Healthy Eating: (part 2) Philosophy

Juliet Zuercher

According to Elyse Resch and Evelyn Tribole’s book, Intuitive Eating, ten principles exist regarding this healthy eating philosophy. The first three are: reject the diet mentality; honor your hunger; and make peace with food. The next two are:
Challenge the food police
When you were a child, the food police were probably your parents. Yet now, the food police are you. Whether aware of it or not, you probably have a little voice in your head that often speaks to you about food. Rarely is this a positive voice; on the contrary, it is usually quite critical and representative of unreasonable beliefs. It tells you that this food is good, or that food is bad. Often these beliefs come from the latest fad diets or magazine articles. Indeed, watch for signs in your own speech. How many times do you say: ‘I was good today because I ate fruit;’ or ‘I’m going to be bad and eat dessert.’ Can food make you good or bad? No. It’s just food. Stop listening to this voice.

Feel your fullness

Your car and the gas pump work together beautifully. When the vehicle is full, the pump turns off. Your body offers you a similar signal when it is full. Your stomach tells your brain that it is full and satisfied. That’s why it is time to start listening to your body. And remember, it takes about 20 minutes for those signals to kick in. So, eat slowly, enjoy your food, then stop when you are full.