Sunrise Nutrition Seattle
Services
Intuitive Eating
Intuitive Eating Counseling in Seattle
Are you tired of dieting? Have you tried every fad and new wave trend that comes along, only to give up and end up right back where you started? Maybe you’ve been dieting for so long that you’ve genuinely forgotten what it feels like to eat what you want when you want. Many of us have internalized the longstanding rules of diet culture and don’t know what it is like to experience food freedom.
If diets and restrictions have run your life for far too long, the intuitive eating dietitians at Sunrise Nutrition can help.
What is Intuitive Eating?
According to the National Eating Disorder Association, intuitive eating is a “non-dieting approach to changing your eating habits.” Intuitive eating is not a diet. It is a life-long practice.
It is a way of eating that honors your body's natural hunger cues and allows you to eat what you want when you want, without rules, restrictions, or calorie counting. This practice focuses on eating foods that nourish your body, mind and heart and looking at food positively, not as something “bad.” With intuitive eating, you focus on feeling at peace with food, consistently nourishing your body, boosting your energy levels, and rediscovering the joy of eating.
Practicing intuitive eating can free you from all-consuming dietary trends and help you lead a lifestyle with less food stress and guilt.
Reasons You May Need Intuitive Eating Counseling
Intuitive eating can help you restore a sense of balance with food, combatting the following symptoms and conditions:
Food taking up too much headspace in your mind
Having an unhealthy relationship with food
Chronic dieting
Chronic overeating
Struggling with stability and consistency in eating
Negative body image
Stress, discomfort, or anxiety surrounding food and eating
Fear of certain foods or quantity of foods
Fear of eating in public or with loved ones
Intuitive eating can help you lead a life where you:
Don’t have to count calories
Find joy in eating again
Feel at peace with food, eating, and your body
Trust your gut to know what works for you and your body
Stop feeling guilt or shame about things you eat
Don’t have to skip out on meals with friends and family
Focus on your mental, emotional and physical health instead of your weight or size
What Are the Principles of Intuitive Eating?
Intuitive eating rests on the basis of these ten principles:
Reject diet mentality: Intuitive eating is NOT a diet. Reject the mindset that you should eat a certain way to lose weight and be in a smaller body.
Honor your hunger: Your body knows best. Honor your hunger cues and nourish your body!
Make peace with food: Reject the idea that certain foods are “bad” and certain foods are “good.” With intuitive eating, no food is off-limits.
Challenge the food police: Take issue with the rules diet culture has embedded into our society, and challenge them in your everyday life.
Discover the satisfaction factor: Allow yourself to find pleasure and satisfaction in eating again.
Feel your fullness: Listen to and trust your body's fullness cues.
Cope with your emotions with kindness: Realize that food won’t solve your anxiety, boredom, or intense emotions - it simply acts as a temporary distraction.
Respect your body: All body shapes and sizes deserve respect - including yours.
Movement - feel the difference: Focus on daily exercise to help you feel energized and good in your body - not as a way to lose weight or become smaller.
Honor your health: Choose foods that make your body feel good. But also remember that one meal or snack won’t change your body or health for better or worse.
What To Expect from Intuitive Eating Counseling in Seattle
During your time at Sunrise Nutrition, our dietitians work alongside you to help you develop a sustainable, positive relationship with food, eating, and your body image. We provide a warm, compassionate, and non-judgmental space where you can feel comfortable opening up about your food and body history.
During your intuitive eating counseling session at our Seattle-based practice, you and your dietitian work on the following:
Develop a sustainable relationship with food.
Learn how to listen to your body's natural cues.
Discover what foods make your body feel good.
Rediscover satisfaction with food.
Move away from a diet culture mindset.
Empower you to make your own food decisions and form kind and compassionate practices.
Work to integrate intuitive eating practice into your everyday life.
Start Intuitive Eating Counseling at Sunrise Nutrition
Wondering how to start your intuitive eating journey? Here’s how you can schedule an intuitive eating counseling session with one of our licensed Seattle dietitians:
Complete our Get Started form here.
Our support staff will reach out to you within 24 business hours via email.
You will receive a scheduling link of the clinician that best fits your needs.
You can schedule your first counseling session through your received scheduling link.
Our support staff will follow up with a billing quote and any necessary paperwork.
You will then have a 90-minute initial session with your clinician and work together to develop a comprehensive care plan.
Ready to start your journey?
Intuitive Eating FAQ
-
Intuitive eating is a non dieting approach to eating that focuses on one's internal hunger cues and what feels good for the body. It rests on the idea that no food is “good” or “bad” and that nothing should be restricted.
-
No, intuitive eating is not a diet. It is a highly flexible way of eating that encourages food freedom and a positive relationship with food and exercise.
-
Intuitive eating offers many benefits, such as decreased levels of restrictive or disordered eating, improved body image, self-esteem, and mental health, increased energy levels, and overall, lower amounts of stress surrounding food.
-
No, you do not need to be diagnosed with an eating disorder to seek therapy or counseling services at Sunrise Nutrition. If you are struggling with eating and food in any way, shape, or form, you deserve support and guidance from a licensed professional.
-
There is no clear answer to this! Everyone's body type, genetics, and way of eating are entirely different. Some people experience weight gain or weight loss and some folks don’t experience any change at all. One of the core beliefs of intuitive eating is that it is about how you feel in your body, not the number on the scale.
-
If you need assistance with your intuitive eating journey in Seattle, Washington, reach out to our team at Sunrise Nutrition. We can help you get started and give you all the tools, information, and support you need to incorporate this practice into your everyday life.
-
Yes, at Sunrise Nutrition, we offer safe, HIPAA-compliant intuitive eating online counseling sessions and in-person sessions at our Seattle office. All you need for your online session is an electronic device, secure internet access, and privacy.