I came across an Instagram reel recently that made me do a double take: a fellow dietitian was explaining why Intuitive Eating doesn’t work for everyone.
Fair enough. I absolutely100% agree that nutrition care is not a one-size-fits-all model.
But where things got interesting…
As this dietitian went through their concerns about Intuitive Eating, they started suggesting what people should work on instead.
And I kept thinking…
Wait. Those suggestions are LITERALLY Intuitive Eating. 😂
yeah, I really do think…
Let me explain.
In a skit, the dietitian mocks someone trying to eat intuitively by “allowing themselves to eat whatever they’re craving.” (Not an accurate definition of Intuitive Eating).
The dietitian then suggests that someone who’s spent years dieting may need to work on recognizing their early hunger and fullness cues.
Ummmmm…YES!
That is LITERALLY the journey of Intuitive Eating.
After years of dieting, ignoring hunger, or following external food rules, those sensations may be darn difficult to recognize.
So what do we do when someone can’t reliably recognize their hunger cues?
Step 1: We help them rebuild it.
Sometimes that means establishing more consistent eating patterns by the clock before someone can successfully rely on hunger and fullness cues.
(BTW, I love helping clients with this: it’s called mechanical eating. 😉)
Step 2:
Next, this dietitian asks whether the person can distinguish physical hunger from emotional hunger.
Again, YES!
Intuitive Eating encourages us to get curious about our hunger, including what might be driving our desire to eat.
Step 3:
Later, they recommend learning how to regulate emotions without always turning to food.
Hello to yet another Intuitive Eating principle: Cope with Your Emotions with Kindness.
For the record, Intuitive Eating doesn’t suggest that eating emotionally is inherently wrong. Food can absolutely provide comfort. The authors of Intuitive Eating encourage us to develop awareness and practice other ways to care for ourselves, too.
Step 4:
Finally, this dietitian also recommends addressing all-or-nothing thinking, mental blocks, and poor body image.
You might be sensing a pattern here. :)
These are ALL addressed within the Intuitive Eating framework.
At this point, I wasn’t sure whether to laugh, sigh, or pull out my hair. LOL. And no shade to the dietitian, I am a huge fan of promoting those in this profession. But it begs the question...
Why is Intuitive Eating so misunderstood?
And why does it keep getting dumbed down to “just eat whatever you want?”
I think part of the problem is that we have taken a comprehensive, evidence-based framework and turned it into a social media sound bite.
Intuitive Eating, developed by dietitians Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch, is built around 10 interconnected principles. P.S. These are NOT 10 steps you have to master in order.
I like to think of the 10 principles as a symphony.
Feel free to screenshot this image to your phone!
The strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion each bring something different to the music. Some take the lead while others provide support, but it’s how they work together that creates something truly beautiful.
Intuitive Eating works pretty much the same way.
The principles are interconnected, and some may need more attention than others depending on someone’s needs, past experiences, and relationship with food.
No, we do not need to “master” each principle individually or in a particular order, as long as we’re learning how they work together to create a more harmonious relationship with food and your body.
The process also looks different depending on the person.
Someone recovering from chronic dieting may need to focus on food permission, whereas someone who’s been consistently undernourished may first need structured, adequate meals and snacks.
Someone who struggles with emotional eating may benefit from exploring their feelings, developing coping skills, and understanding their relationship with food.
And someone managing diabetes or high cholesterol may need medical nutrition therapy alongside learning how to trust and care for their body.
These things can coexist.
Keep on keepin’ on.
I have been a dietitian for over 17 years, and one of the most important things I keep learning, over and over again, is that different people need different kinds of support.
I don’t and never have believed in forcing every person into the same approach.
And I certainly don’t believe we should misrepresent an approach simply because it isn’t the one we personally use in our practice. 🫠
Intuitive Eating IS a research-supported framework that can be helpful for many people. It ALSO may not be the right approach, or the right starting point, for everyone.
But that doesn’t mean we should dumb it down or vilify it.
And it certainly doesn’t mean demonizing Intuitive Eating and then rebranding the exact principles as your own.
More often than not, some of the work involved in practicing Intuitive Eating requires MORE education and individualized support than people realize.
So here’s what I hope you’ll take away:
The next time you hear someone say that Intuitive Eating is just “eating whatever you crave,” remember that there’s a whole lot more happening beneath the surface.
And if you’ve dabbled in Intuitive Eating and felt like you were doing it wrong because you couldn’t recognize your hunger, or felt out of control with food, nope, that doesn’t automatically mean Intuitive Eating isn’t for you.
It could even mean you need more support learning how to put those instruments (principles) all together.
And something else I hope you’ll remember is that no matter what someone is exploring, be it Intuitive Eating, medical nutrition therapy, a GLP-1 medication, or working through an eating disorder, the approach should always be appropriate for the individual.
Bottom line: there are a lot of right answers, not one! We just need to prioritize what, when (and for whom).
If you’re interested in learning specifically about Intuitive Eating and how I approach it in my practice, feel free to take a look here.
And as always, remember that good nutrition care is rarely as simple as a social media sound bite.
With care,
P.S. Never heard of intuitive eating? Or maybe you’ve heard of it but aren’t sure it’s something you want to explore for yourself? That’s okay! I still think it’s worth understanding what it actually is, straight from the source.
Marissa is incredibly thorough, an active listener, and very easy to talk to. She makes you feel comfortable from the minute you start your first session and is able to meet you exactly where you are at completely free of any judgement. Marissa is fantastic and I cannot recommend her enough!
