Adult Eating

Balance is Key: Structure and Permission in Eating Competence

One of the most powerful aspects of the Satter Eating Competence Model (ecSatter) is the positive tension it creates between two essential elements:

• Structure and predictability
• Permission and trust

Rather than being opposites, these forces work together to support a relaxed, positive, sustainable relationship with food.

What Does That Balance Look Like?

Think of Becoming Eating Competent (sBEC) as a personal, adult version of the Division of Responsibility (sDOR) used with children. Just as parents are responsible for what, when, and where their children eat—while children decide how much and whether to eat—the same structure applies to adults caring for themselves.

Becoming Eating Competent

Adults decide the what, when, and where of feeding themselves. Then, when it’s time to eat, they trust their internal cues to guide what and how much they actually eat in that moment.

This model is beautifully summarized in simple but powerful principles:

• Feed yourself faithfully
• Give yourself permission to eat
• Notice as you learn and grow

Discipline and Permission: Not a contradiction, but a partnership.

This positive tension draws on both external structure and internal trust. On one hand, we rely on regular, predictable access to satisfying food. On the other, we honor the body’s wisdom—its built-in ability to maintain balance and well-being when we listen and respond to its cues.

At first glance, this combination of discipline and permission might seem like a contradiction. But it’s actually the very heart of ecSatter. It provides both stability and flexibility, allowing eating to become more relaxed, enjoyable, and supportive of overall wellness.

As people continue to practice this balance—feeding themselves consistently and giving themselves unconditional permission to eat—something remarkable happens:

Eating begins to feel easy. Natural. Positive. Nourishing.

It becomes what it was always meant to be: A source of joy and self-care—not stress or control.

Meals are at the Heart of Becoming Eating Competent

They provide the foundation for structure, nourishment, and self-trust. They offer:

• Structure: Regular meals create rhythm in one’s day and help stabilize appetite and energy.
• Permission: By knowing another meal is coming, it’s easier to stop eating when satisfied—and harder to fall into restriction or chaos.
• Enjoyment: Meals can become moments of pleasure, connection, and routine—not guilt, stress, or hurriedness.

When a person commits to regular, reliable meals, they begin to send a powerful message to themselves:

“I am worth feeding.”

This act of self-care builds the trust and consistency that Eating Competence relies on.

Get Training on Satter’s Eating Competence Model

The Ellyn Satter Institute offers professionals a variety of training options to deepen their expertise in adult eating with tailored training on the application of the Satter Eating Competence model, including helping clients work towards becoming Eating Competent, and getting into the meal habit.

Intermediate Level

The Ellyn Satter Institute offers professionals a variety of training options to deepen their expertise in adult eating with tailored training on the application of the Satter Eating Competence model.

Master Level – Treating the Dieting Casualty

For experienced professionals tackling established eating problems in adults, this advanced course offers an in-depth understanding of Satter Eating Competence model in clinical settings. Learn to help adults resolve their conflict and anxiety about eating using Satter’s How to Eat method. This method uses sophisticated psychosocial techniques to help adults learn to trust themselves to eat enough, and establish the natural processes of learning and growing as described in the Satter Hierarchy of Food Needs.

This course is delivered online and offers continuing education credits. Enroll now to transform your approach to adult eating and help your clients thrive!

Each course is delivered online and offers continuing education credits. Enroll now to transform your approach to child feeding and help families thrive!

Measuring Eating Competence: The ecSI 2.0™ Inventory

The ecSI 2.0™ (Eating Competence Satter Inventory 2.0) is a validated, copyrighted tool designed to assess adult Eating Competence, as defined by the Satter Eating Competence Model (ecSatter). This 16-item questionnaire offers a reliable way to measure how individuals relate to food and eating across a range of life circumstances. It’s been validated in English and several other languages, and is appropriate for people of all income levels. Because it has strong test-retest reliability, the ecSI 2.0™ can be used at multiple points—before, during, and after interventions—to track progress over time.

Each of the 16 items on the ecSI 2.0™ corresponds to one of the model’s four core areas of Eating Competence:

• Eating Attitudes
  “I am comfortable with my enjoyment of food and eating.”

• Food Acceptance
  “I experiment with new food and learn to like it.”

• Internal Regulation
  “I eat as much as I am hungry for.”

• Contextual Skills
  “I make time to eat.”

The ecSI 2.0™ provides a meaningful way to explore how people eat—not just what they eat. It supports a holistic view of eating well, one rooted in self-trust, flexibility, and consistency.

For more topic-specific practice information for professionals, please check out our large selection of Family Meals Focus newsletters.

Permission to use ecSI2.0™ Inventory

For more topic-specific practice information for professionals, please check out our large selection of Family Meals Focus newsletters.

Additional Professional Resources

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For professionals seeking more in-depth guidance related to the implementation of the Satter Eating Competence model in specific practice settings.

For more topic-specific practice information for professionals, please check out our large selection of Family Meals Focus articles.