This blog post is all about the third principle of Intuitive Eating: Making Peace With Food.
If you’re new to the idea of Intuitive Eating, I invite you to read my introduction on Intuitive Eating.
I’ve also written about the previous two principles of Intuitive Eating which are Rejecting The Diet Mentality and Honoring Your Hunger.
We are at war with food
In order for us to make peace with food, we need to first acknowledge that we are at war with food.
We are constantly telling ourselves we can’t or shouldn’t eat something. We feel stuck in this never ending cycle of restrict, crave, binge, repeat.
How do we stop this war within ourselves? By taking back control, and giving ourselves unconditional permission to eat.
What does it mean to have unconditional permission to eat?
There are a lot of people who think that they give themselves permission to eat because they eat foods that they consider to be “unhealthy”.
But think about it: do you actually give yourself permission to eat or do you only allow yourself to eat a portion of a forbidden food? Do you only allow yourself to eat that food on certain days?
Does that food come with feelings of shame or guilt? Do you need to compensate for eating that food by going for a run to burn off those calories?
Do you only allow yourself to indulge if the scale gives you permission? Do you restrict how often you give yourself permission?
If you responded “yes” to any of the questions above, you are placing restrictions on yourself, otherwise known as conditions.
This will over time prevent you from being able to make peace with food.
Food Hierarchy
Making peace with food means acknowledging that there is no such thing as “good” or “bad” food.
While some foods can be more nutritious than others, it doesn’t mean it is better for you.
For example, carrots may be more nutritionally dense than a cookie. But eating a carrot doesn’t make you a better person, and eating a cookie doesn’t make you a worse person.
Your moral character does not depend on the food choices you make.
What does having unconditional permission to eat look like?
I know when I use the phrase “unconditional permission to eat” you may think of yourself stuffing your face like it’s the Last Supper.
After all, when was the last time you let yourself eat whatever you wanted with no strings attached? If you’ve been stuck in the diet mentality, this may be years or even decades ago.
But trust me, when you finally allow yourself to eat what you want without fear of judgment, you’ll realize that food is actually kind of…boring.
When you give yourself permission to eat, you take away the urgency and excitement that comes with that food.
Exercise You Can Try RIGHT NOW!
Here’s an exercise I’d like you to try.
Identify one food that you either have a food rule for or that you restrict in some way.
The next time you go grocery shopping, buy that food. Buy it in abundance.
For example, let’s say you only allow yourself to eat ice cream once a week on your cheat days. The next time you’re at the grocery store, I invite you to buy as much ice cream as your heart desires.
Then, I want you to give yourself unconditional permission to eat that forbidden food for at least a week. If you run out, go out and buy more.
In the example with the ice cream, if you want to eat ice cream three times a day, DO IT.
This may sound crazy that as a Registered Dietitian I am recommending you to eat as much ice cream as you want but trust me.
That first day, you may eat three pints. The first few days, the novelty of ice cream may still be going strong.
BUT as you get closer and closer to the end of the week, I promise you the novelty will wear off.
You may find yourself still having ice cream everyday, but instead of needing a pint to satisfy you at the beginning of the week, you may be satisfied with half.
Some Quick Tips
Now, as you are doing this exercise, there are a few things that you should keep in mind.
#1. Please remember to do this exercise a few hours after a meal. This is so that primal hunger isn’t taking control of your experience.
#2. Try your best to do this experiment in a calm environment with few distractions so that you can be in tune with the experience.
#3. As you’re tasting your food, I’d like you to look at it with some curiosity. What does the food you chose look like? What does it smell and taste like? Is it crunchy? Soft? Sweet? Sour? Are you even enjoying it, or are you just eating it to occupy your mouth?
#4. This exercise may be incredibly intimidating. If you’re on the fence, you can make a list of forbidden foods and rank them according to how much you restrict them. Then, you can choose the food you find least intimidating and pick that one first.
Conclusion
What would it look like if you could eat a food that you’ve been craving without any attachments? You wouldn’t have to feel guilty about it and you could actually enjoy it because there is no diet around the corner for you.
While it may sound totally crazy right now depending on where you are in your Intuitive Eating journey, I can confidently say that it can be done!!
Now I Want To Hear From You!
Have you tried this exercise before?
If you have, how did it turn out?
If you didn’t what would be something that is holding you back?
I would love to hear in the comments below!
