What is Intuitive Eating?

Intuitive Eating (IE) is a self-care eating framework, which integrates instinct, emotion, and rational thought and was created by two dietitians, Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch in 1995. Intuitive Eating is a weight-inclusive, evidence-based model with a validated assessment scale and over 100 studies to date.

Does Intuitive Eating work for athletes?

Yes! The goal of Intuitive Eating is to increase interoceptive awareness. Interoceptive awareness is the ability to notice and interpret internal bodily sensations, such as hunger, pain, temperature, and heart rate. It's an interactive process that's influenced by a person's attitudes, beliefs, and experiences.

Perhaps one of the most nuanced concepts of IE for athletes is honoring hunger. While RDs want athletes to listen to their bodies and eat according to hunger cues, that’s only one part of applying the principle. IE is defined as a self-care eating framework that integrates instinct, emotion, and rational thought, and RDs can help athletes merge these three components to support performance. As athletes, sometimes we need to eat, even when we don’t biologically feel hungry. This can include systematically eating during an endurance event when appetite isn’t present, but energy needs are high, and glycogen (stored carbs in the liver and muscles) depletion is a risk. Another example may be refueling carbohydrate and protein to optimize recovery, even in the presence of post-exercise appetite suppression, which is common after a vigorous workout.

There are many nutrition guidelines established for athletes, depending on sport, intensity, and duration, to help optimize performance while also keeping the body in good health. If an athlete only eats when she/he is [physically] hungry or eats when she/he wants because it feels good in the moment, that may sabotage performance and health. Dietetics professionals can help athletes understand how honoring their hunger may look different from that of nonathletes, especially when training and performance goals are on the line.

Weight loss is my main goal. Would we be a good fit to work together?

I like to make sure clients know my nutrition philosophy up front and that you're open to it. I'm a weight-inclusive provider who uses a non-diet approach. That means instead of focusing on restrictions and weight loss, we focus on behaviors that can improve your relationship with your body, food, health, performance, and overall well-being.

Weight is not a behavior, which means that even if we worked on incorporating health-promoting behaviors, your weight might not change at all. 

I do want you to know that I understand the strong desire to lose weight. I am not against the desire to lose weight. However, if you’re serious about finding a peaceful mindset around food and improving your body image, I do recommend putting the pursuit of intentional weight loss on the back burner.

Do you work with teenagers?

I work with teenagers who are 16 years of age and older. I am very selective about the teenagers I work with one-on-one for a variety of reasons. If you are a parent of a teenager and you’re interested in working together, I want you to understand that your child’s progress will most likely hinge on how present you are during the nutrition counseling process and how willing you are to work on your own relationship with food and your body. If you would like more details, please fill out an application to work with me and be as detailed as possible about why you’re reaching out. I will follow up and schedule a 15-30 minute phone call with you to see if I’m a good fit for your family and vice versa.