Have you heard of intuitive eating? What exactly is it? Is it eating whatever you want, whenever you want? 

Well, sort of…intuitive eating is an eating method that encourages a healthy relationship with food. It promotes body positivity and focuses on recognizing and honoring hunger. 

Its core message is clear: Intuitive eating is anti-diet and focused on building a healthy body image, making peace with food, and listening to the body. 

Unlike diets that label foods as “good” or “bad,” intuitive eating focuses on honoring hunger with foods that benefit both physical and mental health. 

Ideally, this would be a natural process. However, for some people — such as those who have spent many years dieting — it is not. Years of restricting food, using food to cope with negative emotions, and obsessing over healthy or so-called clean foods are all reasons why people struggle with intuitive eating. 

People following intuitive eating try to look at toddlers and their eating patterns as they return to a simpler view of food. They eat what they want when they are hungry, and stop when they are satisfied.  

This approach also aims to help people build a stronger relationship with their body by learning to trust its natural hunger and fullness cues. 

People eat intuitively with the aim of developing a healthier relationship with their body and food.