You give them all the intuitive eating info but they just eat junk food non-stop then give it all up… Dietitian Lucy Carey explains why

So you had a jam-packed first session with a new client, where you downloaded the 10 principles of intuitive eating on to them and really pumped them up for this new way of doing things. But they bailed on the follow-up appointment. When you eventually got hold of them they reluctantly told you, “Intuitive eating just doesn’t work for me. I tried it but I just ate cake and cookies non-stop and I was gaining weight. I’ve decided to go back to *insert diet* instead.”

What went wrong? Were they really not cut out for intuitive eating?

Many clients struggle with intuitive eating because they interpret “giving yourself permission to eating anything” as a free-for-all. They end up eating highly processed junk foods round-the-clock. There’s no structure to it at all and it feels chaotic and awful. Then they start to freak out at the weight they’re gaining, and they pull the plug.

The real issue here is that they just weren’t ready for full permission to eat anything yet. They need some foundational skills first. Their body may be in a stressed state, because it never knows when they’re going to restrict food and when they’re going to binge out on it. We need to calm everything down…

1. Get into a regular eating routine

It’s not sexy. It doesn’t sound anywhere near as mind-blowing as permission to eat anything you like, but regular eating is truly the bedrock of overcoming any disordered eating.

This isn’t just “listen to your body” because that body awareness has been dampened down and beaten into submission by dieting. Their hunger and fullness cues are non-existent because they’ve ignored them for so long that their body isn’t going to waste precious energy on it anymore.

To reawaken body awareness you need to start with setting up a good eating rhythm. That means something to eat every few hours: breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner and even a supper if they need it.

When they’ve got this rhythm in place, they’ll naturally start to feel hungrier and to crave foods that they’ve restricted for a long time. That’s fine. That’s when permission to eat anything comes into play. But it’s now sitting on top of the foundation of regular eating.

Coaching tip: start with setting up a regular eating routine before diving into permission to eat anything

2. Eat it mindfully

Many clients think that intuitive eating means eating whatever they want, whenever they want it, so they often fall into the trap of eating while rushed or distracted. Their brain doesn’t get the opportunity to truly realize that they’re eating! They’re not taking it in. This means they are far more likely to overeat, feel out of control, and believe that intuitive eating “doesn’t work” for them.

What they’re missing here is mindful eating. This isn’t about being perfect, it’s about bringing awareness to their meal. When they slow down and engage their senses in the meal – noticing the taste, texture, smell, etc. – they can actually experience their food. As well as helping their brain to recognize that they’re eating and give appropriate fullness signals, they’ll also start to realize what foods they like and dislike and how different foods make them feel.

When this becomes habit, there will less and less “Where did that packet of cookies go?” while watching TV moments!

Coaching tip: phone away, put food on a plate, sit down and take a few deep breaths before starting to eat

3. Recognizing hunger and fullness

Chronic dieting disconnects clients from their bodies. They may have spent years suppressing hunger with water or coffee, and eating by the clock instead of their internal hunger and fullness cues. And now that don’t even know what true hunger and fullness feels like!

What we often see is a swinging between extremes – waiting so long to eat that they’re totally ravenous then eating until they feel sick. This reinforces the dieting message that they lack willpower and can’t be trusted around food. But the reality is that they their body needs time and consistency to relearn their unique hunger and fullness cues.

Regular eating will help a lot with this, and a hunger-fullness scale can be very useful also. This isn’t about getting it ‘right’ every time, this is about being curious about their body and noticing patterns over time.

Coaching tip: keep it simple by rating hunger between 1 (starving) and 5 (uncomfortably full) before and after eating.

If your clients are struggling with intuitive eating, it doesn’t mean that they’re doing it ‘wrong’ or they’re not cut out for it. They just need to get the basics in place first. Instead of jumping straight into what to eat, start with how and you’ll see a big difference in your clients’ experiences and your DNA rates!