Intuitive eating is defined as listening to your body and eating what feels right to you. No food is off limits; you eat when you are hungry and stop when you feel full. It's beautiful in its simplicity and it make sense. Yet despite earnest efforts, I couldn't make it work for me.
Sugar is addictive. Fat is delicious. Salt makes everything better. Combine all three, and my brain lights up like a Christmas tree. My intuition didn't stand a chance. I spent years trying to find the right formula of exercise, portion control, macros, etc. Peace came only when I accepted that me and ice cream could not cohabitate.
Left to her own devices, would a human intuitively choose broccoli over bread? More importantly, is this even a relevant question or a reasonable standard? We live in a world where food is easily accessible, relatively inexpensive, and highly palatable. Humans are wired for survival, drawn to calorie-dense foods. It might be possible to eat a vegetable to satiety, but I wouldn't say same for peanut butter.
For me, there is a hierarchy of food choices and I make the vast majority of my decisions based on what is best for my health, not my intuition or my palate. The good news is that I do now crave the healthy foods I choose to eat: I find vegetables enjoyable and satisfying, and I minimize fatty, sugary, salty foods because I no longer tolerate them well. There is growing evidence to suggest that this is result of the flora in your microbiome. Perhaps the definition of intuitive eating needs an update: feed your gut the proper nutrients, and your gut will ask for more.
While intuitive eating may be possible in certain contexts, I think it overlooks the present day realities of our food systems, food processing, and culinary exploits. Eating for health continues to be my guiding principle, and the results are a healthy body, mind, and spirit.
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