The Best Restaurant Tips
I have a client who feared eating out in restaurants with others even though she’s an outgoing, social person. Diet culture had paralyzed her with too much information. While looking at a menu, she’d disconnect from her body and hear judgmental voices in her head which sounded like this:
Is this option healthy enough?
I wonder how many calories this has?
I shouldn’t eat too many carbs.
This creamy dish sounds delicious but I can’t let myself eat it.
And on and on…
Does this sound familiar? Diet mentality voices make ordering food we enjoy difficult and connecting to people around us is impossible.
But, it doesn’t have to be this way. The principles of intuitive eating provide tools for making peace with food and your body.
The next time you struggle with making a food choice because of diet culture voices in your head, try one of these tools.
Pause and tune into which foods sound good to you based on your own taste preferences and satisfaction.
If you’re not sure what sounds good to you anymore (following diet culture “food rules” for a long time can cause that), commit to focusing on what you’re eating to relearn which foods are most satisfying for you. Consider -
Appearance - Is the food visually appealing to you?
Taste - Do you prefer sweet, sour, salty, bitter, mild, or spicy? Which combinations?
Temperature - Hot, warm, cold, icy, or room temp?
Texture - Crunchy, chewy, moist, dry, or smooth and creamy?
The more you take time to notice the experience of eating, making food choices that are satisfying and leave you comfortably full becomes a whole lot easier.
