4 Awesome Things That Happen When You Become an Intuitive Eater

I LOVE my job. It lights me up to help women end the cycle of endless dieting, bashing their bodies, and living on the sidelines of their lives because they’re preoccupied with food and body concerns.

Sometimes my clients come in desperately wanting to end the battle with food but unsure what to expect with Intuitive Eating. How do you measure success outside of the scale? How do you know if you’re doing it “right” when you’re not counting calories or following a meal plan?

Intuitive Eating unfolds and looks different for everyone because we’re all individuals with unique bodies, lifestyles, and preferences. But, I’ve noticed over the years that my clients tend to say the same things again and again as they become Intuitive Eaters.

Since you may be wondering if an Intuitive Eating journey is right for you, I thought it could be helpful to share this food and body peace roadmap with you too!

What Do You Say and Think Once You’ve Become an Intuitive Eater?

Straight from my client’s mouths (and emails and private messages) … here are several things I hear again and again as the women I work with UN-diet and learn to practice gentle, flexible nutrition while healing their relationships with food and body:

1. “Who am I? I’m craving veggies!”

Has it ever felt like the only foods your body craves are things like sweets, pizza, or fries? Or perhaps your experience of cravings is that they’re insanely intense and it just feels so difficult to curb them no matter what diet “hacks” you try?

Many of my clients struggled with cravings prior to finding Intuitive Eating as well.

So, imagine how empowering it is when they discover that their bodies now not only gently ask for all sorts of nutrient-dense foods … but their cravings for other fun foods now feel pretty much as benign and welcome as that. If they want something, they’ve learned to eat it in a way that feels good, and then move on with their day.

Simple truth … a lot of times dieters and restrained eaters fear that if they give themselves full permission to eat certain foods, they’ll never stop eating them or they’ll only ever want those foods. And that makes sense because when we’re dieting or restricting certain foods, they ARE overly appealing and it’s natural to end up overeating them when we do finally give in to the cravings.

But here’s the catch … this fear and lived experience of feeling out of control around certain foods is almost always driven by the restriction and scarcity mindset itself. When you replace restriction with full permission, you remove the thrill factor of those foods.

Also, it doesn’t feel good to eat nothing but sweets or fries all day. So, when you learn to eat with attunement to your body, you find that sweet spot of eating what you love in ways that feel good while gently honoring your body’s needs with flexible nutrition knowhow.

Side note: Making peace with food in this way is one of the trickiest Intuitive Eating principles to implement because so often we *think* we’re giving ourselves permission to eat certain foods … but we’re actually telling our minds something else entirely (even if we’re actually eating them). If this is happening, you’ll likely continue to feel out of control or mistrust yourself around those foods. If you’re feeling frustrated with the process or think it’s “not working,” I’d encourage you to reach out and explore how I can help you work through this common obstacle.

2. “I left food on my plate—that’s, like, never happened before!”

The goal of Intuitive Eating isn’t to celebrate leaving food on your plate. But I do help my clients reconnect with their hunger and fullness cues while curiously considering their typical eating patterns.

Throughout the process, they also learn the importance of satisfaction with food and get tools to help them be much more mindful of their food, bodies, emotions, self-care and other eating needs.

Often, they’re surprised to find that Intuitive Eating helps them break free of a lifetime membership to the clean plate club.

3. “It turns out I don’t even LIKE XYZ food I used to obsess over.”

Yup, it’s true. In the process of making peace with food, many people are shocked to discover that they don’t even really like foods they used to obsess over.

I remember one client in particular who told me Oreos used to be her nemesis … but the more she allowed herself to eat them, the more she realized that, to her, they kind of taste like soap.

Why does this happen?

When eating stems from a place of deprivation and restriction, foods that feel (or actually are) off-limits tend to become overly enticing.

By replacing scarcity with permission, attunement, and mindfulness … people often learn surprising things about their true food preferences!

4. “I’m so much nicer to myself now.”

I just might love this one most of all. We hear our own voices in our heads all day long. How much better our days become when it says nice things to us!

Intuitive Eating helps you be so much gentler with your food choices, your pursuit of health, your worth, and your body.

Just as in any relationship, rebuilding trust and relearning how to eat and live in our bodies in a way that feels good takes time. But, as my clients’ statements so artfully illustrate, it’s so very worth it.

Are you wondering if it’s time to start your own Intuitive Eating journey? Read this blog to find out: 7 Signs You’re Ready to Begin Intuitive Eating.