Becoming an Intuitive Eater

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As we get further into the year, new year's resolutions or goals tend to drop off and are given up on. Instead of trying another fad diet that is bound to fail you, let go of diet culture and become more in-tune with your body and your body's needs. Heal your relationship with food.

https://www.optimumhealthusa.com/blog/2020/05/mindful-eating-part-2/


Mindful eating occurs when you listen to your hunger cues, you eat when you’re hungry and stop when you’re full. You do not allow yourself to get so hungry that you feel as if you’re starving or eat so much that you feel sick. Here are some factors that can influence you to ignore or suppress your hunger cues. 

  • Being taught from a young age.  Children are very in-tune with their bodies, but when they are pressured or bribed to completely clean their plate, they are being taught that their hunger/satiety cues should be ignored. Bribing children with desserts also teaches them that food is earned or that dessert is a superior food. [1]

  • Stress. Some people overeat while some undereat when they are stressed. [2]

  • Not prioritizing regular mealtimes. You may go too long without eating, so for your next meal, you end up overeating. [3]

  • Not eating enough at mealtimes. Maybe you snack all day long. This doesn’t necessarily satisfy you as you may be hungry more often. All-day snacking can lead to excess calorie intake and weight gain. [4]

  • Dieting. Dieting can cause you to restrict your calorie intake to a specific number, a specific time of day, certain foods, etc., which results in you ignoring your hunger cues and losing touch with them. [5]


There are ways to get back in tune with your innate hunger cues. This is called mindful eating or intuitive eating. Mindful eating helps you fully engage with your food, so you are aware of how you feel, how the food makes you feel, the food textures, and your feeling of fullness. Below are some strategies to reconnect with your body and become a mindful eater:

  • Eat at regular times throughout the day. Eating a meal every 3-5 hours teaches the body and mind that it is going to receive energy consistently throughout the day. [3, 4]

  • Be patient. It’s going to take time for your body to adjust. After years of dieting, hunger and fullness cues are not something that can just show back up. The hormones that are in-tune with hunger cues are now able to circulate at regular times during the day and night to stimulate your appetite and fullness. [5]

  • Let go of food rules. Do you have a rule that you cannot eat dessert on certain days? Or that you can’t eat past a certain time? These rules are restricting. Desserts can fit into any healthy diet. Severely restricting also intake increases cravings.[5, 6]

  • Willpower is not the answer. The idea of willpower is to fight those cravings. Cravings typically occur because of food restrictions. That is not to say that cravings completely will go away when you stop restricting, however they will likely decline. Cravings are completely normal and your body’s way of telling you that it is lacking certain nutrients. You may crave something entirely different than what your body needs. For example, when you are dehydrated, you may crave sweets because your body isn’t able to metabolize sugar properly without adequate fluid. [7]


It may feel scary to begin your intuitive eating journey, but with practice, patience, and guidance for your registered dietitian, you can become a successful mindful eater. 


1

2

3

4

5

I’m starving, light-headed, feel sick, unable to concentrate

I’m hangry, I need to eat now, starting to feel uncomfortable

I’m hungry, stomach is growling

I’m a little hungry, I can eat now or wait a little while

I don’t feel hungry or full, neutral

6

7

8

9

10

I could eat more, feel full but not satisfied

I’m satisfied, if I eat more, I’ll feel uncomfortable

I’m uncomfortably full, ate a little too much

I’m stuffed, bloated, extremely uncomfortable, may need to loosen my pants

I’m way too full, feel stuffed to the max, nauseous, the thought of food makes you feel sick


This hunger scale is a useful tool to help you get in tune with your body to learn about how hunger and satiation should feel like. Take note of how you feel before you begin eating, in the middle of your meal, and at the end of your meal. Then reflect how you think you did. As mentioned previously, learning how to be a mindful eater may take some time, so documenting your hunger/satiety and discussing this with your dietitian can help you figure out what is working for you and what needs more attention.


Generally, the goal of mindful eating is to avoid getting so hungry that you feel like 1 or 2 and so full like 9 or 10. Sometimes, it may be difficult to eat a meal as you don’t have time. It’s a good idea to keep healthy snacks on hand for instances like this. You may eat past fullness sometimes, and that’s okay! Now you know what it feels like and can be more in tune during mealtimes. [8]


  1. https://www.eatright.org/food/nutrition/eating-as-a-family/keep-kids-out-of-the-clean-plate-club

  2. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/how-stress-can-make-you-eat-more-or-not-at-all/

  3. https://blog.uvahealth.com/2021/01/07/binge-eating-at-night/

  4. https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/snacking/

  5. https://eatingrecoverycoach.com/2020/01/23/how-to-get-your-hunger-cues-back-and-why-you-would-want-to/

  6. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13668-020-00326-0

  7. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/3-reasons-you-crave-sweet-or-salty-foods/

  8. https://colleenchristensennutrition.com/how-to-use-the-intuitive-eating-hunger-scale/

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