A week ago I wrote that I am a certified Intuitive Eating Counselor. And as a result I have been asked the question “what exactly is Intuitive Eating?”
It’s not an easy answer.
One short answer is IE is a process of letting go of all the diet and food rules you’ve been taught and getting back to listening to and responding to your body’s needs and wants. It involves a lot of un-learning and re-evaluating what’s true for you and what feels best for you. It's the process of learning how to listen, learning to trust and respect your body so you can be happy, and learning how to be healthy and confident in any size.
Moreover, IE is a framework for eating and living that reconnects us to our body's internal cues, and is built on a foundation of rejecting diets. In 1995, Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch researched and formultated an evidenced-based, mind-body health approach, composed of 10 Principles.
If you think about it, it is really a simple idea. It means that you make peace with all types of food. Unlike traditional diets that restrict or ban certain foods, intuitive eating requires you to stop looking at food as “good” or “bad.” Instead, you listen to your body and eat what feels right for you.
As children, we are all born with the ability to know when to eat and when to stop eating, and also know what is pleasurable and satisfying. However, with the influence of family, friends, media and diet culture, most of us start to become more disconnected and less trusting of our own internal wisdom. By following the principles of IE, we can learn to reject a "diet mentality," honor your hunger and fullness, eat for satisfaction, respect your body and honor your health.
For more information, contact me at rachel@livehealthynyc.com