Tapping into your intuition can be tricky, but when it comes to eating, it can be key to health and vitality. Intuitive eating is a self-care eating framework which integrates instinct, emotion, and rational thought. It was created by two dietitians, Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch, in 1995. Intuitive Eating is a weight-inclusive, evidence-based model that has helped many people to be at peace with their bodies. Here are the ten principles as outlined by the website intuitiveeating.org:

1. Reject the Diet Mentality

Dieting can be harmful to mental, physical, and emotional health.

2. Honor Your Hunger

Keep your body biologically fed with adequate energy and carbohydrates. Try not to think of ft and carbs as the enemy!

3. Make Peace with Food

If you forbid yourself to have a particular food, it can lead to intense feelings of deprivation that build into uncontrollable cravings and bingeing.

4. Challenge the Food Police

The food police monitor the unreasonable rules that our diet culture has created.

5. Discover the Satisfaction Factor

When you eat what you really want in a pleasant environment, you my fell pleasure that leave you feeling more satisfied.

6. Feel Your Fullness

Listen for the body cues that tell you that you are full. Observe the signs in your stomach and the rest of your body.

7. Cope with Your Emotions with Kindness

Find kind ways to comfort and nurture yourself. Food is not the solution for every negative emotion.

8. Respect Your Body

Learn to accept your genetic makeup. It’s hard to ditch the diet mentality if you are unrealistic and overly critical of your body size or shape.

9. Movement—Feel the Difference

Focus on how good you feel when you move your body, Don’t just exercise to lose weight. Do it for your mental health.

10. Honor Your Health—Gentle Nutrition

Choose foods that re good for your health and taste buds. No cardboard-tasting foods!  It’s what you eat consistently over time that matters.

Intuitive eating is about treating yourself with kindness and compassion. Shut out the noise of the very loud diet culture and find a way to eat with your instincts and intuition. Your body is talking to you—are you listening?