Imagine being in line to pick up a pumpkin spice latte and seeing a message from your doctor’s office that your labs have improved from last time. 

No, it’s not a fantasy. With a few changes, it is possible for you to improve your health while eating the foods you love (and the ones that diet culture calls “bad” and “unhealthy.”) 

Now, let’s be clear: this doesn’t mean you should eat these foods all day, every day. There’s a lot of chatter online that says intuitive eating means eating whatever you want whenever you want. That couldn’t be further from the truth. 

Let’s break down the 5 things I tell my clients who want to improve their health while doing intuitive eating. The best part is when you do all these things consistently, you can enjoy bagels, pasta, and ice cream…all while watching your health improve. 

Delete the food tracking app from your phone 

MyFitnessPal, Cronometer, Lose It!. Whatever one you have (or a different one) on your phone, delete it now. It’s messing with your head and disconnecting you from your body. That interferes with your ability to listen and trust your body’s cues.

Why should you take a break from logging your food?

– It’s not helping you sustain healthy eating habits.
– It’s messing with the stories in your head about what you’re allowed to eat, whether it was a “good” food. 
– It turns you away from your body’s hunger and fullness signals.

As a dietitian, I occasionally have people track their food – but with a purpose. Normally, we’re looking for hunger/fullness signals, digestion, things like that. But if you’re not working closely with a dietitian to track something specific, I encourage you to delete that app from your phone. 

Eat breakfast within about an hour of waking up

Let’s be clear: there’s nothing magical about the one-hour mark. This is just to get you into the habit of eating breakfast regularly or you’re having a banana and calling it breakfast. It also gets your metabolism and digestive system “fired up” for the day with some fuel. 

That’s why this is one of the first things I teach inside Non-Diet Academy. We’ve got to get your metabolism repaired from the damage dieting has done and get your digestive system working properly. It’ll also get you more connected to your — you guessed it — your hunger and fullness cues, which will help you eat more intuitively. 

Make sure your breakfast contains a decent amount of protein (aim for 20-30 grams). That doesn’t mean don’t have carbs, but have a real breakfast. Think:

– Oatmeal
– Eggs and toast
– A breakfast sandwich

I challenge you to try this every day for two weeks, even if you aren’t hungry in the morning or need your coffee first. What happens is within those first two weeks, you’ll start waking up hungry if you do it consistently. You’re retraining your body and circadian rhythm to expect food first thing and show your body there’s food available instead of staying metabolically repressed.

Eat every 3-4 hours during the day

Whether it’s a meal or a snack, make sure to eat something every three to four hours during the day. This will keep you from getting ravenously hungry and then overeating in turn. 

Eating on purpose in regular intervals on purpose (not grazing) will help make your hunger and fullness signals more reliable. It doesn’t need to be a hard and fast rule, but if it’s been more than four hours since you ate, have a small meal to help your body trust fuel is readily available. 

Combine carb, protein, fat, and fiber at your meals

This mix-and-match strategy (I call it my have your cake and eat it too method) combines carbohydrate, protein, fat, and fiber at all your meals. When you incorporate your macronutrients (carb and protein) and add in some fiber and fat, you’ll get a meal combo that’s satisfying and gives you all the nutrients. 

Plus, you get to pick which foods you want to use as a source for each category. Maybe it’s adding some sour cream on your tacos, adding fiber and protein with some potato chips (carb and fat.)

Bonus tip: One of my favorite ways to add fiber to a meal is to throw in a fruit or veggie. It brings in color, fiber, and some extra nutrients on the side. 

This strategy isn’t about restricting foods. It’s about realizing what category they fall into and adding in the other pieces to create a satisfying meal. Plus, it will balance your blood sugar, support healthy cholesterol, and allow you to eat the foods you love while being intentional about nutrition. 

Train your brain to think of food as carb, protein, and fat 

We’ve talked before about the issues with training your brain to think of foods as good or bad. But thinking of food as carb, protein, and fat will help you figure out what fiber you need to add for a balanced meal.

Here’s what I mean: Instead of thinking of a bagel with cream cheese as “bad” or “too many carbs”, which can make you feel guilty, break it down like this: 

– Bagel = carb
– Cream cheese = fat

So then you need some protein (think greek yogurt) and fiber (berries) for a balanced meal. 

How these steps improve your health

When you do these things consistently, you not only break free of the dieting rollercoaster, but you may even see your A1c, cholesterol, BP, or IBS improve. Getting rid of diet culture’s narrative can help you start to listen to your body, including your body’s medical feedback (like lab results) which guide you towards what your body truly needs. 

Combined with the right strategies that allow intuitive eating to work for you and shifting how you think about food (from allowing food to hold power over you to no longer obsessing about it) allow you to see that you don’t have to restrict and control your food in order to be healthy. 

In case nobody has told you today, you are worthy just as you are.

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Looking for more support on your journey to food freedom and body acceptance?

– Check out my course, Non-Diet Academy
– Join my Facebook group & community “Intuitive Eating Made Easy”
– Take my FREE quiz “What’s Your Unique Path to Food Freedom?”
– Save $120 on HelloFresh, my fav food delivery service!