FAQ’S

what is intuitive eating?

Diets (any way of eating that is restrictive for the aim of losing weight) do not work for that majority of people. Especially those with disordered eating behaviours (emotional, binge, secret eating etc.). In fact, diets and weight loss attempts make these behaviours worse.

Intuitive eating is a much better approach for those who have tried many diets as this allow people to heal their relationship with food, stop seeing foods as ‘good’ or ‘bad’, start listening to their hunger and fullness signals and eliminate guilt and shame related to eating. Weight loss is not the goal of intuitive eating but it does allow people to find their ‘set point’ weight (a weight that is partially genetically determined and partially a result of the way our body adapts to food availability that people can easily maintain).

Is intuitive eating healthy?

One of the biggest misconceptions about intuitive eating is that it a ‘junk’ food free-for-all (I hate the term junk food and prefer to call them fun foods). That is absolutely not the case as no one wants to eat these types of food all the time really.

You know that feeling after a holiday when you have eaten a lot of chocolate, cakes, cheese, fried food etc. and all you want is something fresh? That is because during the holiday you haven’t tried to restrict these fun foods, so you have become used to them. You are able to tune into your body when it says it wants something else. That is what intuitive eating is like but all the time because you never restrict any foods. You will still enjoy fun foods, but because you know you could them whenever you want, you will only have them when you really fancy them rather than constantly craving them because you are trying to restrict.

Also, intuitive eating respects the importance of gentle nutrition for health and part of the process involves learning the basics of how to eat a variety of foods that will help you feel the best you can.

Is intuitive eating for everyone?

Certain people will need to seek medical advice before trying intuitive eating. If you are suffering with anorexia for example, your body may not be giving you accurate hunger and fullness signals and you will need support in getting physically healthy before moving onto intuitive eating. Anyone who has, or has a history of, eating disorders should seek professional support when starting with intuitive eating. If you are on a special diet for medical reasons you will need to ensure that you can still follow the advice of your healthcare advisor whilst embarking on intuitive eating and some of the principles may need to be adapted for you situation. For example, one principle involves giving yourself unconditional permission to eat all foods- clearly if you have an allergy, this will not apply to certain foods for you.

Can intuitive eating cause weight loss?

Weight loss is not the goal of intuitive eating. It is completely understandable that you may want to lose weight but you will not be able to fully engage with the principles of Intuitive Eating if weight loss is your goal.  It may be impossible for you to just let go of your desire to lose weight, but it’s important to put it to one side for the time being. If after a few months you want to go back to dieting you are free to do so, the diet industry isn’t going anywhere, but you will probably find that you have a new perspective on your body by that time.

Having said that, some people do lose weight as a side effect of Intuitive Eating over a period. Particularly those who were using food as an emotional crutch or were binge eating regularly. But, again, this is not the goal and you can have a happy, healthy relationship with food and your body at any size. Change in weight will not be used as a measure of success by Sophie and she will never weigh you, instead Sophie focuses on more reliable measures of health and well-being. 

Can intuitive eating cause weight gain?

Some people do gain weight whilst intuitive eating- particularly in the first few weeks whilst they are habituating to foods they have been restricting for a long time. This is a completely normal part of the process and will pass as you make peace with food.