Intuitive Eating Principle #10 - Honor Your Health with Gentle Nutrition
& The Fruit of the Spirt - Self-Control
Welcome to Week 10 of our Intuitive Eating series!
I can NOT believe we’ve made it this far!
If you’ve been following along since the beginning, thank you for sticking with me. If you’re new here and just happened to stumble across this post on Gentle Nutrition, I really encourage you to go back and read through the rest of the series first.
Why? Because if we skip straight to Gentle Nutrition, we run the risk of turning Intuitive Eating into a new set of rules—or worse, our next diet. Please, please break up with diet culture first and do the work to reconnect with your body before diving into Principle #10: Honor Your Health with Gentle Nutrition. I promise, it will be worth it.
Need to go back? Start here:
I remember the beginning of my own Intuitive Eating journey so vividly. I was desperate for freedom but still so shackled to the world of dieting. I was tired. Mentally and emotionally worn out. I was invested in the work—but if I’m being honest, I was still secretly hoping for a quick fix.
So when I first learned the framework of Intuitive Eating, I kept my eyes on Principle 10 like it was some kind of finish line. I just wanted to land somewhere familiar—where nutrition still had rules, boundaries, and some sense of control. Dieting had trained me to crave that structure. I wanted to be told what to do because I was tired and if I had to figure it out for myself, we were all probably going to be in trouble.
I’m incredibly thankful for the group coaching program I went through and the wisdom of the dietitian who led it. She gently helped me slow down and reign in my angst.
It was grace to learn each principle one-by-one. And when I finally arrived at Gentle Nutrition? I was surprised by how unimpressive it was—in the best possible way.
Each principle of Intuitive Eating leads us back to self-compassion—gently guiding us back to trust, pleasure, and care in our relationship with food. Principle #5, Discover the Satisfaction Factor, is often a turning point. It invites us to ask a question diet culture taught us to ignore: “What sounds good?” It’s about reconnecting with joy in eating and giving ourselves permission to truly enjoy food again.
Now, we’re at Principle #10, Honor Your Health with Gentle Nutrition, which feels like a building block. It doesn’t cancel out satisfaction—it deepens it. Now, instead of only asking “What sounds good?”, we start to include more gentle questions: “What would feel good in my body?” and “What might support my overall health?”
This is not about rules or perfection. It’s about curiosity. It’s noticing how different foods affect your energy, mood, digestion, and fullness. Honoring your health can actually increase satisfaction—not take it away. When food choices taste good and feel good, it creates a deeper, more sustainable kind of nourishment.
When we talk about Gentle Nutrition, it’s helpful to have some basic, flexible guidelines—not hard rules, but rather a starting point for curiosity.
One visual tool you might be familiar with is the MyPlate model. Again, not a rulebook—just a simple way to think about building a balanced meal:
🥦 Vegetables: Aim to fill about a quarter of your plate with a variety of veggies—think colorful and diverse for nutrients and flavor.
🍎 Fruits: Another quarter of your plate can include fruits—fresh, frozen, canned, or dried. Whole fruits offer fiber and lasting energy.
🍞 Grains: Try to make at least half your grains whole grains, like brown rice, oats, or whole-wheat bread.
🍗 Protein: Include lean protein sources—this could be beans, eggs, chicken, tofu, fish, or nuts.
🥛 Dairy (or a dairy alternative): Add a serving of milk, yogurt, cheese, or a fortified plant-based option like soy milk.
Here’s the key: Gentle Nutrition isn’t about getting it “right” every time. It’s not a checklist or a grading system.
Instead, Gentle Nutrition encourages us to ask:
👉 What might my meals be missing that could help me feel more nourished or energized or ________ (fill in the blank with how you want to feel)?
👉 Is there a food group I tend to overlook that I could gently add in more often?
This is nutrition by addition—not restriction or cutting things out. It’s about small, doable shifts we can add to support our health that feel kind and sustainable.
Maybe that’s tossing spinach into your scrambled eggs. Maybe it’s adding chickpeas to your salad or grabbing an apple with peanut butter as a snack. Think less about perfection and more about how you want to feel.
“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”
— 1 Corinthians 10:31
I was diagnosed with gluten sensitivity and lactose intolerance a few years before I started practicing Intuitive Eating. For the most part, I do a pretty good job of limiting my exposure to gluten and dairy, but every now and then I end up with too much cross-contamination or just overdo it with dairy—and I start to feel pretty crummy.
I can usually tell I’ve had too much when I don’t feel well physically. I often experience stomach pain, changes in my bowels, and sometimes migraines. It’s not fun. And honestly, knowing how unwell I’ll feel is often what helps me make the kind and gentle choice to avoid the foods that trigger those symptoms.
Recently, after a particularly long stretch of not feeling well, I decided to give my body a bit of a break with a bland diet for a few days—something simple to help me reset. My husband is a saint and does most of the cooking in our house (the reason behind that is a story for another day). As I was telling him that I wanted to be on a bland diet of boiled chicken, rice, and other easy-on-the-gut foods for a few days, my daughter suddenly panicked:
MOMMY!!!!!!! You’re going on a DIET?!?!? I thought you were doing Intuitive Eating!!??!!???!!! I didn’t think you did DIETING anymore?!???!!
I had to chuckle to myself. I reminded her that the word diet simply refers to the sum total of what we eat in a day. Everyone is on a diet—this wasn’t a new rules-based diet. I wasn’t cutting out food to shrink my body or follow someone else’s plan. I was choosing gentle, bland foods because that’s what my body was asking for. Yes, it was a bland “diet”—but not the kind of diet she was thinking of.
After a few days of listening to my body and increasing my fluids, I started feeling more like myself again. Slowly, I reintroduced more flavor and variety back into my “diet,” and everything returned to normal.
This is one example of how I practice Gentle Nutrition:
I notice how my body is feeling.
I consider what my body needs.
And I make choices to promote how I want to feel.
There's no guilt or shame. Just curiosity, kindness, and gentleness. 🩷
What does Gentle Nutrition look like for you?
Maybe there’s a food group you’ve been avoiding since your dieting days, and it’s time to consider adding it back in. Maybe you realize you’re low on fiber, or protein, or carbohydrates. Maybe your next step is as simple as drinking more water or adding a fruit and/or veggie to every meal.
What is one small thing you could add that would support your overall health?
I love that we’re closing this series by pairing Gentle Nutrition with the Fruit of the Spirit self-control.
When I looked up the original meaning of self-control, I found that the Greek word used in Galatians translates to “temperance”—moderation, restraint, mastery over one’s desires or impulses. How fitting is that? Here we are at the end of the series, talking about nutrition and... moderation. It feels like such a full-circle moment.
We started with “All foods fit.” And now we are reminded “All things in moderation.”
No restriction. No rules. Just soft guidelines to promote whatever helps you to feel your best!
If you’re struggling with moderation, I wonder—are there still old rules or beliefs you’re holding onto from your dieting days? What might you need to keep working through so you can be comfortable with moderation?
I’d love to connect with you. To hear your story. To encourage you in this.
I never thought I’d experience self-control around food. But as I sit here and reflect, I’m overwhelmed with gratitude for the Holy Spirit’s kindness to produce the fruit of self-control in me through my Intuitive Eating journey.
I believe that freedom is for you. And self-control can grow in your life, too—as you continue to break free from Diet Culture and experience the fruit that can grow through Intuitive Eating. If you’re not there yet, don’t give up. Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to grow the fruit of self-control in you as you continue to practice the principles of Intuitive Eating.
Wherever you’re at on this journey, know this: you’re not alone, and I believe in you. The work you’re doing matters—and you are growing good fruit, even if it’s slow. Keep going, friend.
I am praying for perseverance and strength as you journey!
Blessings,
Emily
Intuitive Eating Counselor and Coach at IE with Emily
Looking for extra support? If having a guide on your Intuitive Eating journey sounds helpful, I’d be honored to walk with you. Learn more about Intuitive Eating coaching at www.iewithemily.com.
I love the words associated with IE: gentle, kind, check-in, freedom. ❤️ I am slowly working on gentle nutrition. Thank you for addressing it more in depth.