Intuitive Eating is a life-changing concept, genuinely. This workbook is amazing, so helpful. I love it.

Thank you for this!
This was a very useful book that I have been reading and re-reading for a couple of months now and made me change a lot of my eating habits.
I am totally recommending it!

I've been working through this book over the past month in conjunction with The Intuitive Eating book and I love the philosophy. I am quite inspired to put all of this into action in my own life, particularly after noticing some changes to my body as I worked through the book. It is a revolutionary approach to food and I think it would be beneficial for many to consider this mindset.

I felt like this was just another self help book. The exercises seemed mostly unnecessary and silly. It boiled down to be kind to yourself and make better choices. Well no kidding, I already know that. I guess I need more help than a book can give me.

THE INTUITIVE EATING WORKBOOK re-presents the 10 principles, as discussed in the author’s prior books on this same subject. The difference is, this book is not meant to just present the principles; rather, it is designed to take the reader into practical action. So, this book is much more of a practical, “hands-on” tutorial with tons of surveys, questions and worksheets.

There is a LOT to consider in this book. It will not be a quick read—especially if the principles are new to you. It takes some time to do the assessments--there are a lot of questions and details.For readers already familiar with the concepts, I think you can just skim the principles, and go right to the worksheets.

Each chapter covers one principle; here are the 10 principles:

Principle One Reject the Diet Mentality
Principle Two Honor Your Hunger
Principle Three Make Peace with Food
Principle Four Challenge the Food Police
Principle Five Feel Your Fullness
Principle Six Discover the Satisfaction Factor
Principle Seven Cope with Your Feelings without Using Food
Principle Eight Respect Your Body
Principle Nine Exercise: Feel the Difference 1
Principle Ten Honor Your Health.

Here’s the key theme of the book: Intuitive Eating means we become more aware, or “attuned” to the message of your body. This is natural: “It is an inner journey of discovery that puts you front and center; you are the expert of your own body.” You rely more on your own natural sensations, and less of outside advice or guidance.

Additionally, we strive to avoid situations and behaviors which distract us from correctly receiving the natural messages from our body. For example, the sensation of hunger is a natural sensation, which should not be dis-regarded until we get to the point of devouring everything in sight.

Evelyn and Elyse emphasizes multiple times that this is not a weight loss program. The idea is to normalize your relationship with eating—not focus on weight: “If you focus on weight loss, that preoccupation will interfere with your ability to make choices based on your intuitive signals, and it will place focus on appearance rather than inner wisdom.”

The authors note several problems with using weight as a key metric of success. In fact, the authors explain, body mass is a poor indicator of health: “There is also a profound body of research— based on millions of people, cumulatively— that shows that weight, especially the body mass index, is not a good indicator of health.” The authors cites scientific studies backing up this claim. Surprisingly, weight loss via diets actually correlates with WORSE health. “Many people are aware that dieting doesn’t work in the long run, but most are surprised to learn that dieting actually increases your risk for gaining even more weight.”

Do not overlook Chapter 2; it surprised me. It has a STUNNING section, “Self-Care and Attunement Disrupters.” This section helps you figure out how you are caring for yourself. For example, in the “Self-Care Assessment Physical,” one ponders really important parts of your life. For example, amount of sleep: “Do I get enough sleep to feel rested and restored when I wake up.” What about regular medical and dental checkups? Do you allow yourself to take time off when ill?

The above examples might sound trite, but I think the authors are right on target. This section can really help a lot of people. I really appreciated the encouraging suggestions in this chapter. For example, do you “identify comforting activities,” “make time to play” and “find things that make me laugh?”

After you complete the “Self-Care Assessment,” you see if there is a pattern in your behavior, and brainstorm strategies to improve your self-care. Here are some ideas for improving self-care: “I will work on consistently getting enough sleep by getting to bed, with lights out, by ten thirty.” On the emotional side, the authors suggest one could “spend thirty minutes relaxing when I get home from work.” Or maybe, “Decline new volunteer projects until I finish my current commitment.” On the spiritual side, one might have a goal of meditating for a few minutes.

So all in all, I found THE INTUITIVE EATING WORKBOOK to be a useful guide to the 10 principles, and a terrific source of questions and worksheets to guide me through the process. The questions are well-designed and clear.

There is a lot to ponder in this book, and the ideas are not trivial. I think most readers will need to spend quite a bit of time thinking through the concepts and taking the assessments. I would have liked to see “bullet points” summaries at the front or back of each chapter giving the main points. It would have made my read easier.

The appendix contains an interesting set of resource material and addresses. For example, one could learn how to become a “Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor.” Honestly, I had no idea there was such a person. Another appendix contains detailed references supporting the author’s scientific claims.

Advance Review Copy courtesy of the publisher.

Evelyn and Elyse define intuitive eating as the process of honouring our health by paying attention to the messages of our body.

As this is a Workbook, the authors advice how it should be used. They explain the 10 principles of intuitive eating and provide practical exercises to show the reader how to eat intuitively.

Out of the 10 principles, my favourite was the 8th principle - “Respect your body”. It encourages the reader to surrender to the body they are meant to have and treat it respectfully.

Rating: 3.5/5

Favourite Quote: “If you have been counting calories for a long time, it’s difficult to stop, because it has become an automatic mental habit. Focusing on calories does not connect you to Intuitive eating. It’s a tool of dieting. Simply willing yourself to stop is not enough to make it go away. However, as you work on becoming and Intuitive Eater, the calorie counting will stop.”

This turned out to not really be what I was looking for. Thank you for the opportunity to review The Intuitive Eating Workbook.

Some very interesting techniques to use to help with eating for reason rather than for comfort or stress. Made me re think many things.

In April, you can expect the release of The Intuitive Eating Workbook by Evelyn Tribole. It is based on the author’s bestselling Intuitive Eating, first published in 1995. The Intuitive Eating Workbook reinforces the principles behind Intuitive Eating, namely how to pay attention to the body’s natural cravings and hunger cues. Are you an emotional eater? Do you eat when you are bored or distracted? This book will attempt to help you reset your relationship with food and achieve (hopefully once and for all) that sought after balance between over consumption and deprivation. (Published in the Napanee Beaver, January 5th, 2017, pgs 6-7)