Intuitive Eating: Tools, Tips, and Common Misconceptions
Intuitive Eating is a transformative approach to food that goes beyond diets and calorie counting. It focuses on listening to your body's natural cues, building a healthier relationship with food, and fostering self-compassion. The framework was created by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch, and it's backed up by research. Hundreds of scientific studies have explored its impact on health outcomes.
Unlike methods that prioritize restriction or control, Intuitive Eating is about trusting your body's wisdom to guide your choices. However, it's often misunderstood—many assume it means eating whatever you want, whenever you want, without structure or thought. In reality, it's a therapeutic and holistic practice that helps people reconnect with their bodies and emotions around food.
Jennifer Heinen, a seasoned dietitian and the founder of Nourish for Life, a thriving nutrition practice, is deeply passionate about Intuitive Eating and weight-inclusive approaches. With a rich career spanning hospital settings, community nutrition programs, and private practice, Jennifer has worked with diverse clients to help them improve their relationship with food. Her work emphasizes inclusivity, honoring cultural food traditions, and using Intuitive Eating as a tool for emotional and physical well-being. Read on for Jennifer's insights on Intuitive Eating.
Tools for Intuitive Eating
"Intuitive Eating" can often sound like a buzzword that isn't actionable at all. For example, when someone says that Intuitive Eating involves "eating mindfully," what does that even mean? How do you actually practice "mindfulness" around food in a way that feels tangible and effective?
According to Jennifer, Intuitive Eating is all about reconnecting with your body's natural cues and understanding the reasons behind your food choices. It's not about following rigid plans or abandoning structure altogether, but learning to trust your body and its needs.
To make Intuitive Eating more actionable, Jennifer uses specific tools in her practice to help clients navigate this process. These tools encourage self-awareness, self-compassion, and a deeper understanding of how food and emotions intersect.
1. Identifying Cues for Hunger and Fullness
One of the first tools Jennifer teaches is the hunger and fullness scale, which helps clients identify their body's physical and cognitive cues. "Sometimes hunger feels like grumbling in your stomach," she explains, "but it can also show up as fatigue, irritability, or even distraction." The scale assigns a number from 1 to 10 to these sensations, helping clients pinpoint where they are on the hunger spectrum.
Fullness is also explored using this scale. Jennifer encourages clients to consider, "What does fullness feel like for you? How do you know when you're satisfied, and how long does it take to feel hungry again?" This tool helps clients tune into their body's natural rhythms and better understand their eating patterns. Having awareness of the factors that contribute to hunger, fullness, and satiety can help folks honor their body's needs, build self-compassion, and remove judgement for their food choices.
Jennifer's practice uses a custom Hunger and Fullness Scale with clients, but you can also find various versions of this scale online.
2. Recognizing Emotional Triggers
Food is often tied to emotions, and Jennifer emphasizes the importance of normalizing this connection. "Food is one coping skill we use when we're feeling different emotions," she explains. "And that's okay—it's valid."
The goal isn't to eliminate emotional eating but to recognize when it's happening and explore other ways to cope with emotions like anxiety, loneliness, or stress. As Jennifer notes, "Sometimes just realizing that food is an adaptive coping tool can be radical for people because they've been told for so long that it's bad to eat because of emotions."
By reframing emotional eating as a normal and valid response, clients can work towards reducing guilt and begin to explore additional tools for managing their feelings.
3. Building a Mind-Body Connection
Jennifer describes Intuitive Eating as a practice of calling on your body's internal wisdom. "It asks you to really listen to your body's cues and be compassionate with yourself," she says. This involves recognizing how physical sensations, emotions, and even external triggers—like seeing food leftover from a meeting in the office—can influence your choices.
The goal is to build trust in your body and make food choices that feel good emotionally and physically. "Intuitive Eating isn't about judging the experience your body is having," Jennifer explains. "It's about working with your body rather than trying to control it."
Through these tools, Intuitive Eating becomes a tangible, actionable practice that helps individuals reconnect with their bodies, reduce judgment, and foster a healthier, more balanced relationship with food.
Misconceptions About Intuitive Eating and the Fear of Gaining Weight
One of the most common misconceptions about Intuitive Eating is that it's simply "eating whatever you want, whenever you want." Many people worry that if they let go of food rules, they'll end up eating unhealthy foods all day, which could lead to weight gain and poor health.
However, as Jennifer explains, Intuitive Eating is much more nuanced than that. "It's about understanding what you want, why you want it, and giving yourself unconditional permission to eat that food—but it's also about listening to your body and making thoughtful, intentional choices," she says.
Jennifer often works with clients to unpack the fear behind these assumptions. "If your presumption is that you'll want chocolate cake all day, every day, we'd work together to understand where that belief comes from," she explains.
For many, the fear is tied to a desire to control their weight. "The fear might be that eating intuitively means you'll lose control, gain weight, or stop eating other foods entirely," Jennifer notes. But in practice, Intuitive Eating helps people recognize that their bodies may naturally seek variety and balance when given the tools to tune into their needs.
Another key misunderstanding is the idea that Intuitive Eating ignores health or structure. In reality, Intuitive Eating is a therapeutic process that emphasizes self-compassion, mindfulness, and honoring your body's cues. It's not about abandoning health goals; it's about reframing them in a way that prioritizes overall well-being rather than rigid weight control. "When you listen to your body's hunger and fullness cues and honor your emotional connection with food, your body can guide you to what's biologically appropriate for you," Jennifer explains.
This weight-inclusive approach can feel radical to those who have spent years dieting or focusing heavily on weight loss. Jennifer emphasizes that her practice is not about telling clients they should or shouldn't care about their weight. Instead, she holds space for their concerns and helps them process those fears without judgment. "We encourage clients to practice non-judgment and build trust in their bodies," she says. "The goal is to quiet the noise around weight and food and help people feel confident in their choices."
By addressing these misconceptions and fears, Intuitive Eating offers a path toward a healthier relationship with food—one that's rooted in trust, balance, and self-compassion rather than fear and control.
Learning More About Intuitive Eating
Want to learn more about Intuitive Eating? The 10 Principles of Intuitive Eating are a great place to start. You can also find a certified Intuitive Eating counselor like Jennifer to work with here.
Jennifer Heinen, MS, RDN, LDN is a registered dietitian, a Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor, and the founder of Nourish for Life.