How To Practice Intuitive Eating With A Medical Condition

I truly believe Intuitive Eating (IE) is for everyone. As we know, what works for one person may not work for another and that is how IE differs from fad diets. IE is individualized because you are your nutrition expert. A common question I get about IE is whether you can be 100% in on IE if you have a medical condition or specific health diagnosis. 

The answer is yes! Questions start to arise when you are someone with a health diagnosis and your doctor starts to tell you about how to manage your health condition with a strict, special diet. Of course you want to listen to this medical professional, but sometimes their knowledge on nutrition lacks. As I said in last week’s blog, dietitians are the nutrition experts. Doctors receive a very small amount of nutrition education in med school. So if you are diagnosed with a specific food related health condition. I recommend finding a dietitian to help you along the way, and hopefully they stand for the Intuitive Eating or Health At Every Size Approach (HAES). 

So how can you truly intuitively eat if you are diagnosed with a medical condition such as renal disease or diabetes? 

If you follow me or other anti-diet dietitians on Instagram, TikTok or Facebook, you probably see us post about ditching diet culture and eating what we want. The misconception is that yes, all foods fit regardless of your unique circumstances. However, if you have a medical condition that requires you to avoid certain foods, that is done so in a form of self-care rather than rigid restriction. This is referred to as gentle nutrition and is the 10th principle of Intuitive Eating. 

Think about it this way. Some doctors may recommend cutting out refined grains for diabetes. Instead, of cutting out the refined grains, I would work with you on increasing whole grains and getting enough carbs throughout the day to help stabilize blood sugars. I have talked about this before, but I am all for adding to your diet or life, rather than subtracting from it. As subtracting can lead to restriction and disordered eating. 

Of course, there are times when rigid diets should be put into place and maintained. If you are allergic to peanuts, please, please do not start to consume peanuts. If you have celiac disease, maintaining a gluten-free diet is important for your health and well-being. Again, this is all rooted in self-care, not restriction. If someone with celiac disease decided to go all in on gluten for a day, I imagine that would feel absolutely terrible following the gluten-full meal. To avoid, being miserable and applying self-care, stay away from gluten. 

So now you may be wondering “Okay, this makes sense, but where do I start?” I’ve got you covered! Here are a few tips on how to intuitively eat with a chronic disease.

Challenge what you’ve learned about nutrition in the past. 

As I mentioned above, a lot of misconceptions flood the nutrition and health field. Many of those misconceptions revolve around foods to avoid for your health. I personally have been told to avoid gluten for the acne on my face. I have also heard someone say they were doing keto and can’t have a broccoli because of the carbs. I could go on and on about these misconceptions and myths but the best thing you can do for yourself is to challenge these myths and work with a professional to determine realistic goals and interventions that can help you. 

Give Yourself Compassion

Through my research and study of Intuitive Eating, I read that the dietitians that created IE once said that if they could add another principle of eating it would be self compassion. How often do health care professional tell you that? Sometimes we need that reminder when we try so hard to improve our health, but don’t see or feel any changes. Think about weight in this instance. How many times do you feel defeated when you go into the doctors office all amped up about how healthy you have been (healthy in the sense of focused on weight loss) and the scale doesn’t show it. In that instance, give yourself compassion! We can address your reasons for pursuing intentional weight loss at another time, but for now give yourself love because you are worthy! 

Food is meant to nourish us and energize us, but there’s another side of food that is often left in the shadows. It’s enjoyment! If in the situation described above, if you focus so much on what you eat to lose weight and then the scale doesn’t budge, we easily lose track of properly treating our medical condition in a self-loving way. So don’t let weight drive your food decisions. Focus on the positive choices with compassion and grace. You are not a bad person for the size of your body of the foods you eat. 

Your Disease Does Not Define You

You are not your disease. You are not just a diabetic or renal patient. You are human! You posses amazing qualities and characteristics that make you, YOU. Removing your disease form your identity can help jumpstart the self-love and compassion that aids in respecting your body.

I hope this blog helped shed some light on how you can intuitively eat with a chronic disease or condition. A lot of times people think IE really is all fairytales and rainbows. They believe it is impossible to eat what you want and love your body, but it is not! Not only can you find food freedom and body love, but you can help treat and manage your health condition all at the same time! That’s the beauty in honoring your health with gentle nutrition. You get to define what they looks like for you. Having a dietitian or professional work with you along side is the best way to get where you want to be.