Commonly Misunderstood Ideas About Intuitive Eating
Photo by Bethany Newman (@bethanynewmn) via Unsplash
There are many ideas within the intuitive eating framework that are commonly misunderstood. In this post I’ll cover five general areas that are commonly misunderstood about the intuitive eating framework.
Common Misunderstanding #1- Intuitive Eating Doesn’t “Work” for Everyone
In the 5+ years doing intuitive eating counseling, I've adapted the intuitive eating framework 100% of the time to meet my clients' needs.
Why do I do this?
Because intuitive eating is a framework. A framework is a set of general and relatively abstract ideas about something of interest (in this case someone's personal relationship with food and their body). By its very definition, a framework isn't limited to any particular person, group, situation, diagnosis, or event. The ideas within a framework are sufficiently broad in order for them to be used in many areas or in many ways.
When I see social media posts or hear someone say that "intuitive eating isn't for everyone or for X group of people" my response is that the ideas within the framework neither include or exclude a particular person, group of people, situation, issue, etc. This means that the ideas need to be adapted to person(s) the provider is working with. For example, the principle "honor your hunger" is broad and can be defined and adapted to each person's highly individual needs.
The clients I serve are diverse in every way I can think of AND this means that in order to provide affirming care, I use the intuitive eating framework as it's meant to be used- a framework that is a starting point for care.
Common Misunderstanding #2- Confusion About the Definition of Intuition
Intuition is insight and feelings that are derived without the requirement of "evidence." These insights, perceptions, and feelings can arise spontaneously or could be prompted by something. Intuitiveness is by its nature subjective. There are many things that we experience that we’re not able observe directly and are more of a “felt sense”. This also means that someone else can’t observe it directly. For example, I can't know what someone else's internal experiences are of tiredness, hunger, needing to urinate, and so on. I also can't directly observe someone else's thoughts, see what their emotional states feel like, etc. Each of us experience these sensations, insights, perceptions, and feelings uniquely. Applying this to eating, intuitive refers to the subjective experiences surrounding food and the action of eating. There’s no one else who can tell you what your sense of hunger feels like, what fullness feels like in your body, how foods taste to you, how you experience different food textures, and so on.
Common Misunderstanding #3- Interoceptive Awareness
Interoceptive awareness is probably one of the most misunderstood concepts within the intuitive eating framework. Unfortunately, the phrase interoceptive awareness is often used synonymously with hunger and fullness cues, but interoceptive awareness is much broader than that.
Interception is one of three types of perception and refers to the awareness of subjective physical experiences (including body sensations and feeling states). This type of awareness is the basis of what gives rise to intuition. With rare exceptions as a result of extreme circumstances, all humans have varying degrees of interoceptive awareness. While there are many factors and conditions that impact interoceptive awareness, this doesn't mean that you lack it or that it can't be tapped into and explored. Going back to hunger and fullness, these are body sensations that are experienced uniquely. Like other subjective physical experiences, hunger and fullness sensations can vary considerably among individuals and be impacted by illnesses, eating disorders, emotional states, and other factors.
As a way of starting to explore your own interoceptive awareness, I invite you to explore how you "know" that you are:
Tired
Angry
In pain
Thirsty
Have to pee/poop
It’s not uncommon that it may be difficult to describe these physical experiences at first. Most people tell me, “I never really thought about it before”! This is the first step in getting acquainted with your sense of interoceptive awareness.
Common Misunderstanding #4- All Foods Fit
A common misperception is that intuitive eaters eat "all foods" or that "all foods fit." Not all foods fit for all people!! What often gets missed in "all foods fit" is the second part- "in your eating world."
Each person has unique needs, taste preferences, texture preferences, and budgets in addition to differences in things like access to food, food preparation needs/skills, food allergies (or family members with food allergies), and so on. The intuitive eating framework is general, not specific, and is meant to be adapted to someone's needs. Foods that fit into your current “eating world” can (and will) change over time and will vary depending on your season of life.
It’s also unnecessary for you to eat particular foods in order to “prove” that you’re an intuitive eater. If you don’t like or don’t want to eat any particular food, you certainly don’t have to! It’s your body and you’re in charge of making decisions that meet your needs.
Common Misunderstanding #5- Scheduled Eating Isn’t Intuitive Eating
Another misperception is that eating on a schedule or menu/meal planning isn't intuitive eating. To this I say not true! When we're aware of our needs and preferences we are in charge of what works best in order to nourish ourselves. If that means eating on a schedule, repeating the same foods or meals over and over, or meal planning/prepping then that is our decision to make!
Menu and meal planning is simply deciding ahead what we will eat so that we have these foods on hand, or that we have a plan to pick up take out, etc. Having a plan can be anxiety-reducing for many people. It also doesn’t preclude you from abandoning the plan and making a different decision in the moment. Nourishing yourself takes on many forms!!