Intuitive Eating was originally published in 1995. Over the years, thousands of people have read this book. While reading it, they have had a sense, at a gut level, of “getting it.” We’ve gotten many letters and e-mails saying, “you’re writing about me,” or “how did you know I felt this way,” or “finally someone gets it.” Just as so many have “gotten it”—there are others who have asked what Intuitive Eating really means. Are we just driven by instinct? 

Do we just “know” what and how much and when to eat? In introducing this third edition, we’d like to take this opportunity to be as clear as we can in answering the question of what Intuitive Eating really is. Knowing a bit about the human brain can help to understand why we’re born with all the wisdom we need to be Intuitive Eaters. It can also help us to see how we’re able to live an Intuitive Eating life, even while being bombarded by the unending choices of natural and refined foods available to us every day—and the relentless diet messages that abound. Humans are privileged to experience a dynamic interplay of instinct, emotion, and thought, which work together to orchestrate life, and are mediated by the brain. Psychiatrist and mindfulness expert, Daniel Siegel, M.D., calls this process “Mindsight.” There are three regions of the brain responsible for this powerful integration. 

The first region is called the reptilian brain, because when the early reptiles roamed the earth, they acted and responded exclusively by instinct. They didn’t rationalize or feel—they simply just went for it. As life evolved, another level of brain function developed, called the limbic brain, which mammals also possess. Emotions and social behaviors originate here. In the limbic brain, feelings are layered upon the instincts of the reptilian brain. The instincts originating from the reptilian brain are sent to the limbic brain, which serve to expand the awareness (Levine 1997). Eventually, the third key region of the brain evolved, called the rational brain, or the neocortex. The rational brain integrates instincts and feelings from the other two brain regions. The rational brain does not control instincts—instead, it perceives the instinctual and feeling parts of our beings and reflects upon them. The rational brain creates thoughts and language.

 Intuitive Eating embraces all three parts of the human brain. In infancy and toddlerhood, eating is mostly instinctual. As we grow older, thoughts and feelings often play a part in our decisions about eating. As we often tell our clients, our bodies are not just composed of the tongue and the stomach, but also the mind. We have often heard someone say, “I thought that as an Intuitive Eater, I could eat whatever I wanted. So, now I eat whatever I want and as much as I want, whenever I feel like it!” This comment actually distorts the premise of Intuitive Eating. Yes, make peace with food, and eat what pleases your palate. Yes, give yourself the freedom to eat unconditionally, and eat as much as you need to satisfy your body. But, eating whenever you feel like it, without regard to hunger and fullness, might not be a very satisfying experience and might also cause physical discomfort. Attunement with your body’s satiety cues is an important part of this process.