Does vegan intuitive eating exist? How do the two work?
If you self identify as an ethical vegan, but are intrigued by this thing called ‘intuitive eating,’ keep reading!
I’ve read the Intuitive Eating book and have lots of thoughts as an ethical vegan myself! Keep reading for a take on some of the questions you might have about being vegan and an intuitive eater!
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Disclaimer: This article contains information and personal opinions. It is not a substitute for medical or dietary advice. Talk to your doctor about your diet and health questions or concerns. See our Disclaimers for more details.
Regarding the term ‘Ethical Vegan’ -I use this term to denote a individual who practices the vegan philosophy, as defined by the The Vegan Society here.
This article was originally published on 4/7/22. The recent updated date is listed above.
Intuitive Eating 101: What It is, What It isn’t
First things first! Lets define the thing.
Here is the definition of Intuitive Eating, as defined by one of the founders:
“Intuitive Eating is a self-care eating framework, which integrates instinct, emotion, and rational thought and was created by two dietitians, Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch in 1995. Intuitive Eating is a weight-inclusive, evidence-based model with a validated assessment scale and over 100 studies to date.
Source: intuitiveeating.org
It’s a personal and dynamic process, which includes 10 principles:
1. Reject the Diet Mentality
2. Honor Your Hunger
3. Make Peace with Food
4. Challenge the Food Police
5. Respect Your Fullness
6. Discover the Satisfaction Factor
7. Honor Your Feelings Without Using Food
8. Respect Your Body
9. Exercise – Feel the Difference
10. Honor Your Health with Gentle Nutrition.”
This frame work is not a diet, or temporary “fix.”
Furthermore, if your goal is to lose weight, you are probably looking at the wrong thing, as – per the founders, intentional weight loss it not the purpose of this framework (1).
Some individuals lose, some gain, and some stay around their current weight.
And while mindful eating is often thrown around as ‘the same thing…’ they are not!
I couldn’t find a official definition for ‘mindful eating,’ but generally speaking – it tends to focus on the meal experience. For example, limiting distractions, noting the senses as you eat, etc.
In contrast, intuitive eating is a framework that goes beyond just being mindful during meals/snacks.
It also tackles diet culture talk, and incorporates movement you enjoy, and general healthy eating principles to name a few!
To learn the nitty gritty, check out the actual book!
Intuitive Eating: Vegan Friendly or Not?
Intuitive eating can be vegan friendly.
While the book does talk about animal foods, like fish in the nutrition section, we know that fish is not required for a healthy diet!
If you want to learn more about a planning a healthy vegan diet in a fad-free way, check out my super helpful Vegan for Beginners Guide, and my Vegan Grocery Shopping post.
Please take the time to read those (whether you are thinking about intuitive eating or not)! Much nutrition education online includes animals as food (and sometimes centers this). So we really need to make sure we have ‘on point’ education.
And finally, if you have concerns or need help intuitive eating as a vegan, consult a Registered Dietitian! Some are even certified intuitive eating counselors.
You can check out my conversation with one of them on the Plant Powered You podcast (here’s the episode)!
How To Be a Intuitive Eater as a Vegan
Perhaps you read the book and are rearing to go!
Let’s go through the 10 principles and discover if there are any unique considerations that ethical vegans may want to keep in mind.
1. Reject the Diet Mentality
Rejecting the diet mentality means letting go of food rules related to loosing weight as the primary focus.
Since – the core of the ethical vegan philosophy does not focus on these kind of food rules, veganism theoretically shouldn’t get in the way of rejecting the diet mentality.
However, there is a lot of “diet talk” in some plant based spaces. For example, some groups shun certain vegan foods (like oil). In my opinion, completely eliminating oil is unnecessary for most folks (learn more about vegan fats in this article).
Finally, some vegans (and non vegans as well -of course) may have an underlying eating disorder that can make it hard to reject the diet mentality (this is not unique to vegans though).
Those individuals should seek help from a doctor, licensed therapist, and Dietitian well versed in eating disorders.
2. Honor Your Hunger
This principle is about learning how to recognize your hunger. The Intuitive Eating book goes into more detail than we can cover in this article!
For many factors – including a society that largely promotes ‘diet culture’ or, an emphasis on moving or eating to lose weight – many of us are not in tune with (or may mistake) our hunger signals until really late
Anyone else been hangry? 🙋♀️
Since recognizing hunger signals has little to do with the vegan philosophy, I’m not sure of any points to make here that would be unique for ethical vegans.
3. Make Peace With Food
This one might have many vegans wondering what to do!
Making peace with food is described by the book as granting permission to eat any (safely edible for your health) food, and observing how it makes you feel.
Something unique to vegans is that they avoid eating animals.
So foods that our culture deems as ‘acceptable’ doesn’t always sit right for vegans!
I still recoil when I’m I see animal flesh displayed for all to see in grocery stores. Yet, most folks don’t even think twice – because it is a ‘normal’ sight in our culture.
I’ve heard it said before that animal are not even seen as food, and therefore this is not an issue. Instead, making peace with food may be more about vegan foods specifically.
For example diet culture talk may say “eat carrots instead of nuts because the nuts are more calorically dense.”
In this example, a vegan intuitive eater could view this principle as giving themselves permission to eat both foods because they are both nutrient dense and healthy foods (just one example).
4. Challenge The Food Police
This principle is all about recognizing that voice that reinforces diet culture talk and food rules which can hinder your process to eat intuitively.
Again, this voice can occur in both vegans and non vegans!
However, one way in which the food police may be unique for ethical vegans is: having a ‘food rule’ about eating no animal products.
Lets face it – animal products and it’s depravities are so ubiquitous in our society! It’s easy to accidently purchase and consume a product you thought was vegan- but actually wasn’t.
Perhaps part of challenging the vegan food police would be practicing compassion for yourself. No one can be 100% vegan, and it’s not helpful to be anxious all the time.
That’s a major reason why I’m more focused on the vegan journey instead of the the destination.
To learn more, check out this fun podcast conversation I had with a fellow vegan dietitian about Nuance within Veganism!
5. Respect Your Fullness
Many of us might feel so disconnected from our body signals that we don’t know what comfortable fullness is.
Again, the Intuitive Eating book goes over this in detail.
I can’t think of any unique things for ethical vegans specifically to note about this one. Anyone (whether vegan or not) might struggle with this learning and unlearning things associated with this principle.
But it is worth noting that if you are eating plant based recipes full of fiber and protein, you might feel full faster than a less fibrous meal!
6. Discover The Satisfaction Factor
This principle discusses how to find pleasure in the eating experience. It goes over the environment, paying attention to your senses, etc.
I couldn’t think of anything to note here that would be unique to ethical vegans with this principle either.
7. Honor Your Feelings Without Using Food
The title gives this one away! This section goes over identifying your feelings, and discuses ways to deal with them that don’t always involve eating.
Again, both vegans and non-vegans may identify with a habit of emotional eating.
8. Respect Your Body
Anyone can have unrealistic expectations about how their body should look, not just vegans. This principle is about respecting your body for what it can do, and appreciating the parts you like.
Part of this involves letting go of comparisons.
When you think of a “vegan” do you imagine someone who is stick thin? This is an unrealistic stereotype. In reality, vegans come in a variety of body sizes!
You can learn more about this topic in my article: Are Vegans Skinny?
Becoming free from this pigeonholed version of what vegan people look like is a unique step in respecting your own body.
9. Exercise – Feel The Difference
As you may recall, one main focus of intuitive eating is quieting the diet culture talk.
An example of “diet talk” around exercise is only engaging in movement that burns calories for the pursuit of a thin body – (aka: not a healthy mindset)
This principle discuses how to find exercise that you actually enjoy and makes you feel good. This can also be described as “joyful movement.”
The truth is: exercise provides so many benefits!
For me personally: I love how I feel mentally after a run. If running provided no other benefit, I’d still do it! Running is my form of “joyful movement.” What’s yours?
10. Honor Your Health With Gentle Nutrition
Honoring your hunger doesn’t mean you should forget about nutrition! This section of the framework focuses on making nourishing choices free from fad dieting.
While the book may make reference to animal products like lean meat, fish, eggs and dairy, as an ethical vegan, this might not sit well with you.
The good news is that we know a appropriately and well planned vegan diet can be healthy and meet nutrition needs as an adult(2).
Here’s a few tips to consider as a vegan reading through the nutrition section:
- Instead of cheese, consider similar calcium strong foods (like calcium set tofu)and protein rich plant based sources. Since dairy is one of the most common iodine sources, you’ll also want to know about vegan options for iodine.
- Swap milk for calcium rich plant based milks, like pea, or soy milk fortified with calcium.
- Instead of fish, know your high protein vegan sources! Examples include plant based foods like seitan and tempeh. Get adequate omega-3’s through foods like walnuts and ground flaxseeds in the form of ALA (Alpha-linolenic acid). Talk to your doctor if you are interested in taking a DHA supplement.
To learn more, I highly recommend checking out my ‘Vegan For Beginners Guide‘ to learn about nutrition on a vegan diet sans a weight focused obsession.
Vegan Intuitive Eating: In Summary
Veganism and intuitive eating can co-exist! This is because veganism is a philosophy rather than just a way of eating.
Ethical vegans will want to keep these extra things in mind:
- It’s possible for vegan “fun foods” to fit
- Vegans come in all sizes
- It’s important to learn about vegan nutrition. If you need help, talk to a dietitian!
Ready to start your intuitive eating journey? I’d highly recommend reading the Intuitive Eating book. If you need extra guidance, a Dietitian experienced in intuitive eating can help you apply these principles.
Lastly, it’s important to remember that disordered eating can affect both vegans and non vegans. These individuals need professional help. Seek out help from a doctor, therapist, and Registered Dietitian well versed in eating disorders if you or the people who love you are concerned.
I hope you found this article helpful! I’m curious – do you practice intuitive eating or are ya curious about eating intuitively? Don’t head out yet because I’ve got something special for you!
In this episode, I chat with a fellow vegan Registered Dietitian. She also happens to be a Certified Intuitive Eating so she knows her stuff! You can listen or read the transcript here.
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