Just in time for the Holidays, I want to share information on Intuitive Eating. If you have been following me on Social Media, you may be familiar with my approach of focusing more on Mindful and Intuitive Eating.
We get so wrapped up into diet culture and putting negative tones on foods that are otherwise “neutral”.
I can’t tell you how many times I hear “I’m being so bad today”, “I’m cheating”, “today is my cheat day”.
Why are you bad? Why are you cheating yourself? Would you cheat on your significant other?
I also frequently hear.. “You’re a dietitian, you know that’s bad for you. Why are you eating that?”
Let’s start with - THERE ARE NO BAD FOODS!!
Ok, well maybe if the food isn’t cooked to the right temperate you could get sick… Because bacteria… But no, that’s not what we are typically talking about in regards to “bad” foods.
ALL foods fit. Our body is pretty amazing! The body is set to a specific metabolism. If we eat that piece of cake, pie, or brownie… we aren’t going to gain weight from that one item.
The Holiday’s are a time for family, friends, and of course FOOD. Food is fuel and nourishment, but it is also highly social and something to be enjoyed.
When we restrict foods, we end up craving that specific food. If that food item is available to us, we tend to end up binging and then the overeating cycle of regret starts. For some individuals, this may lead to the thought of “well I already screwed up, I’ll just keep on going” and they continue to just eat everything. OVER TIME (let’s say Halloween through New Years), we can start to gain weight and the cycle of overeating can hurt our mental health and possibly make us depressed.
Why do we bother to do this in the first place when we can just ENJOY small amounts of our favorite foods without this overeating cycle? Maybe you wanted to make that pumpkin pie your lunch one day? Ok, YOU WILL BE FINE!
There are definitely ways to be healthy while still enjoying these food items. The negative talk IS NOT a healthy way of dealing with the food items.
Mindful and Intuitive Eating is an approach used to understand our hunger and satiety cues. Mindfulness being really TASTING the food you are consuming - BEING IN THE MOMENT. When we practice mindful and intuitive eating, we tend to eat less but at the same time have a more satisfying meal experience.
For example:
Wake up on Thanksgiving at 8am. Meal time will not be until 2pm.
Instead of STARVING until 2pm - eat a nice breakfast and a few hours later (3-4hrs) have a snack with a carb and protein.
ENJOY Thanksgiving dinner - REALLY TASTE YOUR FOOD. What are the smells in the room? What does the table look like? What is the taste and texture of the turkey or potatoes, or your favorite item?
Enjoy the social time with family and the decorations on the table. When you are full… Stop eating. Let’s face it - typically THERE ARE PLENTY OF LEFTOVERS. You need to eat in 3-4hrs any way - enjoy more of the meal at that time. And Hey - YES you CAN eat dessert!
I ask that this Holiday Season, you ENJOY your foods and REMOVE the negative talk over an inanimate object = food. Enjoy your time with family and friends and the hard work everyone put into making the meals that are being shared.
