The Health and Wellness Department at Mississippi State University will host its first Intuitive Eating Workshop for the month of October.
Intuitive Eating has evidence-based research supporting physical and emotional benefits. Centered on the book “Intuitive Eating” by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch, the sessions will cover the 10 principles the authors have created.
Mandy Conrad, registered dietitian nutritionist and certified Intuitive Eating counselor, will conduct the sessions in the Colvard Student Union in room 324. The session will run from 7-8:30 p.m.
“I see so many individuals who are frustrated and overwhelmed with what they are supposed to be eating. They carry around a great deal of guilt relating to their food choices and eating habits,” Conrad said.
Conrad also said because of the overall poor relationship so many people have with their food and body, it inspired her to find a better approach.
The workshops will try to go beyond just explaining what healthy food choices are, but how to build a foundation of how students can take care of themselves and incorporate healthy choices in to their day-to-day lives.
 One of the desired goals of the workshops is to help individuals face their day with a healthy relationship with food, confidence in food choices, trust in their bodies and eating decisions. The sessions also aim to combat the thin ideal that many American are subjected to.
Upon completion of the program, Conrad also does free nutrition counseling that will continue to be in place to aid students on continuing on their healthy food-choice journeys.
 Joyce Yates, director of Health Education and Wellness, said intuitive eating is not a trend diet but a healthy lifestyle change.
  Yates believes the workshops are a cut above other sessions because success is measured in a different way; it is not about willpower, but about a healthy mindset and choices.