10 Principles of Intuitive Eating Series, Principle 3- Make Peace With Food

The 10 Principles of Intuitive Eating were created by Evelyn Tribole, MS, RDN, CEDRD-S, and Elyse Resch, MS, RDN, CEDS-S, Fiaedp, FADA, FAND. These principles were created to act as guidelines and steps for anyone and everyone to learn about intuitive eating and incorporate them into their lives. We will go into the ten principles individually, what they mean to me, what they can mean for you, and how they will help to guide you on your journey through intuitive eating. Throughout this series of blog posts, we will go in-depth on the individual principles. 

Today, we continue with Principle 3: Make Peace With Food.

Making peace with food can be a tall order for those recovering from an eating disorder. This part of intuitive eating can be challenging for anyone who participates in dieting and diet culture. Each principle in Intuitive Eating is not a small step but the whole staircase. Making peace with food is about ending the ongoing battle and calling for a truce. What may be hard for us to grasp is having unconditional permission to eat. Coming from a dieting background, hearing the phrase that you have unconditional permission to eat can be intimidating, even scary. But do not fear this post; my workshop will help you understand more about this principle of intuitive eating. 

First, look at what happens to the body when you do not give yourself unconditional permission to eat. Depriving yourself of something you want will only increase your desire for it. This is true about what diet culture labels ‘forbidden foods’; these foods tended to be our vices when we were dieting. While still dieting, I craved cheesecake, not just any cheesecake, Cheesecake Factory’s Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake. I would tell myself that there was no way that I could eat that cake because it would ruin my diet.

The fact that it was chocolate cheesecake was a giant dieting red flag; it always felt like my downfall. This is because I would deprive myself of being able to eat cheesecake. After all, I told myself I could not eat it; and then I only wanted to eat it more. But through intuitive eating and allowing myself the permission to eat any food, I no longer crave cheesecake. If I want to eat it, I do and I enjoy it. I allow myself to have it when I want it, I have given myself unconditional permission. Cheesecake has lost its novelty because I can have it whenever I want it. As it turns out, I do not have insatiable cravings. I no longer forbid this food.

When we don’t make peace with food, we can fall victim to several negative eating styles. We will discuss Last Supper Eating, Food Competition, Returning Home Syndrome, The Empty Cupboard, Depression Era Eating, Once a Lifetime, and the Anticipation of Food Restriction. If your eating style falls into any of these categories, please do not feel shame or guilt; we have all had to push ourselves out of these mental traps. We will work through these thoughts together in a workshop or one-on-one session!

Negative Eating Styles:

Last Supper Eating is an eating style that is incredibly common and familiar to anyone in the dieting culture. This eating style is exactly how it sounds; the last “good meal” you would have before starting a diet and restricting your intake. Last Supper Eating is code for scheduled binge and overindulging in foods you normally would not gorge on. 

Food Competition is a well-commonly observed style displayed by people who grew up in a large family or with multiple siblings. This is normal because the food provided gets smaller per person eating the meal, feeling as if you have to rush to eat the food in front of you, fearing when your next meal will come. 

Returning Home Syndrome is an eating style displayed by individuals who have been away from their home area, be it as simple as the state or as extreme as the country, for an extended period of time. This will show itself as an individual overindulging in foods native to the home that were unavailable to them while they were away. This can also look like a college student coming home from a regular semester at school or from studying abroad. 

The Empty Cupboard is exactly what it sounds like, not having food available in your home due to scheduling issues for grocery shopping or a financial constraint. In instances of this happening to children, it is the case that the parents do not have the time to buy groceries for the family. Children will gorge on food when it is available because they don’t know when their next meal will be. 

Depression Era Eating, think back to history class when we were learning about the Depression Era. During this period is when the Clean Plate Initiative went into place. This propaganda piece was put into place to save meat, wheat, and sugar for soldiers during World War II. This way of thinking was embedded into the children of that period and passed down to their children.  People will think of food as equivalence to gold and jewels. They would never consider throwing out food because it was once scarce in their childhood. 

Once in a Lifetime eating is more often observed in people traveling to a place they have never visited before. Think of having tea in England or streusel in Germany. These events could trigger a sense of future deprivation in mind and cause the individual to overindulge in whatever rare food is in front of them. A common thought or phrase with this habit is, “I’m never going to have this food ever again in my life.”

One Last Shot is when you have the opportunity to have your grandmother’s cookies for the last time. You would want to horde them even more, just have as much as you like at that moment. 

Anticipation of Food Restriction goes hand in hand with Last Supper Eating. This is because you know that you are about to start another restrictive diet and will not be able to eat the food you want.

Making Peace with Food can be daunting for those of us who have been deeply embedded in dieting culture or are in recovery from an eating disorder. Making peace with food is about ending the ongoing battle and calling for a truce. What may be hard for us to grasp is having unconditional permission to eat. Coming from a dieting background, hearing the phrase that you have unconditional permission to eat can be intimidating, even scary. The process of intuitive eating is a long road; let those closest to you know the path you have chosen for yourself so that they can continue encouraging you on your journey. If you have questions about Intuitive Eating, please message Robin Harris through email, robin@bodypositiveacupuncture.com, to schedule a workshop. Look forward to more posts like these, which will cover the ten principles of Intuitive Eating.