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No – intuition is not the same as impulse.

While intuitive eating includes food freedom, it also includes deeply listening to your body’s nutritional cravings.

As you practice intuitive eating, you learn to distinguish between deep intuition and surface level impulse.

For example, you might see a tray of brownies and impulsively want one, but then you take a moment to tune in, and you realize that your body doesn’t actually want a brownie at that moment.

This might be the case if you had a sweet treat recently, among many other factors.

On the other hand, in the same exact situation a brownie could be what you want on that deeper intuitive level, and what fits into your unique nutritional needs over the course of a week – not just a day.

The magic happens in the pause.

In the tuning in. In the breathing deep.

In the honoring how you want to feel now, in three hours, and tomorrow – versus only in the present moment.

Not because you want to control your body or “be good,” but because you want to feel fully alive and engaged in your life.

It’s not the end of the world to follow impulses from time to time, but they become easier to identify and less desirable as you give yourself true, long-term food freedom.

That brownie is no longer the forbidden fruit – it’s an option any time your body has the true desire and overall bandwidth to genuinely enjoy it.

Your body needs nutrients to function.

If you’ve been on a steady diet of processed foods, you’re not going to crave vegetables right away.

That’s why the first step for some of my intuitive eating clients is a gentle food-based reset, to help re-establish their connection with their intuition.

Foods like white sugar and flour can be chemically addictive, and interfere with your intuition.

Once you’ve reset your body with plenty of fresh, nutrient-dense foods, you’ll most likely begin to crave the foods that work best for your body.

Your power foods will be unique to you, and they’re a big part of your intuitive eating journey. They’re like a warm hug at the end of the day – the foods you know nourish your body and soul.

Gentle nutrition is a core principle of intuitive eating, and if someone isn’t craving nutritious foods, I might guide them to create an anchor, which acts as a training wheel.

For example, including vegetables a couple of times per day, with total flexibility around that anchor.

It all depends on where you’re at in your journey.

Ultimately, through intuitive eating you can get the greatest diversity of nutrients because you have total freedom to listen to your body, rather than running on autopilot, eating the same foods on repeat.

When you’re in alignment, you crave a lush variety of foods.

One study even showed that intuitive eaters consume more fruits and veggies overall.

A lot of people are afraid that intuitive eating will make them gain weight, but science shows that dieting is actually what leads to weight gain, in the majority of cases.

Around 95% of dieters regain the weight they lost, plus more.

Not only that, many of them develop new health issues, whether physical or mental. 

Through intuitive eating, most people reach a healthy set point with their weight.

Many do lose weight, after breaking the diet cycle and getting their metabolism back.

This can happen quite quickly, or if you’ve been dieting for a while, it may take some time.

With intuitive eating, you let your body lead.

If your body wants to release weight, it will.

A lot of people are scared they’re going to lose control over food and their bodies if they start intuitive eating.

This was definitely a fear of mine when I let go of disordered behavior and fully immersed myself in intuitive eating.

The truth is that you might overeat when you first begin intuitive eating, but that phase is essential.

Without that free rein with food, you’ll continue to view certain foods as the forbidden fruit, and continue cycles of “good” and “bad,” “on” and “off.”

After eating lots of everything for a while, it becomes boring, because you know you can have whatever you want, whenever you want.

The pressure is off and you can just listen to your body. There is no scarcity, and no need to stockpile food in your precious body.

This is how I completely stopped overeating, after being an overeater for years.

In that process of deep listening and allowing, you often release any weight your body doesn’t need.

One study reported lower body mass index and less disordered food behavior in intuitive eaters.

Many of my clients have lost weight through intuitive eating.

You can check out testimonials here.

Any approach that labels certain foods as good or bad can create tension in the body and mind.

Tension makes us want to “break free” and just eat the cake – or drink the bottle of wine.

This is not sustainable.

Yo-yoing is what causes the most discomfort, and can lead to physical and mental health challenges.

Do you want to plan your life around cheat days? I don’t.

Counting calories and macros fails to address the nervous system.

When your nervous system is relaxed, you’re better able to digest your food.

When you’re stressed – even if it’s low-grade stress – blood and nutrients move away from your digestive system and to your muscles, in preparation for fight or flight.

When your body is in this stressed state, digestion is considered non-essential, and your body holds on to fat for survival.

Digestion is metabolism, so if you’re only paying attention to calories and macros, you fail to see the big picture.

This is why a lot of people who eat “super clean” can’t seem to release weight – they’re in the stress response.

If you don’t consider yourself to be a stressed person, remember that even low-grade stress can have this effect.

Multiple intuitive eating studies reflect weight maintenance, weight loss, less psychological stress, and improved physical health factors like blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

A lot of people use intuitive eating as a cover for dieting, but in those cases they’re not really practicing intuitive eating.

If someone considers themselves an intuitive eater but claims to only crave fish and veggies all the time, there may be some disordered behavior going on.

Intuitive eating is a very convenient cover for restrictive eating, because you don’t have to have an allergy to avoid a food – you can just say your body isn’t asking for it.

At this point, you know that intuitive eating includes total food freedom, along with respect for nutrition, and reverence for your body’s unique needs.

In its true form, it’s not a diet by any stretch – it’s the opposite.