It’s exciting to see #IntuitiveEating growing in popularity & being validated by research.  But with this popularity comes co-opting by diet culture, which creates confusion. So let’s clear some things up.

What is Intuitive Eating (IE)?

Intuitive Eating is a self-care eating framework rooted in science and informed by clinical experience.  It was created by two dietitians @evelyntribole & @elyseresch, and popularized in our book of the same name in 1995. Subsequently, researcher Tracy Tylka, PhD, validated the IE model in two seminal studies (1,2).

 IE is a #HAES-aligned, evidence-based model with a validated assessment scale with nearly 120 studies to date showing benefits.

The 10 IE Principles integrate instinct, emotion, & rational thought:

  1. Reject the Diet Mentality
  2. Honor Your Hunger
  3. Make Peace with Food
  4. Challenge the Food Police
  5. Respect Your Fullness
  6. Discover the Satisfaction Factor
  7. Honor Your Feelings 
  8. Respect Your Body
  9. Movement—Feel the Difference
  10. Honor Your Health with Gentle Nutrition

The IE principles work in two key ways:

  1. Helps you cultivate attunement to physical sensations that arise from within your body (interoceptive awareness), in order to get both your biological & psychological needs met.
  2. Removes the obstacles & disruptors to attunement, which usually come from the mind in the form of rules, beliefs, & thoughts.

IE is a practice, which honors both physical & mental health.  Ultimately, IE helps create a healthy relationship with food, mind, & body.

The pursuit of intentional weight loss interferes with becoming an Intuitive Eater.  Additionally, dieting increases risk of eating disorders, binge eating, weight cycling, food preoccupation, body dissatisfaction, weight stigma, depression, & anxiety. 

Want to dive deeper into the science?

#IntuitiveEatingOfficial #IntuitiveEatingVillage #HAES #antidiet

 1. Tylka, T. 2006. Development and psychometric evaluation of a measure of intuitive eating. Journal of Counseling Psychology 53:226-240. 

2. Tylka, T., and A. Kroon Van Diest. 2013. The Intuitive Eating Scale–2: Item Refinement and Psychometric Evaluation with College Women and Men. Journal of Counseling Psychology60(1):137-153.


Evelyn Tribole, MS, RDN, CEDRD-S

Evelyn Tribole, MS, RDN, CEDRD-S is an award-winning registered dietitian, with a nutrition counseling practice in Newport Beach, California. She has written nine books including the bestsellers Healthy Homestyle Cooking and Intuitive Eating(co-author). Her newest book is the Intuitive Eating Workbook:Ten Principles for Nourishing a Healthy Relationship with Food.