By Emma Caplan-Fisher

Intuitive eating is a simple concept involving the acceptance of all types of food without judgment, unlike the approach of many traditional diets. While it isn't about eating whatever you want whenever you want, it is about being aware of your body's innate ability to tell you when you're full and when you're hungry. Intuitive eating is beneficial for anyone looking for ways to stay healthy and make meaningful lifestyle changes.

Keep reading to learn more about the intuitive eating concept and common misconceptions, the principles and benefits of eating intuitively, challenges that can come up, and tips for integrating intuitive eating into your life successfully.

Intuitive eating definition

So what is intuitive eating, more specifically? It's an approach to eating centered around our personal, internal needs — whether physical, emotional, or otherwise. It's about trusting ourselves to know what we need. Used as a non-dieting weight loss or habit-changing strategy and to treat those with disordered eating, the idea is that once we recognize these needs, we can better choose the food we eat.

Since the method is based on certain moments, specific foods, calories, and meal and snack times are not involved. Instead, intuitive eating is all about honoring hunger, fullness, and health, eating for satisfaction, and respecting our bodies.

Common misconceptions

Intuitive eating is not about restraint and control, like what many mainstream diets are based on. There are no meal plans, measured portions, rules, such as avoiding processed foods, or certain foods to include or eliminate. Unless you have other health or personal reasons to do so, with a strict intuitive eating plan you needn't worry about comparing things like non-gmo vs organic foods.

Instead, this unrestricted, flexible approach taps into physical cues like fullness and hunger. The idea is you learn to differentiate physical fullness and hunger from external or emotional triggers that lead you to believe you're full or hungry.

How to eat intuitively: The intuitive eating principles

There are a few simple principles of intuitive eating:

1. If you're hungry, eat. Intuitive eating calls for trusting your body and listening to its cues when it tells you that you're hungry. Eat when you're hungry and be sure to vary your diet with foods that give you the vitamins and nutrients you need. Don't wait until the point of starvation — when this happens, we usually eat (or overeat) whatever's easy without much regard for nutrition or how it makes us feel.

2. Don't diet. Strict dieting rules are usually unsustainable for many of us over the long run, whether the weight we'd hoped to drop doesn't come off or we lose the discipline to keep trying and start from scratch. Plus, restricting certain foods may not give us the vitamins and nutrients we need.

3. Pick foods that make you feel good. When you deprive yourself of any and all foods you love, you might sustain this for a while but also run the risk of massive cravings after some time. This can often lead you to binge and overeat, which is more unhealthy than indulging in occasional treats or healthy sweets alternatives. Remember that moderation is key and that intuitive eating is about enjoying foods that both satisfy your health and taste.

4. Pay attention to your emotions. We all experience negative feelings throughout life — from sadness, anger, anxiety, boredom, and more — but eating to avoid or attempt to relieve them doesn't work and won't fix the underlying issue causing them. (Talking to a trusted friend or therapist can help though.)

5. Listen to your body. Make sure to pace yourself when eating, pausing to take note of whether or not you're full. Savor your food and enjoy the ritual and experience of eating. When you eat too quickly, you'll miss important cues that let you know your body is satisfied and full.

Benefits of intuitive eating

Benefits of intuitive eating include psychological wellbeing, such as reduced depression and anxiety, increased body satisfaction, self-acceptance, and quality of life.

Also, intuitive eating has been found to help behavior like dieting or restrained eating and binge eating and to lower cholesterol and blood pressure.

While more research on intuitive eating is needed (randomized trials show conflicting results of associated weight loss or decreased body mass index), some studies have found those who regularly eat intuitively have a lower BMI (body mass index).

Challenges of eating intuitively

Eating intuitively comes with some challenges for many people. When you're aware of them though, you can assess how they might affect you and take steps to manage or mitigate them.

It's not for all of us. If you suffer from certain health conditions like high blood pressure or diabetes, you may need to limit or eliminate certain foods to maintain your health. If that's the case, before embarking on an intuitive eating plan, speak with your doctor (and a nutritionist or dietitian if they approve moving forward).

May not help with weight loss. If you're looking for an eating plan that specifically helps you lose weight, intuitive eating may not be a great fit (however, as the focus is on a positive self-image and healthy lifestyle, behaviors like emotional or restrained eating may decrease and therefore naturally cause weight loss).

May create stress around gaining weight. Many of us worry about indulging too much and might have existing diet "rules" around eating certain foods altogether or quantities of them, in an effort to maintain our ideal weight. Since rules go out the window and foods are unrestricted with intuitive eating, some may fear this lack of boundaries will lead them to choose poorly (e.g. processed or high-sugar foods) or simply overeat. If this is a concern for you, talk to a registered dietitian experienced with intuitive eaters.

Tips for successful intuitive eating

Acknowledge your hunger. Listen to your body for the physical hunger cues it sends and respond to them when they happen. Keep in mind, they likely won't happen at the same time every day since physical activity, sleep patterns, and other influences can affect hunger. Physical signs of hunger include a grumbling stomach, fatigue or lightheadedness, irritability, headache, and no specific cravings.

Recognize and respond when you're full. Like recognizing hunger, it's important to know when you're full and have had enough and to stop eating when this happens. It can help to check in with yourself as you eat, giving yourself a chance to get in tune with your body.

Learn to deal with, not fear or avoid, negative emotions. Negative feelings like stress, anger, and boredom are normal and will pass. Watch out for signs of emotional hunger, including a quiet stomach, sudden desire for food, specific cravings, and feelings of guilt from eating. Find ways to deal with emotional hunger that don't involve food, such as by going for a walk, talking to a friend, meditating or practicing mindfulness, or reading a book. 

Focus on overall health instead of dieting. If you think you want to lose weight, dig deeper. Ask yourself why this is a goal, what your past experiences with dieting have taught you, and how to achieve your goals without focusing on the size of your body. Often, behavior changes are a healthier way to go, including changing eating habits, exercising more, or reducing stress.
Above all, try to stay positive about your body — it does a lot for you each and every day, and we are truly our own worst critics.

Learn more about intuitive eating

To learn more about intuitive eating, check out the following resources and speak with your doctor or healthcare practitioner.

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Cambridge University Press
Cedars-Sinai