Christmas is a time for family, connectedness, slowing down and enjoying delicious foods. However, with boxes of chocolates at work, festive meals out and food shops bursting with mince pies, gingerbread men and obscure flavours of crisps (prosecco flavoured crisps I’m looking at you!), it can be overwhelming to say the least! Eating more at social occasions like Christmas is part of a normal and healthy diet. Really, it’s true! I know it’s hard to believe when we live in a world which encourages kale and apple cider vinegar for the ever ambiguous and extremely broad goal of ”health”. However, our relationship with food is rich and definitely more complex than obtaining the right macros or calories from it.
What is intuitive eating and how can it help me survive the tasty sea of food this Christmas? Intuitive eating is a practice. It’s a way of transforming your relationship with food. It is not based on a complicated set of rules, and you do not need to count calories. In fact, intuitive eating encourages you away from external measures of regulating what you eat such as calorie counting. Intuitive eating encourages you to connect with your own body’s hunger and satisfaction cues. It cultivates a positive and peaceful relationship between you and food. And it has tonnes of science behind it too! There are over 120 studies published on the benefits of intuitive eating. Some benefits of Intuitive Eating include reducing binge eating, improving your relationship with food, not feeling so out-of-control around food, improved relationship with your body AND better overall psychological wellbeing. Sound good? Read on for 3 action steps to use intuitive eating over the holidays.
#1 Food Morality
What happens when you deny yourself that food you want? Let’s say, for example, one of your work colleagues brought in a box of your favourite chocolates. You’re already trying to be ‘good’ and you don’t need this extra temptation! What if I told you that how we think about the chocolates changes our relationship to them and can, in turn, change our behaviour. When we think of eating chocolates as being bad i.e. a ‘temptation’ and that eating chocolates is ‘being bad’ we inject shame into our relationship with the food. This is known as Food Morality. Thinking of foods in terms of ‘good’ and ‘bad’, things we ‘should’ or ‘shouldn’t eat sets us up to feel guilty and shameful when we eventually do eat these foods (because name me one person who cut out their favourite food.. FOREVER). Action step – Next time you notice yourself thinking ‘I shouldn’t eat that’, take a pause – even just doing this step can help create space and some peace. If you can, I’d like to invite you to describe the food in terms of how it tastes, smells and its texture. This can provide the first steps to creating a relationship with food that isn’t based on measurements such as calories.
#2 Unconditional Permission to Eat
This leads me onto the second way Intuitive Eating can help you over the Christmas period. Once you have practiced using the senses to describe foods instead of Food Morality you can try Unconditional Permission to Eat. This Intuitive Eating principle encourages us to pick the food we truly want to have in any given moment. Think about a time when you wanted a specific food but you did not allow yourself to eat it because you were ‘being good’. Did you say to yourself ‘I’m not going to eat that?’ and then continue your day without a second thought? Or were you thinking about the food constantly? Did you sometimes try to eat anything but the food only to eat it in the end anyway? If you relate to this, please know you are not alone. Action step – Next time someone brings along a tasty food, state to yourself (in your thoughts or out loud) – ‘I have unconditional permission to eat this’. Then, ask yourself if you want to have the food. Do eat the food if it is what you want. Enjoy it, notice the tastes and textures. Notice how this changes your relationship to the food.
#3 Cope with your emotions with kindness
Eating more than you intend to can be incredibly stressful. Healing your relationship with food is not linear and it can feel messy and distressing at times. Feelings of shame and guilt fuel the binge-restrict cycle. If you eat more than you intended to, it’s important to practice self-compassion and kindness. Action step – Try an affirmation when you are feeling guilt or shame about your eating. Affirmations can feel silly and meaningless at first. However, you’d be surprised how much they can help over time! One affirmation I like is ‘My body is doing the best to support me with the knowledge and tools it has’, or ‘my body deserves to be nourished’. Affirmations are very personal – feel free to google them and make a list of your own to try out!
I’m so excited to share this FREE audio guided body scan with you! Use this scan to cultivate body trust and to tune into your body’s needs this festive season – including your hunger and fullness cues! To get your FREEBIE, click the link below!
Intuitive eating can transform the way you relate to food and your body. It is truly liberating; however, the journey is not always plain sailing! If you want support to live a life free from food guilt and body shame, then book a FREE Discovery Call. The Discovery Calls are run by me, Aoife McMahon, RD. It’s a no-obligations casual phone call where we can get to know each other and see how the CLN services can support you best.
Live a life no longer ruled by food.
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