Intuitive Eating

Standard

Diet is the word “die” with a “t” on the end.

I’ve spoken highly of Jason Fitzgerald’s Strength Running podcast. I’ve been listening to past episodes and I just finished Episode 58: Superfoods, Veganism & Fasting: A Registered Dietitian’s Perspective. He interviews Heather Caplan, RD and she gave informative views on diets, veganism, meat, and fasting among other subjects. She also discussed her experience with the eating disorder known as orthorexia or the unhealthy preoccupation with eating healthy food.

I found Caplan’s discussion of dieting vs something called Intuitive Eating most interesting. Intuitive Eating isn’t a diet but rather a thought process and a way of relating to food in a healthy, non-restrictive way. Fitzgerald related diets and Intuitive Eating to a proverb you may have heard: “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.”

Caplan suggested that dieting means giving control to someone or something else (the diet) whereas Intuitive Eating bestows agency on the individual. Intuitive Eating means respecting one’s own feelings around food like hunger, satiety, and enjoyment. Intuitive Eating gives permission and doesn’t restrict. To me, Intuitive Eating is a healthy way out of the self-loathing and negative relationship with food experienced by so many people. The 10 principles of Intuitive Eating are:

  1. Reject the diet mentality.
  2. Honor your hunger.
  3. Make peace with food.
  4. Challenge the food police.
  5. Respect your fullness.
  6. Discover the satisfaction factor.
  7. Honor your feelings without using food.
  8. Respect your body.
  9. Exercise – Feel the difference.
  10. Honor your health.

Listen to the full podcast for more information.