The Holidays and Rejecting the Diet Mentality

The holidays can be a stressful time of year, especially if you're stuck in a cycle of dieting. Most family get-togethers revolve around food and meals. Many articles you'll see on social media focus on how you can survive the holiday's and all the food "temptations." Since our society as a whole is still participating in diet culture, it would make sense that most of the "tips" out there include a rule book on how to attend a holiday party and still stick to your diet. 

But what if we started to do things differently this year? What if we didn't worry about the food at the party? What if we didn't have to bring our own raw veggies to snack on just in case there's nothing "healthy" there? What if we could just enjoy the season for what it is? What if food was the last thing that caused us any anxiety this year? What would that be like?

The first step could be to reject the diet mentality. We need to make the decision to be done with the diets. Restrictive eating, rules and rigidity=a diet. Think about how things have worked out for you in the past when dieting. Maybe the first one went well, then it was a struggle from there on out. Get rid of the idea that life will be so much better if you stick to "the plan" over the holiday's this year. Wouldn't life actually be better if you spend quality time with loved ones, practice gratitude for all that you have, and give to those who have less? None of those things involve sticking to a diet.

Please reach out to me if you'd like additional guidance and to find out what the next steps could look like for you!

Understanding Gentle Nutrition

If you're not familiar with the concept, honoring your health through "gentle nutrition" is the 10th and final principle of Intuitive Eating according to Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch. They outline the principle in their book with this quote below: "Make food choices that honor your health and tastebuds while making you feel well. Remember that you don’t have to eat a perfect diet to be healthy. You will not suddenly get a nutrient deficiency or gain weight from one snack, one meal, or one day of eating. It’s what you eat consistently over time that matters, progress not perfection is what counts."

Someone asked me recently, "should I just ignore what I know about nutrition to live and eat more intuitively?"

The short answer? No. 

However, there is a lot of work to be done (or undone) first, before we can get to the gentle nutrition part. Since most of us find intuitive eating after years of dieting, food restriction, food obsession, anxiety, and pursing an unattainable perfection, we have to break free from those mindsets first. 

Gentle nutrition will not work if we are still trying to control the size of our bodies. If we haven't gone through the first part of the process, it can become another diet or means of restriction. So what do we do first?

First, you NEED to give yourself the permission to eat any food at any time. Food needs to become just what it is. Food. Nothing more, nothing less. No moral value attached to either a kale salad or a cupcake. This can be a long process for some. That is 100% okay. It's more important to work through that (for as long as you need) and come out on the other side as a normal eater. 

So, say you've been giving yourself permission to eat all foods for some time now. You have a nice relationship with food, and it doesn't give you anxiety to eat certain foods. You eat your meal, enjoy it, and move on with your life. Congratulations! You're likely ready for the last part of intuitive eating. Honoring your health. 

It's important that we pay attention and learn from our food. We should take notice of how a certain food makes us feel. Do you eat something, get a quick burst of energy then crash and feel hungry less than 30 minutes later? How did that feel? How does it feel to eat something and feel satisfied, have a clear head and feel comfortably full for a while? Feel different? Better? Those are the kinds of questions you should ask yourself. 

Does this then mean we should ONLY eat one or the other, 100% of the time? No, but make a conscious decision about which you're going to eat at what time. You have the power to choose.

The nutrition content of foods can explain how certain meals make us feel. Lots of components play a role. Fiber, protein, sugar, water content, fat, etc. So which foods will honor our health? A lot of research shows us that there are many health benefits from eating whole, real foods. So, lots of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, high quality protein sources (whether from meat, or plant sources) and unsaturated oils. I think most of us know this information already. We just have to know it objectively, without seeing it through the lens of diet culture. 

I think one thing that can be helpful at this stage is to try a lot of different recipes and flavor combinations, to see what you actually enjoy. Try new things, get some new cookbooks and experiment! There are some seriously talented chefs, cooks and bloggers out there coming up with unique recipes that incorporate nutritious foods that taste amazing! Have fun with it.  

If you're struggling on your own, please reach out! I'd love to talk with you about how I can help you to continue in your journey.

Resources for Getting Started with IE and HAES

I've referenced some of these books in the past, but I wanted to put together an easily accessible list, for those who are just getting started on this journey!

Health at Every Size by Linda Bacon, PhD. This book dives deep into the research behind the HAES theories. I would recommend that you read this book first to lay the foundation of your understanding. If you are struggling  with dieting and the desire to diet and control your weight, this book can change your mind. 

Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole MS, RD, and Elyse Reysch MS, RD, FADA, CED RD.  HAES and IE go together. You need both principles for it to all fit together. So naturally, once you've accepted the non-diet lifestyle, intuitive eating is next. You'll learn about how to feed your body, the way we were created to, without fear or food anxiety. 

The Intuitive Eating Workbook (also by Evelyn Tribole and Elise Reyche). The RD's from Intuitive Eating also came up with this helpful work book to help you work through the 10 principles of intuitive eating. With lots of activities and exercises, you'll walk away with a deeper more comprehensive understanding of the IE way of life. 

Body Kindness by Rebecca Scritchfield, RD. This book is beautiful and so fun to read. Written by an RD, she combines both IE and HAES topics in this book. I think my favorite part of this book is how she explains that it's still important and beneficial to pay attention to good nutrition, while honoring IE/HAES. 

Body Respect by Linda Bacon PhD and Lucy Amphramor PhD, RD. A great companion to Health at Every Size. This one is a little bit quicker read, highlighting more of the topics brought up in the first book.