How to Rebuild Body Trust (After Diets Have Torn It Down)
From food rules to self-trust—one small step at a time
If you’ve spent years—or decades—being told you can’t trust your body, it makes perfect sense that you don’t. Most people who struggle with food aren’t broken. They’re just disconnected. And that disconnection has been taught, reinforced, and praised.
Diets tell us:
You can't be trusted to eat the right amount.
You’ll eat “too much” if you’re not careful.
You have to follow this plan—or else.
Eventually, those messages become internalized. It’s not just the diet you don’t trust—it’s yourself.
But body trust isn’t gone. It’s just been buried under years of rules, shame, and fear. And it can be rebuilt.
What Is Body Trust, Really?
Body trust is knowing your body can guide you—and that you can listen. It’s that quiet confidence that says:
I’ll know when I’m hungry. I’ll know when I’ve had enough. I can take care of myself.
It’s not perfection. It’s not getting it “right” every time.
It’s a relationship. One that gets stronger the more you show up with care, patience, and curiosity.
What Dieting Does to That Trust
The rules that come with dieting might feel like structure—but they often create confusion.
You stop eating when you’re hungry because it’s “too early.”
You eat when you’re not hungry because it’s allowed.
You override your cravings because they’re “bad.”
You lose touch with what hunger, fullness, and satisfaction even feel like.
Eventually, your body’s cues become quiet. Or they feel loud and overwhelming—like they can’t be trusted.
And that makes perfect sense. Because trust is a two-way street. If your body keeps signaling and you keep ignoring or overriding those signals, of course that communication gets messy.
What Rebuilding Feels Like
At first, rebuilding trust can feel like walking through fog.
You may not know what to eat. You may not feel hunger—or you may feel too much of it. You might second-guess every bite, or feel like you’re doing it wrong.
This is normal. Truly. You’re not failing. You’re just unlearning.
And slowly, without forcing it, things begin to shift.
You find yourself a little less anxious around food.
You start feeling curious about what your body might need, instead of dreading it.
You notice moments—small, quiet ones—when you feel more at peace.
When food feels like food again. Not a math problem. Not a battle.
Body trust doesn’t arrive all at once. But it grows, breath by breath, meal by meal, when the pressure to get it “right” begins to loosen.
It’s Okay If It Feels Uncertain
Relearning to trust your body can bring up a lot: grief, doubt, even anger.
You might wonder if you’re doing it wrong. You might fear what will happen if you stop controlling everything.
This is all part of the process.
But here’s the thing: you were never meant to micromanage your body. You were meant to live in it. To partner with it. To belong to it.
And the more you rebuild that relationship, the more food will become just… food. Something that supports your life, not something that is your life.
Ready to Take the Next Step?
If this speaks to you, you don’t have to figure it all out alone.
✨ Take our free quiz to learn more about your relationship with eating and body image. You will get free tips based on your results.
✨ We have free tools to help you reconnect with your body—such as the ones at Free Resources.
✨ You can explore more blog posts on intuitive eating and body trust.
✨ And if you'd like a real conversation, we’d love to connect.
You're welcome to email us or give us a call to schedule a free 20-minute chat with one of our dietitians. No pressure. Just a warm, thoughtful conversation about where you are and how we can support you.
About Eating Wisdom and Drs Karin and Hannah
We are two PhD level Registered and Licensed Nutritionists whose passion is to help others escape diet culture and to learn to use their natural, innate Eating Wisdom to, finally, find peace with food, eating and weight.
© 2012 Karin Kratina, PhD, RD, LDN