Is Intuitive Eating A Practice or Privilege?

A hashtag search for “intuitive eating” or “food freedom” depicts Pinterest-worthy breakfast bowls, luscious snack bags, and plates filled with what seems to be a perfect balance between colorful produce and decadent dessert. But the ability to freely eat your favorite foods in a way that for some, looks effortless, can arguably feel anything but effortless.

From this perspective, “food freedom” and the “anti-diet” or “non-diet” approach (all of which often represent Intuitive Eating on social media) do seem like a lifestyle upheld for those privileged with secure access to not just a variety of foods, but also to foods that are culturally enjoyed.

Why does Intuitive Eating (AKA “Anti-Diet” or “Food Freedom”) feel like a privileged lifestyle?

For many, easy access to food, let alone food deemed *healthy* by white-washed standards of diet culture, is just not the reality. In the United States alone, more than 38 million people, including 12 million children, experience food insecurity. Food insecurity is defined as the “lack of consistent access to enough food for every person in a household to live an active, healthy life.” Limited access to food results from a multitude of reasons:

1. Financial constraints from skyrocketing rates of unemployment.
2. Environmental constraints, with more than 23.5 million people in the U.S. living in food deserts, which as defined by the USDA, are low-income areas where the majority of residents do not have easy access to a supermarket or large grocery store.
3. Marginalization, with food insecurity being exponentially magnified in marginalized communities where, in comparison to predominantly white communities, rates of hunger, poverty, and unemployment are much higher.
4. Weight stigma has adverse health consequences at the population level.
5. Disability, as those who live with a disability face higher rates of employment discrimination, higher medical costs, and experience greater difficulty with performing activities of daily living.
6. Chronic medical conditions make it challenging for one to support their basic human needs by simply “listening to hunger and fullness cues.”
7. Autism, for some, can make it difficult to rely on the body’s cues for communicating hunger and fullness.
8. Busy and overworked schedules.

So, when intuitive eating, as a lifestyle, is defined by extrapolated priorities of listening to and honoring hunger, fullness, and satisfaction cues, then yes, it does seem like a privileged lifestyle. The ability to walk (or drive) to your local bakery for freshly baked cookies when cravings hit is a privilege.

But this definition of intuitive eating is largely oversimplified.

Language matters. 

There’s a misconception about what it means to be “anti-diet” and in support of “food freedom.” “Anti-diet” does not mean anti-health nor does it mean anti-dieter (against someone who desires dieting or weight loss). Anti-diet is also not anti-nutrition nor anti-weight loss (though, I’ll share facts about why dieting and fatphobia are derailing you from your goals… a topic I discuss here). In fact, I firmly believe that “food freedom” does NOT ignore nutrition (a myth I debunk here). Anti-diet means anti-diet culture. As an anti-diet dietitian, I practice and teach dancers how to NOT subscribe to diet culture – a system of beliefs that are rooted in elitism, racism, and systemic oppression. 

Intuitive Eating As An Inclusive Approach

We’re all born with the skill of knowing when our bodies need energy replenishment. At some point between childhood and adulthood, diet culture impedes these abilities, and wrongful messaging around what’s “right” and what’s “wrong” for say, “health” infiltrates our ability to fuel. As mentioned in this article, intuitive eaters rebuild trust from within, rather than relying on external food rules, calorie counts, and rigid meal plans. 

While listening to satiety cues and discovering satisfaction are both aspects of intuitive eating, they’re not the entirety. This is what deciphers Intuitive Eating from techniques like Mindful Eating and The Hunger/Fullness Diet. Elyse Reich, the co-author of Intuitive Eating spoke about how to navigate socioeconomic disparities as an intuitive eater and says the actual privilege “lies in one’s ability to prioritize pleasure and satisfaction in food.”

First, intuitive eaters prioritize their body’s need for calories as nourishment. In comparison to diet culture’s glorification of some foods (most often “clean,” “whole” foods) and demonization of other foods (most often “processed” foods), intuitive eaters view food through a neutral lens. Through food neutrality, we can reduce the shame and guilt often associated with foods that may be more accessible.

The privilege is when we can prioritize satisfaction. But regardless of socioeconomic status, race, sex, religion, body size, or physical ability (or disability), it’s your birthright to move through this world free from the shame, guilt, and anxiety that is set forth by diet culture.

Intuitive eating can be a helpful tool on anyone’s journey to healing from a culture that wrongfully stigmatizes certain foods and body types. The privilege is when we can prioritize satisfaction. But regardless of socioeconomic status, race, sex, religion, body size, or physical ability (or disability), it’s your birthright to move through this world free from the shame, guilt, and anxiety that is set forth by diet culture. Here are a few articles that help to dismantle the harmful beliefs set forth by diet culture:

1. Dismantle the stigma against processed foods.
2. Demolish clean eating lifestyles.
3. Aim for food neutrality.
4. Why “eat in moderation” is harmful advice.

And last, everyone deserves equal access to support their needs in life. For those who are able, to give back to communities that need assistance is critical. Also, resources are available for marginalized groups who are looking to learn more about Intuitive Eating and a non-diet lifestyle. Here are some of my favorites:

1. Rebekah Taussig (she/her) is a writer, teacher, and disability rights advocate who educates about the many ways in which diet culture affects people with disabled bodies. Learn more about Rebekah’s work here.
2. Dr. Kera Nyemb-Diop (she/her) is a non-diet nutritionist who teaches us how to challenge cultural appropriation and dismantle the racist origins of diet culture. Follow Kera here and check out her program, Decolonize Your Plate™.
3. Vincci Tsui (she/her) is a certified intuitive eating counselor and body-liberation advocate and author of The Mindful Eating Workbook: Simple Practices for Nurturing a Positive Relationship with Food.
4. Dalino Soto (she/her) is a registered dietitian and body-positive health advocate who specializes in dismantling the harmful impact of diet culture experienced by Latina women. You can access more from Dalino here.
5. Blair Imani (she/her/hers) is an author who educates us about how to approach discussions of race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, class, and more in an informed, compassionate, and socially conscious way. I highly recommend Blair’s book, which you can purchase here.