Intuitive Eating

INTUITIVE EATING

In 1995, Elyse Resch, MS, RDN, CEDRD-S, Fiaedp, FADA, FAND and Evelyn Tribole, MS, RDN, CEDRD-S together co-wrote the book Intuitive Eating in 1995. The book outlined the Intuitive Eating model and all of its principles. In this approach, people learn about the diet mentality and how it ignites and maintains the problems they have with food. They also practice reading the signals that their bodies send about how much and what foods they need. It is worth noting that there is an ever growing body of peer-reviewed research supporting the efficacy of Intuitive Eating. The model supports people with Eating Disorders and disordered eating alike to repair their relationships with food as well as their body image.

Research has found that Intuitive Eating is linked with:

• Lower levels of:
  • Bingeing and Purging
  • Dietary restraint
  • Concerns around weight & shape
  • Emotional Eating

• Higher levels of:
  • Positive body image
  • Self-esteem
  • Well being

Our Director, Lauren Rosen, LMFT, has been a certified Intuitive Eating counselor since 2015. She has an in depth understanding of this approach that was cultivated with direct supervision by Elyse Resch as well as instruction from Evelyn Tribole. 

HOW IT WORKS

Eating disorders often start with attempts to manage body weight and shape by restricting food. Our culture and the diet industry play a huge role in building faulty beliefs and interfering with our inner wisdom about what our bodies need. Given this, it is crucial to address these factors. To that end, Intuitive Eating helps people to call out the external messages and related thought patterns that fuel eating disorders. 

Given that deprivation helps to create and maintain eating disorders, this model is focused on granting oneself permission to eat all foods. At the same time, those practicing Intuitive Eating learn to aim toward overall satisfaction when eating. They might listen to their taste buds and consider the texture of a food. They might also think about how a food will likely make them feel, how filling it is and how much energy it provides. In doing so, people who practice Intuitive Eating learn that they can trust their bodies to tell them what they need, when they need it, and when they’ve had enough.

Part of this process involves accepting the genetic blueprint that you were born with rather than spending a lifetime trying to manage weight and shape. It supports movement that feels good and gentle nutrition.