Chocolate Cake is Not a Sin:
Learning to Eat Well Without Shame
Audience
Everyone who feels guilty about eating
Learning Outcomes
- Summarize the philosophy of intuitive eating
- Apply the theory to a remembered interaction with a patient
or acquaintance
- Evaluate success of intuitive eating for improving health,
compared to dieting
- Learning Outcomes evaluated through discussion
What is Intuitive Eating?
Intuitive eating is a way of thinking about food that aims
to break the craving-quitting cycle. It’s about learning to
listen to body signals about what to eat, how much, and
when.
Helpful Resources
Intuitveeating.org – run by Evelyn Tribole, MS, RDN,
CEDRD-S, who coined the phrase and came up with the
principles
Counselor directory at intuitiveeating.org – location-
based listing of dieticians certified in intuitive eating.
Alissarumsey.com – a website by a registered dietician
with posts on different aspects of intuitive eating,
including getting started, dealing with trigger foods, and
advice about eating for the COVID pandemic
Ten Principles
1. Reject the Diet Mentality.
Diets don’t work. Reject the pressure to restrict eating and yo-yo in weight. Get
angry that people told you failing diets was your fault.
2. Honor Your Hunger.
Make sure you eat enough to not feel hungry. Hunger only leads to cravings, plus it
feels awful and distracts you from all the fun things you could be doing.
3. Make Peace with Food.
Give yourself permission to eat all foods. It’s easier to achieve moderation if you’re
not depriving yourself of craved foods.
4. Challenge the Food Police.
The food police live in your head (“Don’t eat that, it’s bad”) and outside it (“Do you
really want another cookie right now?”). Don’t listen. Listen to your body.
5. Respect Your Fullness.
Learn to detect when you are comfortably full.
6. Discover the Satisfaction Factor.
Eating what you and your body really want to eat can increase satisfaction,
contentment and satiety.
7. Honor Your Feelings Without Using Food.
This is difficult but important. Find new sources of comfort and distraction to use
when you need nurturing but your body isn’t hungry.
8. Respect Your Body.
Accept that your body has a certain “blueprint” and it may not match the
unrealistic ideal. Respect what your body can do for you.
9. Exercise—Feel the Difference.
Punitive exercise isn’t necessary. Find a way to move that feels good – mild,
moderate or vigorous.
10. Honor Your Health with Gentle Nutrition.
Consider your health as well as your taste buds. They work in tandem to keep you
fed. Find vegetables you like and learn how to prepare them in tasty ways. Eat lots
of colors!
Griffin Radulski June 2020
Where’s the Evidence?
Bacon et al. (2005) did a year-long RCT comparing a diet
intervention to an intuitive eating course for obese women. At
one year, the diet group had no significant weight loss or
improvement in any other measure, and half of them had
dropped out; the intuitive eating group did not lose weight
either, but 92% stayed with the program and the group showed
significant improvement in lipid levels, self-esteem, feeling of
restriction, and hunger.
Observational studies of intuitive eating (Anderson et al., 2016;
Dyke & Drinkwater, 2014) have found associations between
intuitive eating and lower BMI and more positive health and
psychosocial indicators.
Anderson, L. M., Reilly, E. E., Schaumberg, K., Dmochowski, S., & Anderson, D. A. (2016). Contributions of mindful eating, intuitive
eating, and restraint to BMI, disordered eating, and meal consumption in college students. Eating and Weight Disorders - Studies
on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity, 21(1), 83–90. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-015-0210-3
Bacon, L., Stern, J. S., Van Loan, M. D., & Keim, N. L. (2005). Size acceptance and intuitive eating improve health for obese, female
chronic dieters. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 105(6), 929–936. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jada.2005.03.011
Dyke, N. V., & Drinkwater, E. J. (2014). Relationships between intuitive eating and health indicators: Literature review. Public
Health Nutrition, 17(8), 1757–1766. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980013002139
How to Start
This is individual, but here’s a taste.
Use the hunger-fullness scale
1-10 scale from “ravenous” to “so full you feel sick.” Try checking
in when you want a snack and during meals. Being “full” doesn’t
mean you’re not allowed to eat! It’s just information. Try it now:
where are you from 1 to 10?
Start buying and eating favorite foods
You will probably notice a tendency to overeat at first. Trust the
process. When your body learns a food will always be available,
the tendency to overeat may pass.
Try mindful eating
Pay attention to the food and your body. Let yourself enjoy it!
This isn’t about chewing a certain number of times, just allowing
yourself to really taste the food you are eating.
Ask for help
Relearning to eat intuitively can be incredibly difficult. Dieticians
certified in intuitive eating may be able to help.