I'm explaining what "normal eating" means and why we must eat as close to normal as possible while we work on weight loss.
If your only exposure to nutrition education has been diet culture, you may have some wild ideas about nutrition. And I get it. When I ended my relationship with restrictive diets, I realized that a lot of what I thought about nutrition and losing weight was just not right. I had learned to follow rules written for others that didn’t even work for most people. I had not learned the right mix of habits for me that allowed me to lose weight, keep it off and still enjoy my life.
What is normal eating?
Eating when you're hungry and stopping when you're satisfied
Paying attention to your food choices to ensure you're eating nutritious meals but you're also allowing yourself flexibility
Considering if your diet as a whole supports your long-term goals
Not becoming stressed or preoccupied with perfecting the components of each meal - you've got to be able to zoom out and look at the big picture.
Checking in to see how a particular food makes your body feel.
Sometimes eating when you're not hungry
Sometimes overeating or undereating
Trusting that your body will usually make up for overeating
Not labeling foods good or bad
Understanding nutrition is context-dependent.
Understanding that what foods are “good” for you can change in various situations
Eating foods, you enjoy and not trying to choke back foods you don't enjoy.
Sometimes indulging in cravings and moving on with your life.
Understanding that food is not scarce or off-limits
Recognizing that losing weight and maintaining does take time and attention but remains just one important area of your life. It shouldn’t feel like a full-time job.
Knowing that your nutrition will vary as you respond to emotions, your schedule, hunger, or even your proximity to food.
What is NOT normal eating?
A rule or a restriction outside of medical restrictions
Frequently fighting or ignoring your hunger
Avoiding foods you enjoy or eating foods you don't enjoy
Feeling preoccupied with food
Feeling crappy physically or psychologically because of how you eat
Fear and anxiety, shame and guilt about food or binge eating
Compensatory behaviors like fasting, purging, or excessive exercise to burn off calories
If you are not eating normally (for you) now, how can you get there?
Work on skills and habits
Work on mindset and thoughts about food and yourself
Overcome the thoughts that are making you stuck
Learn how to reframe thoughts to stay forward-moving
Learn how to be messy and imperfectly successful.
Learn to incorporate all food groups, favorite meals, and restaurant foods.
Listen to your body.
Look for movement that you enjoy and doesn't feel punishing.
Prioritizing sleep.
Can we lose weight and keep it off while fully living our lives?
Yes! And I would argue that it’s the ONLY way to do this and have it be sustainable. This is why I work with my clients on foundational skills that work with their lives and allow them flexibility.
If someone struggles with their weight, what is often the biggest thing standing in their way?
Their beliefs! Beliefs about food, about themselves and about their bodies. And some women really struggle to let go of their dieting beliefs. Which is understandable. Some of us have spent decades immersed in diet culture.
Some of these limiting beliefs might be:
I can't trust myself around food
If I don't have strict rules, I will eat, eat, and never stop
If it’s not hard, I won’t get results
If I don’t have food and exercise top of mind all the time, I won't get results
If I mess up, it will ruin my whole day or week
There’s only one way to eat right
Have you done programs in the past that DID allow you to lose weight but then you gained the weight back?
If so, what if I had asked you when you were on that program, "Can you eat this way forever? Do you feel like what you’re doing is sustainable?" Your answer probably would have been “no.” And that was the problem with the program. It was not you that failed; it was the diet that failed you.
Are you willing to stop looking for the next perfect diet and hopping from diet to diet, thinking maybe this is the one?
If you're feeling lost on this journey toward eating "normally," why not consider Nutrition Coaching with me? I'm all about ditching restrictive diets and food obsessions for good. My program teaches sustainable habits that bring freedom to your relationship with food and your body.
Thanks, everybody. I hope I gave you something to think about here.
Julie
P.S. You can get a taste of my approach with my FREE GUIDE. Just enter the email address where you’d like me to send it.
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