Intuitive Eating Before and After – What Results Can You Expect?

If you’re starting out on your intuitive eating journey, you might be wondering what to expect. Asking yourself “Is intuitive eating really going to help me?” I want to shed some light on what an intuitive eating before and after may look like for you. 

Now, this may not be the typical before and after you’re used to. This is definitely not a side-by-side photo of body changes. No. This is much deeper than that. I want to paint a lovely picture for you of how you can totally transform your mental health, physical health, and overall well-being with intuitive eating. 

My goal for you is that after reading this article that you’re able to have a glimmer of hope of what’s possible for you on your intuitive eating journey. I want to show you the light at the end of the tunnel; it’s there, even if it may not feel like it right now.

What is Intuitive Eating?

First of all, if you’re new to this whole thing, what is intuitive eating? Intuitive eating is a self-care based eating frameworks that helps you to let go of external rules and return to the inner wisdom of your body. Intuitive eating can help you to improve your relationship with food, your body, and your overall sense of self. The framework is comprised of 10 principles, let’s take a brief look at each of them: 

The 10 Principles 

1. Reject the diet mentality 
2. Honour your hunger 
3. Make peace with food 
4. Challenge the inner food police 
5. Discover the satisfaction factor 
6. Feel your fullness 
7. Cope with your emotions with kindness 
8. Respect your body 
9. Movement – feel the difference
10. Honour your health – gentle nutrition 

Intuitive eating has been researched in hundreds of studies showing its effectiveness in supporting individual’s overall health & well-being. This little snippet image below gives you a lovely overarching overview. In the following before and afters, we’ll be diving into some of the research and also the transformations that my clients see when becoming intuitive eaters. We’re going to cover mental health, physical health, and overall well-being all separately. Let’s dive in!

Intuitive Eating Before and After: Your Mental Health

First up, let’s chat mental health. This is something that diet culture misses the mark on completely. Often the narrative is “oh just eat less, and move your body more, it’s that simple and you can get the body and life you desire.” News flash, that narrative is just not true, and it’s not that simple. 

If you’ve been sold the idea of what you ‘should’ be doing in terms of eating – what to eat, when to eat, what not to eat, etc. from diet culture, your mental health might be suffering because of it. Pursuing something at the expense of your mental health is just not worth it. 

Good news though! Intuitive eating has been shown to improve your mental health in a variety of ways. In how you view and think about food, cope with your emotions, and how you feel as a whole. So let’s look at some mental health intuitive eating before and afters: 

Mental Health Before and After

Before Intuitive Eating	After Intuitive Eating
Feeling anxious around food and worry about your food decisions	Less food-related anxiety and the ability to feel calm around food
Having guilt & shame about eating “bad” or off-limits foods	There are no longer “bad” foods, all foods fit, and you’re able to enjoy the foods you love mindfully without guilt
Using your eating habits as a way to “feel in control” – i.e. tracking, restrictions, rules	You no longer need to use food as a sense of control, you let go of rules, and eat peacefully
Feeling like a failure if you don’t eat “good” or go off of the plan you’re following	You know failing doesn’t exist in intuitive eating, everything is a learning experience, and you’re just eating in-tune with your needs
You’re thinking about food 24/7	You’ve got your brain space back to focus on things that truly matter to you, less preoccupation with food
Beating yourself up for the way your body looks or the size of your body – negative body image	Improved body image, acceptance, and respect. You know that you deserve to live your life fully in your here-and-now body

Intuitive Eating Before and After: Your Physical Health

Often people think that taking an intuitive approach to eating means that they’re giving up all their physical health-related goals. And that couldn’t be further from the truth! The intuitive eating framework is one that truly supports your physical health. It just may be in a way that’s different what you may have learned before.

The typical health and wellness narrative is overpowered by diet culture. The story that is sold to us is one that puts weight loss at the centre of health. I’m here to tell you that approach isn’t working, and hasn’t worked for years. If you think about your own journey – how has focusing on weight loss truly worked out for you in the past? Does it actually work long term?

Your physical health is about so much more than your body’s size. And I’d even argue that you can approach health by leaving weight out of the focus completely. When I work with clients, we aim to redfine what health means to them, let go of the weight-centric health narrative, and learn about the concepts of Health at Every Size. 

Let’s take a look at how intuitive eating can holistically improve your physical health: 

Physical Health Before and After

Before Intuitive Eating	After Intuitive Eating
Feeling disconnected from your bodies cues, unsure how to follow hunger & fullness	In-tune with your hunger & fullness. Eat when you’re hungry and stop when you’re full (*most of the time, no one is perfect)
Binge eating and feeling out of control around your fav foods	Less or no binge eating, you feel in control to have your fav foods when it feels good to you and your body
Worried about your physical health if you let yourself eat all foods and let go of rules	Knowing that working with your body instead of against it is the healthy choices. some cool potential health outcomes of intuitive eaters include: Higher HDL (“good” cholesterol)Lower triglycerides Lower blood pressure
Eating mindlessly and emotionally (when stressed, bored, sad, etc.), feeling like you can’t stop	You feel empowered in your food decisions, you eat mindfully, and know how to cope with your emotions with kindess (instead of automatically reaching for food)
Lost in terms of how to eat in order to feel your best	Confident in created balanced, nourishing, and enjoyable meals and snacks that give you energy and satisfaction
You view exercise as a form of “punishment” or just another rule you have to follow, you feel guilty for not being “better” about exercising	You found enjoyable ways to move your body that work for you and your life, you have a positive relationship with movement that makes you feel your best
In your mind the only way to be “healthy” is to lose weight	You know that weight does not equal health, and realize that you can be healthy even if your body has changed

Intuitive Eating Before and After: Your Overall Well-Being

And last but not least, the thing I love the most about intuitive eating is that it can improve your overall well-being & life as a whole. It’s not just about the food. It’s about so much more than the food. It’s about getting your life back and feeling more like you again! 

My philosophy is that the struggles you have with food are a hard shell that has grown over time from all the diet culture influences all around us. Underneath that hard shell is your authentic self (soul, higher self, whatever you want to call it!). And the work we do together with intuitive eating allows you to not only feel better about food, but re-connect with your authentic self by removing that shell. 

Let’s take a look at some intuitive eating before and afters of what happens to your overall well-being when you break that shell open: 

Overall Well-Being Before and After

Before Intuitive Eating	After Intuitive Eating
Lacking confidence in taking care of your health with your eating habits	You have a new found sense of confidence in your eating habits and yourself that spills over into other areas of your life too
Strugglng with taking care of yourself, your emotions, and your needs	You’re able to care for yourself from a place of self-compassion by using more positive coping skills
You feel stuck and like you’re going to struggle with these problems with food forever	Once you embrace intuitive eating, you have an increased sense of optimism and are hopeful for what the future holds
Brain space and thoughts being taken up by stressing over or thinking about food	Getting your brain space back allows you to focus more on what matters to you in your life (big dreams, family, hobbies, etc.)
These struggles with food are a dark gloomy cloud that’s putting a shadow over the rest of your life, stopping you from living fully	Your overall life satisfaction is higher, you let go of the food struggles, and feel a new sense of being able to live your life authentically

What to Expect on an Intuitive Eating Journey

Know that your journey will take time. There’s no timeline on your relationship with food healing. Actually, there isn’t really an ‘end destination’ when it comes to an intuitive eating journey. With dieting and diet culture, we’re used to 30-day programs, weight loss goals, calorie goals to hit, etc. With intuitive eating you’re learning life long skills that will support you to improve your relationship with food now, but also feel confident with food for the rest of your life. 

You can expect to get really angry, and quite frankly pissed off, at diet culture. Its common to go through a phase of anger towards all the years you spent pursuing weight loss and dieting related goals. Because now you see the truth about it all, you can’t unsee it. You’ll then likely get to a point of sheer determination of “something needs to change.” And if you’re here reading this, you likely know that intuitive eating is the breath of fresh air you’ve needed.

The Messy Middle 

Once someone starts this journey, it can easily start out with some free-for-all “omg I haven’t been ‘allowed’ to eat these foods for YEARS, I need to get them all in now” eating. This is a rebound effect from all the years you spent restricting and forbidding foods. And is quite frankly, pretty normal. However, what doesn’t feel good is when this phase leads you to feeling even more out of control around food. 

I support my clients in getting through this ‘messy middle’ of making peace with all foods, but also not going into ‘F it’ or ‘free-for-all’ eating mode. It can feel like a tricky phase of the intuitive eating journey, but know that you’re not alone. This can be one of the reasons to reach out for intuitive eating support & guidance. 

Becoming an Intuitive Eater

Somewhere along the way, you’ll realize you don’t feel stressed about food anymore. You’ll have forgotten about the ice cream in the freezer for the first time ever. You’ll feel naturally in-tune with your body’s hunger and fullness. You’ll just be at peace when it comes to eating. 

These shifts don’t happen overnight, it takes time. These shifts will also subtly shift right before your eyes without you realizing it since its more feelings-based than looking at a number on the scale. Overall, becoming an ‘intuitive eater’ isn’t an end goal, it’s embodying these skills that support you to live your life fully without the stress of food. 

Is Intuitive Eating Right for You? 

If after reading all the above before and afters you’re thinking to yourself, “wow that sounds like me, I really would love these kinds of transformations,” I’d say that intuitive eating is totally for you! In fact, I believe that intuitive eating is for everyone.

We’re all born as intuitive eaters. If there wasn’t such thing as diet culture, intuitive eating would just be “eating.” If you think about babies, they innately know when they’re hungry and when they’re full. They have a strong inner knowing and sense of how to self regulate around food and nourishment. But what happens over time is that as we grow up we’re bombarded with rules and “shoulds” about food. These rules then disconnect us from our inner intuitive eating wisdom.

If you’re someone that’s hoping to feel more confident in your eating experiences, intuitive eating is totally for you. 

Note: There are some circumstances when intuitive eating might not be the best or only approach that you need (i.e. newly diagnosed eating disorders, health conditions requiring intensive treatment, certain nutrient deficiencies, etc.) Please consult with your health care provider or registered dietitian before making any health, nutrition, or lifestyle changes.  

Get Started on Your Journey

You might be thinking, “Okay this all sounds great, but how do I get started with intuitive eating?” I’ve got some wonderful resources to support you in getting started:

Intuitive Eating 101 Podcast Episode 

In this episode of the Intuitively You Podcast, I outline the 10 principles of Intuitive Eating so you can understand what it’s all about and how it could potentially fit into your life. We’ll dive into the many benefits to your physical health, mental health, and overall well-being. Listen to the episode here. 

Free Guide: Cast Your Food Freedom Vision

The ‘secret’ to making lasting change in your relationship with food is shifting your deep rooted beliefs & mindset. Download this free worksheet to get empowered by the version of you who embodies food freedom. It’s time to start stepping into that version of you, now. 

Get Support 

Learn more about our intuitive eating coaching programs at The Intuitive Nutritionist designed to help you overcome binge eating & emotional eating so you can embody your version of food freedom.

Overall, I’m over here cheering you on no matter how you go about your journey. I’m wishing you the best of luck with your own beautiful intuitive eating ‘before and after’ that leave you feeling more and more like your authentic self!

Research 

Babbott, K. M., Cavadino, A., Brenton-Peters, J., Consedine, N. S., & Roberts, M. (2023). Outcomes of intuitive eating interventions: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Eating disorders, 31(1), 33–63. https://doi.org/10.1080/10640266.2022.2030124

Hazzard, V. M., Telke, S. E., Simone, M., Anderson, L. M., Larson, N. I., & Neumark-Sztainer, D. (2021). Intuitive eating longitudinally predicts better psychological health and lower use of disordered eating behaviors: findings from EAT 2010-2018. Eating and weight disorders : EWD, 26(1), 287–294. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-020-00852-4

Van Dyke, N., & Drinkwater, E. J. (2014). Relationships between intuitive eating and health indicators: literature review. Public health nutrition, 17(8), 1757–1766. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980013002139

Warren, J. M., Smith, N., & Ashwell, M. (2017). A structured literature review on the role of mindfulness, mindful eating and intuitive eating in changing eating behaviours: effectiveness and associated potential mechanisms. Nutrition research reviews, 30(2), 272–283. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954422417000154

+ many more intuitive eating focused studies can be found at: intuitiveeating.org/resources/studies