Intuitive Eating Gains Attention

Alaine Mills, a sports dietitian at the MUSC Health & Wellness Institute, says intuitive eating is about giving up the diet cycle. Mills helps people apply the 10 principles of intuitive eating, which can help some people give up unrealistic dieting.

Mills notes that restricted eating linked to dieting can cause people to think about food in a negative way. She says that diets often don't lead to lasting change, and the goal of intuitive eating is to give up dieting and listen to the body.

The approach of intuitive eating was coined by dietitians Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch in their 1995 book 'Intuitive Eating: A Revolutionary Anti-Diet Approach'. This philosophy has become a way for people to eat intuitively by listening to their body's internal cues.

Alissa Rumsey, a nutrition therapist, says that eating for pleasure means honoring the body's wants and needs, and decoupling food from feelings of judgment, guilt, fear, and shame. This approach allows individuals to consume food for pleasure alone, and not just to aid in energy balance.

Intuitive eating is about giving up diet culture and listening to the body's natural hunger and fullness cues. This approach can help people develop a healthier relationship with food and their body.

People who practice intuitive eating eat when they are hungry and stop when they are full. They also allow themselves to enjoy all types of food, without labeling them as 'good' or 'bad'.

The benefits of intuitive eating include developing a more positive relationship with food and the body. It can also help people to stop restricting certain foods and to enjoy eating again.