When you’ve spent years dieting, you’re probably pretty familiar with how diet culture defines success. A lower number on the scale, a smaller clothing size, eating fewer calories, or having enough willpower to stick to your food rules.
But when you start practicing intuitive eating and move away from those measurements, it can bring up a really interesting question.
How do you know if you’re actually making progress with your relationship with food?
It’s something I talk about often with clients because we’re so accustomed to measuring progress through numbers that it can be difficult to recognize all the other ways our lives are changing.
And sometimes, the most meaningful changes have absolutely nothing to do with what our bodies look like.
One of our Find Food Freedom® clients, Abriana, shared her experience working with our dietitian Tory, and I think her story is such a beautiful example of what success can look like on an intuitive eating journey.
Progress Doesn’t Mean You’ll Never Struggle Again
Before Abriana started working with our team, she had already spent years learning about intuitive eating and challenging her beliefs around food and body image.
She had struggled with dieting throughout her teenage years and college, eventually reaching a point where she started questioning whether dieting itself was contributing to her difficult relationship with food.
Over time, she made significant progress on her own. She felt more comfortable around food, had a better understanding of diet culture, and genuinely believed she was in a good place.
Then she went to a doctor’s appointment.
Typically, Abriana avoided looking at the number on the scale because she knew it could trigger negative thoughts about her body. But this time, she felt confident enough in her progress that she decided to look.
And that number sent her into a spiral.
For the next two weeks, she found herself questioning everything she ate, struggling to recognize her hunger and fullness cues, and thinking about her body constantly.
What really stood out to me was that Abriana recognized the number itself wasn’t necessarily the problem. Whether it had been higher or lower, she realized she was still attaching her value to what the scale said.
That awareness ultimately encouraged her to reach out for additional support.
I think this is such an important part of the intuitive eating journey that we don’t talk about enough.
Making progress doesn’t mean you’ll never experience another difficult body image day or find yourself falling back into an old thought pattern.
We’re human. We live in a world that constantly reinforces the idea that our weight determines our worth, and unlearning those messages takes time.
Sometimes progress looks like recognizing an old pattern sooner, understanding what’s triggering it, and having the tools to respond differently.
And sometimes it looks like recognizing that you could benefit from additional support.
Measuring Intuitive Eating Success Beyond the Scale
One of the things Abriana and Tory explored together was how much dieting had interfered with different areas of her life.
Not just what she ate, but how she felt physically, how she interacted with other people, how much mental energy she spent thinking about food, and how she experienced her own body.
When she started reflecting on those areas, she realized just how much of her life had been influenced by diet culture.
And I think this is where we can start to redefine what success means.
Instead of asking whether you’ve lost weight or whether your body looks different, what if you started paying attention to how much more freedom you have in your everyday life?
Maybe you’re able to go out to dinner without studying the menu beforehand or worrying about what you ate earlier in the day. Maybe you can recognize when you’re hungry and respond without questioning whether you’ve earned the right to eat.
Maybe you can enjoy a food you previously labeled as “bad” without feeling guilty afterward.
Or maybe you’re simply spending less time thinking about food and your body, which gives you more mental space for the people and experiences you care about.
These changes might not be as easy to measure as a number on the scale, but that doesn’t make them any less meaningful.
And one of my favorite examples of this came from Abriana’s recent family vacation.
In the past, preparing for a vacation meant figuring out how much weight she could lose before the trip. She would spend weeks worrying about how she’d look in a swimsuit, what other people might think about her body, and what she was going to eat.
This time, she and Tory approached things differently.
They spent time talking about what Abriana actually valued about the vacation. What experiences did she want to have? What memories did she want to make? How did she want to spend her time with her family?
When she looked at those priorities, dieting didn’t align with any of them.
And while she was on vacation, she learned how to surf!
Something she wasn’t sure she would have felt comfortable doing before because of how self-conscious she felt wearing a swimsuit around other people.
She described this vacation as one of the most mentally freeing experiences she’d had because she was finally able to be present and enjoy herself instead of constantly worrying about her body.
I freaking love that.
Because when we talk about finding food freedom, this is exactly the kind of impact we’re talking about.
Being able to participate in your life without food and body image thoughts taking up so much space.
And no, that doesn’t mean those thoughts magically disappear. It means they don’t have to control your entire day, your vacation, or the experiences you allow yourself to have.
You can listen to Abriana share her full story here.
Recognizing the Progress You Might Be Overlooking
Something else Abriana shared was that even after years of practicing intuitive eating, she still had food rules she hadn’t fully recognized.
For example, she felt like every meal needed to include a substantial source of protein.
And while there’s absolutely nothing wrong with prioritizing protein, she realized through her conversations with Tory that this had become another rule she felt obligated to follow.
Once she started questioning that belief, she found herself becoming more flexible with food. She began experimenting with vegetarian recipes, trying new meals, and even discovered a love for cooking.
Her meals became more satisfying, and food started feeling more enjoyable.
I think this is another really important piece of measuring progress with intuitive eating.
Sometimes we become so focused on the big milestones that we overlook the smaller changes happening along the way.
Maybe you’ve stopped checking nutrition labels as frequently. Maybe you no longer feel the need to exercise to compensate for what you ate. Maybe you can eat a meal without mentally calculating its nutritional value.
Or maybe you’ve developed a more neutral relationship with your body.
Abriana shared that when she first started working with Tory, her body image fluctuated between positive, negative, and neutral feelings. After several months of counseling, she noticed she was spending much more time feeling neutral toward her body.
That shift has been especially meaningful as she navigates a fertility journey and the emotions that can come with it.
And I think it’s worth emphasizing that body neutrality can be an incredibly meaningful form of progress.
You don’t need to wake up every morning loving what you see in the mirror. You don’t need to feel confident in every outfit or celebrate every physical change your body experiences.
Sometimes being able to respect your body, care for it, and continue living your life even when you don’t particularly love how it looks is a pretty incredible place to be.
As Abriana reflected on her experience, she realized that working with Tory had helped her uncover things she didn’t even know were still affecting her relationship with food.
And while she was proud of how far she’d come before seeking professional support, she could also recognize how much she’d grown since.
Both things can be true.
You can be proud of the progress you’ve already made while continuing to explore areas where you want to feel more freedom.
Your Intuitive Eating Journey Is Your Own
One of the biggest things I hope you take away from Abriana’s story is that there isn’t one universal definition of success when it comes to intuitive eating.
Your progress might look completely different from someone else’s, and it might look different during various seasons of your own life.
Some days, you might feel incredibly connected to your hunger and fullness cues. Other days, you might struggle with body image or notice an old food rule creeping back in.
That doesn’t erase the work you’ve already done.
And while it’s wonderful to learn about intuitive eating through books, social media, and other resources, there’s also tremendous value in having individualized support from someone who understands the complexities of food, body image, and diet culture.
Abriana had already done years of work on her own before deciding to meet with Tory. What surprised her most was how much more she discovered about herself once she had that additional support.
So if you’re wondering whether you’re making progress, I encourage you to think beyond what you can measure or see.
Think about the experiences you’re participating in, the flexibility you’re developing around food, and the amount of mental space you’re getting back.
Because those things matter, too.
Want Support on Your Intuitive Eating Journey?
At Find Food Freedom®, our team of weight-inclusive registered dietitians helps clients work toward a more peaceful relationship with food and their bodies through individualized, non-diet nutrition counseling.
And you may have insurance coverage for these sessions without even realizing it.
Abriana initially assumed her high-deductible health insurance plan wouldn’t cover nutrition counseling, but after checking her benefits, she discovered she had unlimited sessions covered at 100%.
Coverage varies by plan, but it’s worth finding out what benefits you might already have available.
Check your insurance benefits here to see what support may be available to you.
