10 Easy Intuitive Eating Principles for Moms
Moms are under a lot of pressure. We are expected to lose the baby weight, juggle our careers and motherhood, and keep up with the trends. So it’s no wonder that so many of us turn to diet to make our lives more manageable. However, what if I told you that there was a better way? A way that didn’t involve counting calories or depriving yourself of your favorite foods. Intuitive eating is a revolutionary nutrition approach based on listening to your body’s hunger cues and honoring your taste preferences. If you’re tired of feeling guilty every time you indulge in a snack or miss a workout, read on to learn more about how intuitive eating can help you achieve a healthy balance. Here are ten intuitive eating principles to get you started.
What is Intuitive Eating?
Intuitive eating is an approach to nutrition that emphasizes listening to your body’s hunger cues and honoring your taste preferences. We are all born to intuitively know how much and what our bodies need. However, this ability often gets lost as we grow older and become more exposed to diet culture.
The principle of intuitive eating was first introduced in 1995 by dietitians Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch in their best-selling book Intuitive Eating: A Revolutionary Program That Works. The book outlines 10 principles of intuitive eating that can help people break free from the diet mentality and establish a healthy relationship with food.
The 10 Principles of Eating Intuitively
1. Reject the Diet Mentality
Rejecting the diet mentality is essential for healing body image issues and developing a healthy relationship with food. With so many societal pressures to be thin, overcoming those negative thoughts and learning to listen to our bodies can be difficult.
To reject the diet mentality, it is important to understand and recognize the ways in which diet culture fosters restrictive eating patterns and negative body image. Some key strategies for rejecting the diet mentality include paying attention to your body’s hunger cues, focusing on foods that make you feel satisfied and nourished, and prioritizing overall health and well-being over rigid weight loss goals. Additionally, it is important to build a supportive community of like-minded individuals who can help you maintain a positive outlook on food and your body. When you approach food from a place of self-care rather than restriction, it becomes much easier to reject the restrictive diet mindset and embrace intuitive eating instead.
Whether you are just starting your journey to eat intuitively, know that you are not alone in this intuitive eating journey and that there is so much hope and freedom waiting on the other side.
2. Honor Your Hunger
When it comes to eating intuitively, one of the most important principles is to honor your hunger. Recognizing your need means tuning in to your physical and emotional hunger signals and responding accordingly. Whether you are feeling physically or emotionally hungry, it is essential to respond with care and respect, recognizing that both types of hunger are valid and deserve to be acknowledged.
To practice honoring your hunger, paying close attention to your body’s cues can be helpful. For example, if you find yourself craving certain foods or feeling an urgent need for more food, take a moment to check in with yourself and try to identify the underlying cause. For example, is it emotional hunger you are experiencing, perhaps due to stress or sadness? Or is it physical hunger, it is simply time for a meal? By becoming more aware of your bodily sensations, you can learn how to better distinguish between physical and emotional hunger, allowing you to respond appropriately and make healthier choices.
In addition to practicing mindfulness around your hunger signals, focusing on overall health and well-being when eating intuitively is essential. Examples would be choosing nutrient-rich foods like fruits and vegetables over processed or sugary snacks, getting enough sleep each night, or engaging in regular movement. By prioritizing your overall health along with your appetite and hunger levels, you can embrace a truly balanced approach to eating that supports both physical and emotional well-being.
3. Make Peace with Food
An essential element of making peace with food is developing a positive relationship with all foods. Rather than categorizing certain foods as “good” or “bad,” focus on enjoying each bite mindfully and without judgment. By learning to appreciate the experience of eating itself, you can start to break free from harmful patterns of restriction and bingeing that may have developed in your past relationship with food.
Ultimately, making peace with food is about cultivating mindfulness, self-compassion, and joy in all aspects of your life. Whether you’re struggling with disordered eating or simply want to cultivate healthier habits around food, embracing these principles can help you find true freedom from negative thoughts and feelings surrounding your diet and body image.
4. Challenge the Food Police
As an intuitive eater, I believe it is essential to challenge the so-called “food police” – the internal dialogue in your head that tells you what and how much you should eat. These negative thoughts and beliefs can prevent you from truly listening to your body’s natural cues, ultimately leading to feelings of guilt, shame, and restriction around food.
But as difficult as it may seem, we must learn to silence these critical voices in our heads and instead trust our intuition when it comes to food. By taking a deep breath, tuning into your body’s needs, and eating according to your natural hunger and fullness cues, you can start to reclaim control over your relationship with food. And in the process, you will likely find that intuitive eating leads to excellent health and well-being, both physically and mentally, including a healthy body image.
5. Feel Your Fullness
I’ve always struggled with my relationship with food and eating, feeling like I needed to control constantly every aspect of my diet to maintain a certain weight. But over time, I’ve learned that the key to intuitive eating is learning to listen to your internal cues and feel your fullness – both physically and mentally.
You should never feel ashamed or guilty about uncontrollable cravings or hunger; instead, take the time to pause and experience those feelings. When you stop trying to fight against them or rigidly control every bite, you will find that not only do they pass more quickly, but you can enjoy your eating experience much more comprehensively.
With constant awareness and mindfulness, you can begin to listen closely to the signals from your body – whether it’s simply a feeling of fullness in your stomach or an intense craving for chocolate cake. By embracing these sensations without judgment or restriction, you can start making choices that genuinely align with what makes you feel good. And isn’t that what all of us want? So why not try intuitive eating today and see what it can do for your relationship with food?
6. Discover the Satisfaction Factor
When it comes to eating, navigating the world of diet culture and intuitive eating can often be a confusing and frustrating process. One of the biggest challenges that many people face when trying to develop a healthy relationship with food is discovering the satisfaction factor – that is, learning to tune in to your body’s natural hunger and fullness cues in order to identify the foods that truly satisfy you, both physically and emotionally.
At first, this may seem like an impossible task. After years of dieting and restricting our bodies’ natural needs, it can feel almost impossible to trust our instincts or pay attention to what our bodies are trying to tell us. But by taking time to tune inwards and listen carefully, we can begin to discover the foods that really nourish us on all levels – physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Some tips for discovering the satisfaction factor include focusing on real, whole foods like fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, nuts, seeds, whole grains, and legumes. These nutrient-dense foods are packed with vitamins and minerals that help give our bodies energy and keep us feeling satisfied for longer periods of time. Additionally, engaging in regular exercise can also help boost feelings of satiety by releasing endorphins that make us feel good both mentally and physically.
Ultimately, discovering the satisfaction factor takes time and patience. It requires tuning out all of the external pressures and noise around food that we’ve been conditioned to believe over the years. But with practice and persistence, it is possible to learn how to nourish your body in ways that are truly satisfying.
7. Honor Your Feelings without Using Food
As an intuitive eater, one of the most important principles I practice is honoring my feelings without using food, being mindful of the emotions and thoughts that drive my eating behaviors, and learning to cope positively and healthily.
Emotional eating can be a dangerous cycle, as it often leads to unhealthy behaviors and poor food choices. This is because when people are stressed or feeling down, they may be more likely to turn to food for comfort or relief. However, this often results in feelings of guilt and shame, which can make the urge to eat even stronger.
One key strategy for overcoming emotional eating is learning to recognize your feelings and listen to your body’s natural needs. This might mean taking time to slow down and tune into what your body is telling you, rather than just reaching for food whenever you feel stressed or sad. It can also involve developing a healthier relationship with food, focusing on nourishing your body through nutrient-dense foods rather than simply consuming whatever you feel like at any given moment.
Other strategies that may help include seeking support from friends and family, practicing mindful meditation or other relaxation techniques, and engaging in regular exercise or physical activity. Ultimately, the key is finding ways to meet your emotional needs without turning to food as a coping mechanism, which can help break the cycle of emotional eating and promote long-term health and wellness.
Whether I am struggling with negative emotions like stress or anxiety or simply feeling low on self-esteem, I mustn’t allow these feelings to dictate my eating habits. So instead, I focus on finding other outlets for these emotions – such as exercise, meditation, or simply taking some time to myself to relax and de-stress.
Ultimately, staying in tune with my body and trusting my instincts about what and when to eat has helped me develop a more positive relationship with food. And by practicing this principle of intuitive eating daily, I have improved my psychological health and genuinely enjoy my meals without guilt or shame.
8. Respect Your Body
As a proud advocate of intuitive eating, I firmly believe it is essential to respect your body and size naturally. Having unrealistic expectations about your body size can lead to shame, inadequacy, and unhappiness; those emotions don’t deserve a place in our lives.
At the same time, it is essential to remember that our bodies deserve dignity and kindness regardless of their shape or size. Everybody is incredible and worthy of love and appreciation, whether petite or plus-sized. By honoring your body and treating it with care and respect, you can cultivate a more positive relationship with food and your body.
So if you are struggling with issues related to body image or dieting, I invite you to try intuitive eating. This approach embraces the natural diversity of our bodies while encouraging us to treat ourselves with kindness and respect at all times. With the right mindset and dedicated practice, intuitive eating can be a fantastic tool for cultivating excellent health, happiness, and well-being for all of us.
9. Exercise—Feel the Difference
As someone who has been practicing intuitive eating for a while now, I can confidently say that exercise is one of the most critical aspects of this healthy and holistic way of eating. While many people think of movement only in terms of weight loss or physical fitness, the truth is there are health benefits to staying active and engaging in regular physical activity.
Whether you are an avid runner, a yogi, or someone who enjoys going for walks regularly, incorporating exercise into your daily routine is an essential part of living a balanced and healthy life. Not only does it help keep your body strong and toned, but it also helps boost your mood, reduce stress levels, and improve your overall sense of well-being.
So if you’re looking for ways to feel your best and get the most out of life, consider making exercise a crucial part of your intuitive eating routine. Trust me – you won’t regret it!
10. Gradually Build Trust with Food
The key to intuitive eating is to build trust with food gradually. An example would be listening to your body’s cues, responding in a satisfying and nourishing way, eating smaller portions, or trying new foods for some people.
Whatever your approach, remember that the important thing is always to keep an open mind and listen to what your body is telling you. With time and patience, you will learn how to tune into your own needs and enjoy the process of genuinely connecting with food in a more meaningful way.
If you’re interested in learning more about intuitive eating, I recommend checking out Tribole and Resch’s book. It’s an excellent resource for anyone who wants to ditch dieting and start living a healthier, happier life.
How to intuitively eat
At its core, intuitive eating involves developing a healthier relationship with food by learning to listen to your body and giving yourself unconditional permission to eat. Several strategies include:
- Being mindful of your food choices.
- Focusing on the quality of your meals rather than the quantity.
- Tuning into your natural hunger and fullness cues.
To start intuitive eating, setting clear boundaries around food consumption is essential. For example, you may decide to give yourself unconditional permission to eat what you want at any time without feeling guilt or shame about your choices. Additionally, you may also want to avoid overly restrictive diets or rules about what types of foods you should or should not eat.
Another critical component of intuitive eating is being mindful of how you feel when you eat. Rather than turning towards rigid control over what you put in your body and worrying excessively about health conditions like weight gain or high cholesterol, focus on tuning into how certain foods make you physically and emotionally feel. Some people find that paying attention to their physical sensations (such as stomach rumbling or digestive discomfort) can help them to make more informed decisions about what they choose to eat.
Overall, intuitive eating aims to develop a more balanced approach that allows you to enjoy eating while also taking care of your health and well-being. With time and practice, creating a deep trust in yourself as an intuitive eater promoting long-term wellness and satisfaction is possible.
Intuitive eating vs Eating disorders
Intuitive eating is an important way to fight eating disorders by promoting a healthier relationship with food. Serious eating disorders, such as anorexia and bulimia, are typically characterized by restrictive or disordered eating behaviors that are often driven by negative emotions or body image concerns.
However, intuitive eating focuses on tuning into your internal cues of hunger and fullness in order to make choices around food that work for you physically and psychologically. This can help reduce the risk of developing disordered eating behaviors, as well as create a more positive relationship with food and one’s body overall.
By incorporating principles of intuitive eating into your daily life, you can begin to take control of your relationship with food and overcome the negative thinking and emotional triggers that may be fueling your eating disorder. With support from healthcare providers, counselors, and others who have personal experience with these conditions, you can learn to trust your body’s natural hunger and fullness cues as a way to heal your relationship with food.
Moms, it’s time to ditch the diets and start living a healthier, happier life. The mindful or intuitive approach is an excellent way to achieve this goal, and with practice, you can learn how to tune into your own needs and enjoy the process of genuinely connecting with food in a more meaningful way. So what are you waiting for? Start practicing intuitive eating today!
