What Is Intuitive Eating? 10 Principles To Follow

If you’ve ever heard of intuitive eating, you might assume that it’s just another diet trend. But you’d be wrong. In a world full of fad diets, this eating philosophy offers something completely different. Something kinder, gentler and more sustainable.

Psychologist Susan Albers, PsyD, explains what intuitive eating is and how to begin working its principles into your life.

What is intuitive eating?

Intuitive eating is an approach to food that focuses on identifying and trusting your hunger cues. “It’s the polar opposite of dieting,” Dr. Albers clarifies. “Instead of following rules and restricting what you eat, you trust your internal hunger, fullness and satiety cues. This helps you decide what and how much to eat. No food is off the table.”

To eat intuitively, you need to unlearn the negative messages about food and eating. “We all have an internal eater in us, but it’s buried under diet culture,” she continues. “With dieting, you follow rules. With intuitive eating, you listen to your hunger cues. It can be a radical shift for people who avoid certain foods out of shame or guilt.”

Benefits

The main benefit of intuitive eating is that it improves your relationship with your body and with food. Specifically, studies show that it’s associated with:

• Positive body image and self-esteem
• Lower rates of disordered eating
• Higher general well-being

Will you lose weight? Maybe, but that’s not the point of intuitive eating. “The goal of intuitive eating is not weight loss,” Dr. Albers says. “Weight loss is part of diet culture. It pushes you into shame and guilt in a way that focusing on improving your health and your joy around food does not.”

Some people, she notes, do lose weight because they’re able to stop unhealthy behaviors like binge-eating. But other people gain weight, especially if they’ve been restricting or dieting for a long time.

Intuitive eating principles

Intuitive eating isn’t a free-for-all — it’s a framework that helps you rebuild trust with your body. It’s based on 10 guiding principles developed by dietitian Evelyn Tribole and nutrition therapist Elyse Resch. These principles aren’t rules to follow perfectly. Instead, think of them as tools to help you unlearn harmful diet patterns and reconnect with your natural cues.

Each principle offers a different way to tune into your body, challenge diet culture and approach food with curiosity instead of judgment. Together, they lay the foundation for a healthier, more peaceful relationship with food.

Dr. Albers explains each principle and how to start applying them in your daily life.

1. Reject the diet mentality. Let go of — and actively reject — everything diet-related. From social media, advertisements and even chit-chat among friends, talk about the latest trendy diets and diet products is everywhere. And it can do more harm than good.
2. Honor your hunger. Hunger is a natural signal, just like breathing or blinking. You wouldn’t ignore those, so don’t ignore your hunger. “Hunger isn’t the enemy,” says Dr. Albers. “It’s your body’s way of asking for care.”
3. Make peace with food. Maybe you haven’t eaten bread for years or maybe you never eat after 7 p.m. This principle asks you to do away with those rules. “Stop fighting with food,” Dr. Albers advises. “This includes putting an end to language that indicates that you’re at war with food, like, ‘I can’t eat that,’ or ‘I shouldn’t have this.’”
4. Challenge the food police. That voice in your head that criticizes and judges what you eat? The one that says you shouldn’t have had that slice of birthday cake? It can feel punitive and isn’t always helpful. But Dr. Albers explains, “Food isn’t good or bad. This is a shift in language if you grew up thinking about it that way.”
5. Rediscover satisfaction. While eating is a biological need, the foods you choose should also bring you some joy. “Eating should be an enjoyable experience,” Dr. Albers encourages. “This includes tasting pleasurable foods.” If you’re eating something that just isn’t satisfying you, it’s probably a sign that you’re not eating what’s right for you in the moment.
6. Feel your fullness. Pay attention to the point when you stop feeling hungry. Feeling full and physically satisfied is important information that can give you clues about why you’re eating and when to stop. Forget the pressure to join the “clean plate club.”
7. Cope with your emotions with kindness. Food doesn’t fix feelings. But often, we eat because we’re bored, stressed, anxious or sad — in other words, for emotional reasons. “Instead, find kind ways to nurture, distract, comfort and cope with your feelings with activities that help reduce stress that aren’t food,” recommends Dr. Albers.
8. Respect your body. While diet and exercise do play a big role in the size and shape of your body, there’s a lot more to it than that, including your genes. Intuitive eating recognizes and respects size diversity and the idea that all bodies are worthy of celebration.
9. Move in ways that feel good. “Intuitive eating encourages you to do movements that bring you joy,” Dr. Albers says. It might mean yoga, dance or a walk in the woods. “It’s about movement, not exercise. Sometimes, exercise makes people think, ‘I’ve got to sweat and lose calories.’”
10. Honor your health with gentle nutrition. Intuitive eating isn’t asking you to forget everything you know about nutrition. This principle asks you to turn to science to understand your body’s needs. “Food science informs us about how certain foods impact our appetite, health and fullness,” Dr. Albers reports.

How to get started

Putting intuitive eating into practice takes time and patience. Instead of trying to tackle everything at once, Dr. Albers recommends starting small:

• Pick one principle per day. Over 10 days, focus on one concept at a time. Notice how it shows up in your choices, thoughts and habits.
• Watch for diet culture. Try the “I Spy Diet Culture” challenge: Pay attention to how often you hear or see messages about dieting, restriction or weight loss.
• Check in with your body. Ask yourself simple questions like, “Am I hungry?” or “What would feel satisfying right now?” Listening to your body is a skill — and it gets easier with practice.
• Move for joy, not punishment. Explore physical activities that feel good rather than those meant to “burn off” calories.
• Practice self-compassion. Give yourself permission to enjoy food without guilt. Some days will be easier than others — and that’s OK.

How intuitive eating can change your approach to food

Eating intuitively can improve your relationship with your body and food. That sounds a lot more balanced — and more joyful — than the stress of dieting.

“Instead of making a beeline for food, pause and ask, ‘What am I feeling? And what does this feeling need?’” Dr. Albers advises. This will help you differentiate between physical hunger cues and emotion-driven eating.

Oh, and by the way: Sometimes, the answer is food — and that’s OK. “A little bit of stress-eating now and then can be OK,” Dr. Albers reassures. “But when we turn to food over and over again to soothe or comfort our feelings, it becomes a bigger issue.”

So, if you’re craving chocolate, buy a small chocolate bar and enjoy every bite. You’ll feel happy and satisfied instead of guilty or ashamed — a much better place to be.

To learn more from Dr. Albers about intuitive eating, listen to the Health Essentials Podcast episode, Understanding Intuitive Eating. New episodes of the Health Essentials Podcast publish every Wednesday.