I just got back from a ski trip to Whistler with my fam, and somewhere between standing at the top of a steep line and watching other skiers drop in, something clicked.
“
All-or-nothing thinking doesn’t disappear just because you’re recovered fully from an ED or disordered eating.
— Marissa Beck, MS, RDN
At a certain expert level of skiing, there isn’t one corridor you’re supposed to follow.
You’re not locked into a groomed run with clear boundaries. You’re reading the terrain, choosing your line. You’re adjusting for snow conditions, vis (visibility), your legs that day, and how aggressive or playful you want to ski.
You might zipper-line the bumps, or take a rounder line. You might scrub speed before a rollover or open it up through a softer patch of snow.
None of that is “right” or “wrong...” It’s responsive.
And it hit me then just how similar expert skiing is to intuitive eating.
When you’re learning to ski, you don’t start in the couloir.
You learn how to turn.
You learn edge control.
You figure out how to stop without panicking.
At the intermediate level, you start linking turns, managing speed, handling variable snow, and venturing off piste with a bit more confidence.
Intuitive eating works the same way.
If you’ve been steeped in diet culture, you don’t start with “just listen to your body.”
That’s like telling someone who’s never skied before to drop into steep bumps and trust their instincts. There are fundamentals that matter first:
Eating regularly.
Not skipping meals.
Learning what a balanced meal actually looks like.
Understanding hunger, fullness, and satisfaction without judgment.
This is all skill-building.
Where intuitive eating gets misunderstood is that people think it’s beginner-level, like it’s loose or lazy or unstructured.
In reality, intuitive eating is expert-level work.
At the intuitive eating level, there is no one right way to eat and be healthy.
Just like there is no one right way to ski bumps or choose a line through a chute. What works for one body, one metabolism, one lifestyle, or one season of life might not work for another.
Expert skiers know this.
They don’t argue about the “correct” turn. They adjust to the snow. They adjust to their body. They ski for longevity and joy, not just “to get down.”
Expert intuitive eaters do the same:
Food choices become responsive instead of rigid.
Meals don’t need to be perfect to be supportive.
You know how to fuel for a big day, how to eat when stress is high, how to adjust when your appetite changes.
And most importantly, you know how to recover when things feel off without spiraling out of control.
And when it’s not all there yet, that doesn’t mean you’re doing it wrong. It usually means you’re still building the skills.
You might still need support on the steeper terrain, or reminders to eat enough, or to include carbs, or to check in with your body instead of your food rules.
That’s the process.
Nobody watches an intermediate skier and says, “Wow, if you were really good, you wouldn’t need lessons anymore.” We understand progression in sport. We respect it.
Food deserves the same respect.
If intuitive eating feels hard, confusing, or unnatural right now, it doesn’t mean it’s not for you.
It usually means you’re learning something advanced without being given the fundamentals first.
And with the right guidance and practice, it does become more natural. Just like skiing eventually does!
You don’t need one perfect corridor. But you do need skills, awareness, and permission to choose the line that works for you.
See you out there,
P.S. If you’re somewhere between the bunny hill and the steeps with food, that’s a very real place to be. I share more about the intuitive eating process, and how I help people build those fundamentals and confidence, here:
