EXPERTS always advise you to listen to your body, as following its cues can help a lot with deciding how to treat certain conditions. It’s the same concept with intuitive eating, which is an approach to health and nutrition that focuses on listening to your body’s hunger and fullness cues, rather than following strict diets or food rules.

“It emphasises eating when you’re hungry, stopping when you’re full, and enjoying all foods without guilt,” said workout developer Mesha Gaye Wright. “It’s about building a healthy relationship with food based on self-awareness, mindfulness, and satisfaction.”

She said the key principles of intuitive eating involve rejecting the diet mentality, and letting go of the idea that certain foods are “good” or “bad” and that you must restrict your eating to achieve a certain body size or shape.

“With this method you listen to your body’s signals of hunger and respond with nourishing food choices,” she said. “You give yourself unconditional permission to eat all foods without judgement or guilt, challenge the thoughts and beliefs that dictate what you should or shouldn’t eat, and instead focus on what feels satisfying and nourishing to you.”

People on this diet plan pay attention to the sensory experience of eating, and choose foods that bring them pleasure and satisfaction. They tune into their body’s signals of fullness and stop eating when they feel satisfied, rather than overly full.

So is intuitive eating for you?

“It’s not a diet plan in the traditional sense, but rather a philosophy and approach to eating that focuses on listening to your body and trusting its cues,” Wright said.

“While intuitive eating isn’t primarily focused on weight loss, and weight loss isn’t guaranteed, some people may experience weight changes as a result of adopting this approach, as it encourages listening to your body’s hunger and fullness cues, which can help you develop a more balanced approach to eating. By eating when you’re hungry and stopping when you’re satisfied, you may naturally consume fewer calories and avoid overeating, which can contribute to weight loss.”