly rejects conventional diet mentalities and can help create a deeper connection with your body through food and nutrition. By not categorizing foods as “good” or “bad,” you can learn to honor your hunger cues instead of avoiding them. Within this model, there are no hard and fast rules to plan all your meals by. This may seem daunting at first but with some practice listening to your body, IE can lend a broad variety of benefits.

Who is IE for?

• People of all genders, weights, ages, and physical activity levels.

• People who want to develop a deeper relationship with their body.

• People who have tried to follow diet plans and found them too restrictive.

• People who have experienced disordered eating and wish to find ease with food.

• People who wish to make sustainable changes to their body composition.

Who is IE not for?

• People who thrive better with external structure.  

• People who have specific dietary needs for a health condition (e.g., gastroenteritis, ulcerative colitis, chronic kidney disease, etc.).  

• People who maintain a desire for weight loss through restriction.

• Athletes with specific dietary requirements.

Why might “diets” affect body image?

Conventional diets can be restrictive and often fail to take an individual's unique needs into account. These diets may encourage people to ignore their natural hunger signals and classify foods as "good" or "bad." They may even rely on negative feelings about one's body shape and function to motivate change. People who frequently diet tend to have thought patterns that reinforce negative self-judgment, which can lead to increased dissatisfaction with their body image. Dieting can also result in unintended body changes, as people often return to their normal eating habits after a period of restriction, which may include a greater variety of foods and a higher number of calories than the previous diet. This cycle, known as "yo-yo" dieting, can make people feel disconnected and unhappy with their bodies. Many individuals then seek out new diets in hopes of achieving long-term results, perpetuating the cycle.

How might IE benefit body image?

Due to our cultural emphasis on dieting and comparison with others, IE may seem challenging to engage with. However, research has shown that IE may help improve body appreciation and increase self-esteem. When you make a conscious decision to eat in a way that is supportive of your mental and physical health, you are sending yourself a message that you are deserving of care and appreciation. By practicing IE, you can learn to ignore the negative messaging that surrounds us all and start trusting your body's natural cues and signals. IE is a highly flexible and adaptable practice, allowing you to make changes based on how you feel each hour, day, or month. This flexibility is crucial for maintaining a positive body image because our bodies are constantly changing. Change is a part of life and IE may help you navigate your body’s needs throughout your life.

Another core principle of IE is selecting foods that match your health needs and are enjoyable and satiating. This approach allows you to discover what makes you feel your best, instead of depriving yourself of the foods you love. If you find the idea of IE intriguing, read on for some practical tips on how to put it into practice.

How to get started with IE: adaptable and practical approaches

As mentioned earlier, IE can be customized according to your body, environment, and level of physical activity. While some people may find it easy to start eating intuitively, others may need more practice, especially if they have engaged with restrictive diet culture before.

There are 10 essential principles of IE. You can start with one or two and gradually add more as you feel comfortable. Depending on your history and relationship with food, some may feel more difficult to implement than others. But don’t worry - any change you make toward treating your body with kindness is a step toward improving your body image and relationship to food.

1. Reject the diet mentality: Do your best to disengage from media that promotes talk of dieting. On Instagram, there is the option to manage the type of ad content presented to you. You might choose to limit keywords like “diet” or “weight loss”. You may also choose to not engage in conversations surrounding body weight, dieting, or general desires to change your body.

2. Honor your hunger: Take some time to explore what the sensation of hunger feels like. Consider how long you usually go between meals or what feelings and thoughts arise when you decide to eat. These sensations can help you to determine what true hunger feels like in your body so you can honor it.

3. Make peace with food: Give yourself unconditional permission to eat. This can help to avoid feelings of guilt or shame around certain foods. If you experience uncontrollable cravings or binge on certain foods, this mentality may help to relieve those intense feelings.

4. Challenge thoughts that categorize or moralize certain foods: Try to avoid categorizing or moralizing foods and eating behaviors. The overwhelming majority of these rules have been impressed upon us for a long time and live deep within our subconscious. When you start to recognize them, you may realize they are not in line with your true thoughts or feelings.

5. Embrace the pleasure in eating: Many people are not attuned to the simple pleasure of eating as they are often on the go or have engaged with dieting in a way that removes the opportunity to explore food for fun. Try out some new foods and see how they make you feel. Sit down and eat slowly. Savor each bite. Keep your favorite foods on hand so you know you always have something pleasurable to eat when you feel hungry.

6. Learn the sensation of fullness: Learning to recognize the feeling of fullness is as important as recognizing hunger. You may have noticed that you snack frequently to avoid feeling hungry, but you don't feel full either. Or, when you eat large meals, you may feel obligated to consume all the food on your plate, even if you no longer feel hungry. Listening to these cues from your body will help you learn what a comfortable level of fullness is for you.

7. Practice self-compassion: Be compassionate towards yourself and recognize that making change is hard. Find ways to process these emotions and explore what makes you most comfortable while still acknowledging old habits or thoughts.

8. Respect your body: Each one of us is unique and cannot be treated with the same approach to fix the issues we face. You are the result of generations and your body is one-of-a-kind. Discover ways to appreciate your body that make you feel comfortable in it and avoid using negative language when it comes to describing your body.

9. Find joyful movement: Engaging in physical activity that brings you joy can help you appreciate what your body can do instead of focusing on changing it. This looks different for everybody so start to explore new ways of movement. This may be daily dog walks, a dance class with friends, or challenging yourself through rock climbing.

10. Discover gentle nutrition: Make food choices that honor your health and your food preferences. You have the choice to eat and what you choose to eat is your own. Remember that one day of eating foods that may be unusual for you won’t derail your health goals. Eat what you enjoy eating.

Don’t worry if IE feels challenging at first. Unlearning some of the diet culture beliefs takes time. To trust yourself again, start slow with this approach, build awareness of your required calories, and check in with your body every day.