Tune in to your cues. How hungry are you? What do you want to eat? How or where do you want to eat?  Check in with yourself before you pick up lunch in the cafeteria or hit up the vending machine. While you’re eating, be attentive to when your body becomes satisfied. No matter how good that froyo is, too much just makes you feel sick.

Three ways to build body awareness

1. Hear what your body is telling you

Once you’ve determined that you’re actually hungry, focus on what your body is telling you, says Lauren Fowler, RD, a nutritionist with expertise in eating disorders. If you can’t stop thinking about a bowl of pasta after track practice, it’s probably because your body needs carbs. Eating mindfully suggests you’re better off reaching for the rigatoni than trying to get by on a simple salad.

2. Check in with yourself every few hours

“You can work on this by checking in with your body every few hours to prioritize nourishment,” says Fowler. “You’ll find that you may be able to focus better, have more energy, and feel better throughout the day with consistent fuel.” To get into the habit of consistent check-ins, consider setting up an alert on your laptop or phone.

3. As you eat, focus on fullness

“A very small percentage of people have the full time and attention to eat a pea and say, ‘Am I full yet?’” says Dr. Brian Wansink, author of Slim by Design: Mindless Eating Solutions for Everyday Life (William Morrow, 2014), and director of the Food and Brand Lab at Cornell University, New York. Pay attention to portion sizes up front, and check in with yourself to see if your body wants seconds or if you’re actually full.

Student perspectives

“The college environment isn’t good for weight management. Students are pressed for time with studying, and fast food is both convenient and tastes good, which satisfies one temporarily.” 
—Fourth-year undergraduate, Temple University, Pennsylvania

“[Intuitive eating has helped me] listen to my body when it tells me I am no longer hungry instead of stuffing myself because the food is too good.”
—Fourth-year undergraduate, State University of New York at Oswego

Eating mindfully is about enjoying your food. If you’ve been thinking about treating yourself to a post-exam cupcake or slice of pizza, go for it. Cherish that mouthfeel. Equally, relish the kale chips and salad.

How to put the fun back into food

Enjoy everything, not just the treats

This goes both ways. Kale chips? Don’t just crunch them down and give yourself a pat on the back. Instead, savor the healthy food you’re eating and the feeling of satisfaction. “I like to look at how can you get the most satisfaction out of eating,” says Elyse Resch, MS, RD, a nutritionist who co-created Intuitive Eating—a specific program and brand. “I begin with satisfaction because, to me, that’s the driving force of Intuitive Eating. It has an impact on all your meals.”

Choose higher-quality foods if available

This isn’t always an option, of course. Budget is a major consideration for most of us. That said, if you love the cupcakes your roommate’s mom makes, don’t spoil your appetite with the subpar version from the café. “When you realize all food is fair game, why waste your time on anything that’s going to be inferior? As the intuitive eater emerges, you start going for better foods,” Resch says.

Student perspective

“[Eating consciously] allows me to really enjoy my food and ensure that I eat enough without eating too much. It helps me listen to the signals my body is sending me. I feel at peace when I’m able to live right in the moment and enjoy my experience to its fullest.”
—Fifth-year undergraduate student, Ball State University, Indiana

Eating intuitively is not about “good” or “bad” foods. If you’re truly listening to your instincts, giving your body what it needs is something you do naturally, proponents of mindful eating say. Making peace with a slice of cake and striving to make healthy choices are not mutually exclusive.

Here’s why you don’t need those old rules

All foods are available

Guess what? You’re allowed to eat those Instagram-worthy desserts. You get to move away from self-denial and punishment. “Valuing yourself, and being gentle and compassionate with yourself, are keys to success,” says Dr. Marc Weigensberg of the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine.

Think of foods as emotionally equivalent

It’s OK to find the happy feels in a bowl of ice cream—and also in a crunchy carrot. “All foods should be emotionally equivalent. That doesn’t mean they’re nutritionally equivalent, but you should be able to feel that you can look for the same pleasure and satisfaction out of any food without judging it,” says Resch. Eating intuitively means you’re not beating yourself up when you indulge.

Student perspective

“I’ve never felt better. Even on my so-called ‘cheat days,’ I am conscious and aware and still have very little regret afterwards. I have lost about 15 pounds because I am simply following my body’s needs and listening to what my body tells me. I’ve never felt better about myself.”
—Second-year undergraduate, Utah State University

Intuitive eating is about forming a better relationship between your body and what’s on your plate. It means letting go of goals that emphasize counting calories and dropping pounds, and finding the joy in food and your own self.

Make this about feeling good now and in the future

Focus on looking after yourself and feeling good

Always think health. “Rather than jumping on the latest fad diet, obsessing about a number on the scale, or worrying about the size of pants you wear, it’s helpful to instead focus your energy on healthy behaviors that you can engage in, regardless of body weight, and try to make these a regular part of your lifestyle,” says Dr. Rebecca Puhl, deputy director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity at the University of Connecticut. When we diet, our intuitive wires get crossed, suggests a 2013 study in Eating Behaviors. Dieting participants in the study actually associated eating with satisfying an emotional need more strongly than with satisfying their hunger.

Think about the immediate benefits and be happy about long-term ones

Immediate benefits are more motivating than distant ones, so think about the ways that eating affects your feelings of pleasure, satisfaction, and self-care in the short term. Eating intuitively also sets us up for ongoing health and well-being, including long-term weight management, according to a 2016 study in JMIR Research Protocols. Participants who practiced eating intuitively experienced improved eating behaviors and more positive mental health, and they were still on track when researchers followed up three months later.

Student perspective

“[People criticizing my weight] made me more depressed and less motivated to make myself healthier. I ended up just eating more unhealthy food.”
—Fourth-year undergraduate, Temple University, Pennsylvania

“[Eating consciously] has helped me with portion size and making better choices in general. I don’t notice any difference on the outside yet, but I definitely feel different.”
—Third-year undergraduate, University of Hawaii at Manoa

As scary as it sounds, try totally disconnecting while you eat. No Instagram, no texting, no binge-watching Stranger Things. Paying attention to what you’re eating is the whole point.

Why focus makes food so much better

Focus on your food

Intuitive eating is all about getting maximum pleasure from your meals. At the very least, that means remembering you ate them. When we’re distracted, we eat more, and we continue to eat more through the day, according to a 2013 review of studies in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Researchers think that’s because we literally forget what we nommed down earlier in the day.

Beat the binge

Serve your food on a dish and make a point of enjoying each mouthful. Distracted munching can lead to accidental binge-snacking. That’s when you plonk yourself down with a bag of chips in front of the TV, and suddenly the bag is empty. In a 2012 study in Health Psychology, when there was no visual guide to portion sizes, students ate 50 percent more chips than than students who were cued into portion size through combinations of different-colored chips.

Get more enjoyment out of eating

Are you noticing how these steps reinforce each other? “When one is present while eating, that is a much more satisfying experience than being distracted while you’re putting the food in your mouth,” says Resch. “And let’s be honest, that fourth piece of pizza never tastes as good as that first piece of pizza.”

Reap the calorie benefits

Eating while distracted results in increased calorie intake, a 2013 study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests. Again, eating intuitively isn’t directly about weight management—but for some that’s a side effect, because mindful eating can help us let go of attitudes and approaches that weren’t helpful.

Student perspective

“Mindful eating helps me maintain my weight. [It] also helps me stop binge snacking. By eating more nutrient-rich food I have way more energy than usual.” 
—Third-year undergraduate, University of California, Davis

Once you’re cuing into your instincts, it gets easier to stick up for them—even when Mom sends a care package full of treats, or your friends want to split a second pizza when you’re already stuffed.

Why it’s OK to honor your values

Stick up for yourself

Setting boundaries is not only OK, it’s part of the process. If someone is pressing food on you, you always have the option to say “No thanks.” You don’t need to explain. But if you feel awkward, or are concerned about seeming high-maintenance, offer to take some home for later. “A major portion of Intuitive Eating is to realize that you have a right to have your needs met, and that includes speaking up,” says Resch.

Honor the social aspects of eating in ways that work for you

That said, part of the pleasure of food is social. Eating intuitively can be helpful when your baby cousin offers you a cookie he baked himself, or your professor makes a big-deal dish for the holiday celebration. With no food rules, you can do what feels right—which may be a full serving, a taste, or “Not for me, thanks.”

Student perspective

“I find intuitive eating works well if you are strictly adhering to eating that way. However, once out with friends, out to dinner, etc., it becomes difficult to follow.” 
—Fourth-year graduate student, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Newfoundland and Labrador

“For me this is a more advanced piece of eating mindfully. Now, before I go out with friends, I think about the ways that their eating used to influence mine—like stealing half their fries, even when the fries weren’t that great. I even practice saying, ‘Not for me tonight, thanks.’” 
—Recent graduate, Tufts University School of Medicine, Massachusetts

Becoming an intuitive eater is a healthy approach to total wellness, so think big picture. There may a spillover effect here. The habits you develop to guide your eating may support your emotional health, work, and relationships too.

Notice how mindfulness can improve other experiences too

Reap the emotional benefits

If eating intuitively has emotional health benefits, as some research suggests, it may support our overall happiness. For example, mindfulness—savoring the moment—can become a way of valuing a brisk walk to the store, or that quirky interaction involving the classmate you don’t quite gel with. “If you’re looking to mindful eating as the basis of your relationship with food, it will leach out into other aspects of your life,” says Resch, “like finding meaningful experiences in life, and in your work and relationships.”

Student perspective

“[Intuitive eating] has helped with my psychological wellness. I, along with many others, have suffered with the emotions tied to food and eating. Mindful eating has helped me to eat better and without my emotions and therefore has helped me like myself more.” 
—Third-year undergraduate, Saint Louis University, Missouri