For those struggling with disordered eating or an eating disorder, embracing intuitive eating and creating a healthy relationship with food while living in Boulder, Colorado can be particularly difficult. Intuitive eating is an anti-diet approach, aimed at helping individuals make peace with food, free themselves from chronic dieting and rediscover the pleasures of eating. It does not impose guidelines on what to eat, what not to eat or when to eat– as traditional diets do– rather it teaches you that you are the best person to make those choices.

According to Gallup-Healthways, Boulder is the thinnest city in America. Additionally, as of 2014, the Wardenburg Centre reported that CU Boulder has nearly three times the national rate of eating disorders on college campuses. Why?

Malia Sperry, PhD, clinical director at La Luna Center in Boulder, said that in Boulder County there is a high emphasis on fitness and diet culture–“The challenge we face in our culture, especially in Boulder, is messages of what we should eat.” It is common to latch onto the newest diet trends–keto, paleo, intermittent fasting, juice cleanses, detox supplements, intuitive fasting–you name it. Additionally, she said over-exercise is a serious issue in Boulder, which ultimately can lead to disordered eating. 

Barbara White, nutrition and body image therapist, and psychotherapist Ellie Krause, agree that Boulder’s climate plays a role in its high number of eating disorders. “We have a climate that attracts elite athletes,” said White. 

Krause also notes there is a lot of attention paid to body type, especially among college students, and this behavior has become normalized in our social groups.

Although males are affected by eating disorders, there is a large disparity between the rates of males and females. According to the National Eating Disorders Collaboration, “eating disorders represent the third most common chronic illness for young females.” Additionally, 70% of adolescent females have body dissatisfaction.

Recently the phrase — normalize normal bodies — has become popular among social media influencers, encouraging body positivity among those who struggle with body dissatisfaction. More often than not, these influencers have struggled with disordered eating or a clinical eating disorder. Now, they are using their platforms to promote the practice of body positivity and intuitive eating.

In 1995, Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch, both registered dieticians and nutrition therapists, published the first edition of “Intuitive Eating.” Today, hundreds of thousands of people have recovered from eating disorders, disordered eating and dieting through this approach of eating.

Oftentimes, dieticians use the analogy of having to go to the bathroom to explain intuitive eating. For example, when your bladder is full, your body sends you the signals that you need to pee. When this happens, we know it is time to go to the bathroom. Once you go pee, your body is satisfied. The same can be applied to eating. 

When you are hungry, your body sends you the signal that it is time to eat. Maybe you feel lightheaded or nauseous or your stomach starts to growl. Once you honor your hunger cues, by eating a good meal, your body is satisfied. Similarly, when you are full, your body sends you the signal that you do not need to keep eating. If you honor that cue, it is likely that you will not experience the feelings of being uncomfortably full. 

Intuitive eating honors three parts of the human brain: the reptilian brain, the limbic brain and the rational brain. 

The reptilian brain, as noted in “Intuitive Eating,” is based on instinct, while the limbic brain is focused on emotion and social behaviors. As Tribole and Resch state, “In the limbic brain, feelings are layered upon the instincts of the reptilian brain.” Next, the rational brain perceives the instincts and feelings from the reptilian and limbic brain. The rational brain then creates our thoughts and language. 

Sperry said intuitive eating is a basic concept but hard to practice. This is because we experience emotions and thoughts around food. All of these reactions lead us to the decision of what to eat, and whether or not we will honor our body’s cues. Will our emotions get in the way of whether we decide to eat or not?

There are many principles of intuitive eating but Krause emphasizes the most important “the first is rejecting diet culture.” 

“The global weight-loss industry market is expected to reach $278.95 billion by 2023,” said Tribole and Resch. Yet, diets fail to work 95% of the time. 

So why do many of us continue to latch on the newest diet trends, then blame ourselves when they do not work?

Sperry said this is because messages from diet culture tell us we actually don’t know how to eat, and to follow a plan that tells us how to eat. She said this can make us distant from our own body’s cues. 

Sperry said, when someone is ignoring their body’s hunger and fullness cues, it is diagnosed as a clinical eating disorder. A clinical eating disorder, such as anorexia or bulimia nervosa can be diagnosed, whereas someone with disordered eating may engage in the behaviors of an eating disorder but to a lesser frequency or level of severity. This might include: restricting food intake, excessive exercise, obsessive calorie counting, labeling foods as good vs. bad and feeling guilt around “bad” foods and equating self-worth to body weight. 

At La Luna Center, Sperry said that part of the recovery process from an eating disorder is to reconnect the body’s cues. 

Because each body is different, White said when working with clients who struggle with eating disorders, treatment needs to be highly individualized to be effective. 

As echoed by Krause, White said that at the beginning of recovery, intuitive eating can be the best approach for some individuals. However, she said when someone is struggling with an eating disorder such as anorexia, that is not the place to start, they often need more structure.

In some cases, individuals with an eating disorder may stop receiving hunger and fullness cues from their body. Sperry said that when you ignore your body’s cues, your body stops sending them. When this occurs, an individual often needs structure. Thus, Sperry said, “we start with three meals and three snacks per day.” White notes, she would take a similar approach.

However, in the long run, Sperry and White agree, intuitive eating must become part of the recovery in disordered eating and normalizing a relationship with food. 

As a CU student, I can personally attest to the toxic diet culture I have experienced while living in Boulder. However, I had been engaging in diet culture for years prior to college. 

At 13 years old, I was told by the artistic director at my ballet studio that I was too big to fit into the costumes, and that I needed to lose 15-to-20 pounds If I wanted to be a dancer. Ever since, I have struggled with body image, body-shaming myself, disordered eating, and normalizing my relationship with food. 

As Sperry said, “Diet culture has fed us that thinness equals health,” and I believed this.

I went on numerous meal plans, calorie-counted, and worked out almost every day. In my mind if I did not burn 500 calories in a workout, I did not work out hard enough.

Ultimately, I believed the numbers on the scale determined my worth; I just wanted to be thinner and leaner. 

Krause, Sperry and White all agree that in order to decrease the rate of eating disorders, we must stop engaging in diet culture. We need to stop the fat-talk, body-shaming and validating people’s weight loss, because a person’s weight does not determine their worth. 

This year, I began practicing intuitive eating and it is transforming my relationship with food. After years of engaging in toxic diet culture, I am learning to find freedom within food, learning to enjoy it, and embracing movement that makes my body feel good. 

If someone you know is struggling with disordered eating or an eating disorder, White said to listen, support and let your loved ones know there is a way to practice healthy living in your body.

To those struggling, listen to your body, remember that food is fuel, no food is illegal and move in ways that make your body feel good. As hard as it may be, please remember, as Sperry said, “There is health at every size.”