St. Martin's Essentials Intuitive Eating, 4Th Edition: A Revolutionary Anti-Diet Approach

The first book about weight/nutrition that’s actually moved me to action…

This book has got to be the best diet book ever written. It has truly changed the way I see food and eat. It's heavy on research and some of that can be glazed over as I find it quite repetitive but the message and tools should be taught to everyone. I'm now teaching this to my children.

An amazing book that changed my life, worked for me….a must read, worth your time 🌈

Intuitive Eating, 4th Edition, by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch is an eye-opening anti-diet book that should be read by anyone that has experienced the stigma that comes with not being healthy based on their size and/or feeling they have to conform to society's standards and wants relief from this burden. Fat does not equate unhealthy and thin isn't the epitome of health. However, this is deemed invalid and impossible because of diet culture, which is infuriating. The validation this book provided (through scientific studies as well as their experiences as nutritionists) was greatly appreciated - I have confirmation that I'm not crazy! :) Just go into it with an open mind. The deeper diet culture has inundated itself in your life/mind, the harder it may be for you to accept the information being given. I read Big Girl by Kelsey Miller in November 2021 that gave me a whole new perspective of Intuitive Eating. She met with a trained nutritionist and, what stuck out to me, was her being asked, would she be okay if she didn't end up losing weight. As things tend to do, this viewpoint came out while talking with my therapist, who recommended that I read Intuitive Eating for a more thorough explanation and to gain tools to help me. I read some of the negative reviews, and, while not intending to invalidate others' experiences, they all scream diet culture to me, missing the point of this book. It's not another diet plan that will help you lose weight, it's a tool to help you reject diet culture, listen to what your body needs, and respect your here and now body. It's also stated more than once if your eating is due to trauma, you'll have to work in tandem with a therapist, which is also missing from reviews. I have been at what is deemed an unhealthy weight for most of my life, but I eat very little processed foods (all of it is organic/non-GMO), everything else is organic, fresh, and homemade from scratch, which I believe is why I have no health issues associated with weight (literally every doctor and dentist I have seen has been shocked or indicated I'm not being honest when I say I don't have high blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, etc. - aligning with what is said in this book: there is no escaping these preconceived notions and fatphobic judgements). My body doesn't feel sluggish (and all the other negative feelings) after eating because of how little processed food I eat. Processed foods aren't degraded in this book, I'm just stating my experience that is contrary to other reviews. I have been inundated with diet culture since I was 7 or so from my family, friends, coworkers, in-laws, and concern trolls. I was bulimic in my teens but stopped after leaving my mom's house at 17. I went on Atkins in the mid 2000s, but any other diet was calories in vs calories out. There was an undefined EDNOS that stayed with me into my early 30s when I was doing in vs out. Whenever I've lost weight (over 100 pounds at one point), I have always gained it back and more, creating that "I'm a failure" feeling, until I said F it all and gradually stopped living that way. Given this, there were times when I couldn't relate to Intuitive Eating because I've never gone on an outrageous diet plan (aside to Atkins), was able to stop my bulimia without a nutritionist or therapist, and have moved away from the dieting mindset for a couple years, but not so much so that I lost interest. Personally, one of the greatest things to come from this book was the explanation that food insecurity, especially as a child, is traumatic and can cause binges, bulimia, and the loss of hunger/fullness cues. All of this is my experience; it's nice to have the explanation as to why. I didn't even know there are cues to hunger before the ravenous feeling! I'm working with my therapist to get all of this back, but had I known earlier... I also like that it gave pointers to help parents teach/continue to support their children's natural hunger cues. Hillary Huber is one of my favorite narrators. She does not disappoint with her reading of this book. It was like a friend was telling me the things the authors were, which was comforting.

I loved this book. I initially listened as an audiobook but felt a physical copy would be beneficial. I found it insightful and helpful as I attempted to navigate my eating disorder on my own due to lack of ability to afford treatment centres. There’s some great reminders and exercises in here. It’s not the typical “intuitive eating” you see on instagram. It’s an evidence based protocol that is presented in a way that makes sense with great and relatable examples. It’s an uncomfortable process when you’re in the throes of an eating disorder but it helped guide me and keep me steady.

Les premières pages sont très lourdes à digérer. Un peu répétitif. Cependant, quand on commence vraiment les explications des principes, c’est vraiment génial.