Filed Under: Intuitive Eating
30 November 2023 | Written by Xenia Ayiotis
“I just want to eat like a normal person.”
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard this!
I don’t like the word normal – especially when it comes to how we eat.
It implies that there is only one “normal” way to eat.
What does “normal” even mean?
I prefer to use the word natural. Most of us are born natural eaters. In a diet and weight obsessed culture it’s not surprising that so many people struggle to sustain a natural relationship with food. There are so many diets and theories about food and ways to eat it causes so much confusion.
Let’s look at what disrupts our natural instinct with food and eating.
- Dieting and trying to lose weight.
- Restricting foods or cutting out food groups.
- Food rules and making certain foods forbidden.
- Ignoring hunger signals.
- Judging food as good or bad.
- Feeling guilt and shame around food choices.
What does a natural relationship with food look like?
Natural eating is…
Having the freedom and flexibility to choose what you want to eat based on what you feel like and how the food will feel in your body.
Natural eating is…
Offering yourself choice. You don’t need to be told what to eat, when to eat and how much to eat. You are able to trust your body’s signals to tell you when to eat and when to stop.
Natural eating is…
Not depriving yourself. It is eating a wide of variety of foods that are both nourishing and pleasurable and you are able to enjoy these foods with no guilt and judgement.
Natural eating is…
Listening to your body, eating for joy, pleasure and nourishment.
Natural eating is…
Not allowing your day to be determined by a number on the scale and how “well” or “badly” you ate.
Natural eating is …
Believing that food is not your enemy and that food is there to nourish your body and your soul.
Natural eating is …
Understanding that food is comforting and that’s okay.
Natural eating is …
Less preoccupation with food and more trust with yourself.
For many years, I believed that my relationship with food was not normal. When I first started practicing intuitive eating, I turned it into the “eat when you’re hungry and stop before you’re full” diet. After reading Ellyn Satter’s definition of normal eating, I felt huge relief. It was so reassuring to hear that is okay to overeat and feel full and that sometimes we will eat for comfort. I hope that reading it does the same for you.
What is normal eating?
Normal eating…
is going to the table hungry, and eating until you are satisfied.Normal eating…
is being able to choose food you enjoy and to eat it and truly get enough of it–not just stop eating because you think you should.Normal eating…
is being able to give some thought to your food selection so you can get nutritious food, but not being so wary and restrictive that you miss out on enjoyable food.Normal eating…
is giving yourself permission to eat because you are happy, sad, or bored, or just because it feels good.Normal eating…
is mostly three meals a day—or four or five—or it can be choosing to munch along the way.Normal eating…
is leaving cookies on the plate because you will let yourself have cookies again tomorrow, or eating more now because they taste so great!Normal eating…
is overeating at times, and feeling stuffed and uncomfortable … and undereating at times, and wishing you had more.Normal eating…
is trusting your body to make up for your mistakes in eating.Normal eating…
takes up some of your time and attention, but keeps its place as only one important area of your life.In short, normal eating is flexible…
it varies in response to your hunger, your schedule, your food, and your feelings.— Ellyn Satter —
If you would like to eat like a “normal” person, think about your relationship with food, have rules and restriction served you?
If you would like to learn more about this approach, book a free 30-minute mini session.
Wishing you well,
Xen
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“I learned a new way of thinking about food. I have learned that food is not the enemy and that it can actually be enjoyed with no guilt.”