Intuitive eating isn't the be all and end all

Yup, I said it, and no, I am not waging war on the concepts or anyone who follows them. I am simply saying that even the most well-intentioned frameworks require nuance and critical thinking.

For the past few weeks, I had spent many hours scrolling back to pictures from 2018. Why on earth would I be doing this, you’re probably asking. Because 2018 was when I attended my first Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo (FNCE), and I was currently overthinking (I tend to do this quite a bit) about what to wear. Listen, I may not work in the fashion industry anymore, but I still care about what I wear. It is what it is. Anyway, six years later, there I was, ready to attend this conference all over again and carefully packing in order to prepare for it. All of a sudden, all of the emotions came back to me. I was excited about seeing all my colleagues, whom I only knew through my phone screen, but I was nervous at the same time. As an introvert, I was overwhelmed with the number of meetups and events, and because I was now older and somewhat wiser, I knew how to schedule mental breaks. More importantly, this was the time that I remembered six years ago when I was introduced to intuitive eating.

If you search #intuitiveeating on Instagram, there are more than 2 million posts, and some look like this.

What is intuitive eating anyway?

Ah yes, the wonderful world of intuitive eating (IE.) IE is probably very familiar to many who are reading this now. IE is a popular eating framework created by two dietitians, Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch, in 1995, which, according to the website, “integrates instinct, emotion, and rational thought.” Scrolling social media, you probably have run across posts with #intuitiveeating in the caption and RDs telling you how to be more mindful and, well, intuitive when it comes to eating. I first heard of Elyse and Evelyn at the 2018 FNCE event when I attended their presentation.

*Shameless plug here - I actually have a whole chapter on IE in my book “Live Nourished” that’s out and available now wherever books are sold. Seriosuly, there’s a ton of info in there.* 

I remember sitting down on the floor (my friends and I were late) in the presentation room and listening to how it was indeed possible to nourish the body without restriction. I also remember looking around the room and counting about ten people of color out of the probably 100 in attendance and realizing that, just like the dietetics field, this framework didn’t feel very diverse.

I’m going to make it perfectly clear right now that I have zero beef with IE as a whole or the dietitians and counselors who abide by this method. ZERO. I have a few of the IE books and follow a similar philosophy for myself. However, I can imagine how frustrating it might be to see posts telling someone to follow their intuition with regard to their bodies and that everything will be A-okay if they embrace food freedom. I also think it might be annoying to see mostly thin, able-bodied, cis, white women promoting it, and it’s understandable to want to equate it to a diet or think that a thin body should be and will be the result of IE. I get it, and I want to assure anyone who has doubts that intuitive eating is not the be all and end all as far as ways to eat and nourish yourself. So, no, this is not meant to start a war; it’s just me offering a new perspective to those who need it.

“I’m getting frustrated at myself because I can’t follow the rules.” When I was doing 1:1 counseling, I remember this being the complaint of one of my clients, whom I’ll call Ashley (not her real name for obvious reasons.) IE is one of the more popular terms whenever you see content related to the non-diet way of eating. It is a very popular system that was formulated and trademarked by dietitians Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch. My ears perked up at the word “rules” because the whole idea of IE is to let go of the idea of dieting, and the word “rules” is a term that we associate with restriction. In regards to the “rules,” Ashley was referring to the principles of IE, and in fact, there are 10.

Ashley had come to me because she tried to take on IE herself and had the 4th edition book as well as the workbook. Even though I fully disclosed that I wasn’t a certified IE counselor (and still am not), Ashley wanted to work with a nondiet dietitian but felt as though IE wasn’t for her. After a few minutes of digging deeper, I found out that Ashley grew up 1 of 9 children and in poverty. She told me that while growing up, she and her siblings would have to rush to the table, and whoever was able to get food ate. “I always ate my food so fast because I had a fear of never seeing it again.” It didn’t matter what the actual hunger cues were, she ate because there was a fear of never eating again.

Currently, she is financially and food secure, but her childhood trauma still affects her to this day, and this isn’t uncommon because adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are stressful or traumatic events, such as neglect and/or violence. ACEs are strongly related to brain development and a wide range of health problems throughout a person’s lifetime. ACEs are more common than we might think, as about 64% of U.S. adults reported they had experienced at least one type of ACE before age 18, and nearly 1 in 6 (17.3%) reported they had experienced four or more types of ACEs.

ACEs are not the only factors that can affect our eating patterns. My favorite topic, the social determinants of health (SDOH), is one of the major contributors to health overall. SDOH are the conditions in the environments where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age, which affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality of life outcomes and risks. 

Here's the wide variety of what some SDOH look like in someone’s life:

• Safe housing, transportation, and neighborhoods

• Racism, discrimination, and violence

• Education, job opportunities, and income

• Access to nutritious foods and physical activity opportunities

• Polluted air and water

• Language and literacy skills

ACEs are different from SDOH, but they are often interrelated, as SDOH factors might affect a child’s health in certain situations. Insecure housing (SDOH) may leave families at risk for physical, emotional, or sexual abuse (ACEs). Increased carceral and law enforcement exposures contribute to adverse child mental health. ACEs and the associated SDOH can cause toxic stress, which can negatively affect brain development, immune systems, and stress response systems. And yes, these all affect our access to food as well as our hunger cues and any and all intuitiveness that we feel with food. This was a huge factor that affected Ashley, and it affects many others as well. Food freedom sounds so easy and attainable, but unfortunately, this isn’t the case for everyone.

Image from the Southeast Youth & Family Services

Stress, medications, eating disorders, trauma, and much more can have a huge impact. I want to point out that the IE books do address this in the manner of “it’s still possible to apply IE to these situations,” and I am sure that this is true…for some. Ashley isn’t the only story of it not working, and she won’t be the last. I have said that we are all individuals, so our bodies and needs will always be individual, so no, I don’t think that IE works for everyone, and that’s okay. It’s understandable to feel as though principles are rules that you need to abide by, and it’s understandable that trying to use your intuition to nourish yourself doesn’t work for you personally. It means that you need to find another system.

So what should you do instead?