A Guide To Intuitive Eating: Benefits, Practice & Principles

Intuitive eating goes a step beyond mindful eating, which is about being present in the actual eating experience. Rather than just suggesting a nonjudgmental presence while you eat, intuitive eating encourages you to change your relationship with food by listening to—and honoring—what your body wants to eat.

"Remind yourself that you are worthy of enjoying and loving yourself. You have to let go of a desire to deprive yourself," she says. "If you love yourself enough—you will let go. When you rebuild that foundation of self-love, you realize you don't deserve to put yourself through deprivation and restriction; your body is too precious for that."

While many people are initially drawn to various diets for their promise of shedding pounds, the benefits of intuitive eating go beyond weight loss. In one review published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, researchers compiled the data from several studies on intuitive eating and found various physical and mental benefits, including:

Researchers from one study specifically focused on postpartum weight loss found that new mothers following an intuitive eating approach may have an easier time losing weight4 without the need to measure or record food intake.

Sepel also points out that it's important to let go of negative self-talk. "No more 'I'm eating too much' or 'I have no willpower,'" she says. "When you become a whole food eater and give up dieting, there should be no such thing as good or bad food. You're just committing to eating well 80 to 90% of the time, then relaxing with the rest. Your body can handle imperfect eating with moderation, but you need to trust your body first."

There are no strict rules of intuitive eating, but there are 10 principles that are designed to increase body awareness, remove obstacles to accepting yourself, and help you become aware of internal body sensations—a process called interoceptive awareness:

Get rid of the notion that there's one magic diet out there that will work for you. Instead of hopping from diet to diet looking for a quick fix, commit to listening to your body.

Don't think of hunger as a bad thing or something that you must overcome. Learn what your physical hunger cues are, and eat when you feel hungry.

Don't assign foods a moral value of "good" or "bad." Give yourself permission to eat what you want while paying attention to what your body really needs rather than what it craves.

Don't make negative comments about specific foods, or about yourself for eating them, and ask that others around you do the same. You're not "bad" for eating a certain type of food.

Stop eating when you're comfortably full, instead of clearing your plate or eating more than you need because something tastes good. Check in with yourself during your meal, eat slowly, and pause to assess your current hunger or fullness levels.

There's a difference between physical fullness and satisfaction. When you deprive yourself of what you really want, you may feel physically full, but you won't feel satisfied. Make eating enjoyable and pleasurable by preparing a meal that tastes good to you and sit down and immerse yourself in the experience of eating it.

People often use food to try to quell uncomfortable emotions, like boredom, stress, or sadness. Instead of using food to try to make you happy, find other ways to work through your emotions, like exercise, journaling, or meditation.

Stop criticizing your body and learn to love and accept yourself as you are, right now. It's OK if weight loss is one of your goals, but respect your body without stipulations during the process.

Instead of viewing exercise as a way to burn calories or prompt weight loss, try to view it as a way to honor your body's need for regular movement. Find an exercise that you enjoy doing, and shift your focus from weight loss to its other benefits, like increased energy and improved mood.

Even though intuitive eating doesn't impart strict rules around food, it's still best to choose wholesome, nutrient-dense foods most of the time. You can treat yourself when you truly want to, but ideally, your food choices will honor your health as much as you honor your body's desires.

Intuitive eating is an anti-diet approach to eating that involves listening to and honoring your internal hunger and fullness cues. The idea is that when you learn how to properly interpret your body's needs, it can lead to a better relationship with food, a decrease in binge-eating behaviors, and long-term weight maintenance. If you're used to restrictive dieting, it may take some time to get in touch with your body's needs, but following the 10 intuitive eating principles can help you get there.