What is Intuitive Eating?

If you are a human on this earth, you have been around for many fad diets. Along with these fad diets comes conflicting nutritional advice. The concept of intuitive eating emerged as a refreshing and holistic approach to nourishing any type of body. Developed by dietitians Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch in 1995, intuitive eating focuses on reconnecting with our body’s natural cues, fostering a healthy relationship with food, and achieving a balanced and sustainable way of eating. Let’s delve into the core principles of intuitive eating and explore how they can guide us toward a healthier, happier, and more harmonious life with food.

Below we will explore the 10 main principles of Intuitive Eating.
It is important to have a basis for these ideas and how they play into nourishing your body post weight loss surgery.

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Intuitive Eating Principles 101

1. Reject the Diet Mentality

The first step for intuitive eating involves breaking free from the diet mentality. This means letting go of the rigid rules, restrictions, and external judgments that often come with conventional diets. Instead, shift your focus to tuning into your body’s signals and understanding its unique needs. By rejecting the diet mentality, you open the door to a more compassionate and intuitive approach to nourishment.

2. Honor Your Hunger

Intuitive eating encourages us to listen to our body’s hunger cues and respond to them appropriately. This involves eating when you’re genuinely hungry rather than adhering to a predetermined meal schedule and also can involve not eating if you realize you’re not actually hungry. Recognizing the difference between true physiological hunger and emotional triggers allows you to foster a healthier relationship with food and prioritize nourishing your body. This can take some practice especially when it comes to WLS when you might not have the same hunger cues as you did before.

3. Make Peace with Food

All foods can fit into an intuitive eating framework. Rather than labeling foods as “good” or “bad,” the focus shifts to making peace with food. Depriving yourself of certain foods often leads to cravings and binge eating. Intuitive eating encourages you to give yourself unconditional permission to enjoy the foods you love, without guilt or shame. This balanced approach helps eliminate the cycle of restriction and overindulgence. Remember: food has no moral character. It is just “food” at the end of the day and is better classified as ‘less nutritious’ or ‘more nutritious.’

4. Challenge the Food Police

The inner critic that judges your food choices harshly is known as the “food police.” Intuitive eating encourages you to challenge and silence this critical voice. Trust your body’s wisdom and make choices based on how foods make you feel, both physically and emotionally. By freeing yourself from the food police’s grip, you can foster a more positive and nurturing relationship between your body and mind.

5. Discover Satisfaction

Eating should be a pleasurable experience. Intuitive eating emphasizes savoring your meals, indulging your taste preferences, and truly enjoying the flavors and textures of food. This principle encourages you to slow down, pay attention to all of your senses, and be present while eating. As a result, you’re more likely to feel satisfied and content with your meals, reducing the urge to overeat.

6. Feel Your Fullness

Just as honoring your hunger is important, so is recognizing when you’re comfortably full. Intuitive eating teaches you to listen to your body’s signals of satiety and stop eating when you’re satisfied, not overly full. This practice encourages mindful eating, preventing the discomfort and guilt associated with overindulgence.

7. Cope with Your Emotions Without Using Food

Food often becomes a coping mechanism for dealing with stress, sadness, or boredom. Explore alternative ways to manage your emotions that don’t involve eating. This might involve engaging in hobbies, practicing mindfulness, or seeking support from loved ones. By addressing the root causes of emotional eating, you can use healthier ways to navigate your feelings.

8. Respect Your Body

Your body is unique and deserves respect regardless of its size, shape, or appearance. Intuitive eating promotes body positivity and self-acceptance. By focusing on how your body feels and functions rather than its outward appearance, you can cultivate a more positive body image and enhance your overall well-being.

9. Exercise – Feel the Difference

Everybody enjoys a different type of body movement. When you are eating intuitively, it is ideal that you are also incorporating joyful movement. Exercise is not meant to be used as a way to earn food or punishment for something that was consumed. Just get active and feel the difference. Maybe you feel refreshed by yoga or swimming, or invigorated by Zumba or cycling. Choose activities that you ENJOY so you are more likely to do them!

10. Honor Your Health

This concept is pretty simple at the end of the day- intuitive eating is all about progress and not perfection. You do not have to eat “healthy” every day. You will not become deficient in nutrients just because you chose a brownie over an acai bowl last week. Consistency is key.

Intuitive Eating Principles After Bariatric Surgery

So how do the “basic” intuitive eating principles change after WLS? As we know, the struggle with obesity and food does not end just because someone had surgery and the journey with food continues throughout the years.

Using intuitive eating guidelines can provide people who have had weight loss surgery with a more mindful and compassionate way of fueling their bodies and creating a healthier relationship with food.

Here are some other principles to consider if you have had WLS:

1. Acknowledging the Surgical Transformation

Weight loss surgery brings about significant physiological changes to the digestive system and can impact how the body processes food. This transformation requires an adjustment in eating habits. Intuitive eating aligns with this transformation by encouraging a deeper understanding of how the body responds to various foods, helping individuals make choices that support their well-being.

2. Listening to New Signals

After weight loss surgery, sensations of hunger and fullness may feel different due to the altered anatomy. These can also vary from person to person. Intuitive eating invites individuals to reestablish a connection with these signals. Learning to identify the new cues of satisfaction and fullness is crucial for avoiding overeating and supporting the body’s unique needs. For some people this may present itself as a sneeze, a hiccup, or a runny nose.

3. Overcoming Restrictive Mindsets

Weight loss surgery can lead to a mindset of restriction, fearing certain foods or eating behaviors. Intuitive eating emphasizes flexibility and empowerment, allowing individuals to enjoy a wide variety of foods without guilt. This approach encourages a balanced relationship with food, reducing the chances of developing disordered eating patterns post-surgery.

4. Mindful Eating for Nutritional Needs

Intuitive eating and mindful eating share a common ground. Post-weight loss surgery, mindful eating practices become even more relevant. Paying close attention to every bite, savoring flavors, and eating slowly can help individuals gauge their body’s response to different foods. This mindful approach aids in making choices that provide optimal nutrition while preventing discomfort.

5. Healing the Emotional Connection with Food

Weight loss surgery doesn’t address the emotional aspects of eating that may have contributed to obesity. As mentioned above, intuitive eating delves into these emotional connections and supports healing. It encourages finding alternative coping mechanisms beyond food, fostering a more balanced and positive relationship with emotions.

6. Celebrating Non-Scale Victories

Intuitive eating shifts the focus away from the number on the scale. Instead, it encourages individuals to celebrate non-scale victories, such as increased energy, improved digestion, enhanced mobility, and an overall sense of well-being. These victories become markers of success and progress, and promote a healthier self-image.

7. Professional Guidance and Support

Intuitive eating after weight loss surgery may require professional guidance. Working with a registered dietitian who specializes in post-surgery nutrition can provide personalized strategies for incorporating intuitive eating principles into your unique journey. A therapist or counselor can also offer emotional support as you navigate the psychological aspects of the transformation. There is also an book.