Comfort Foods as Superfoods
First, an intuitive eating (IE) refresher along with some new information you can use!
What is intuitive eating?
It’s a flexible style of eating that honors hunger and fullness cues and focuses on being attuned with your body (the medical term for this is interoceptive awareness).
Is it basically mindful eating?
IE emphasizes taking pleasure in food, which could mean making time to sit down and enjoy what we’re eating, similar to messages in mindful eating. However, the first principle of IE is to reject diet culture, whereas mindful eating is often brought up as a weight loss tool.
Shouldn’t I pay attention to the science that shows which foods are healthiest and only eat those?
I’m all for eating nutritious foods if they taste good and appeal to you, but focusing on having a “perfect” or “clean” diet can become an obsession. When we only pay attention to the purity of certain foods, we leave out the other important roles food can play for us such as connecting us with other people, providing pleasure, and if you're someone who enjoys cooking, being an outlet for creativity.
Personal story: I recall a time when I packed myself quinoa salads for road trips instead of joining my family to eat fast food. I don’t do that anymore, but here’s the thing about being an intuitive eater: If I decide for our next road trip that I want to pack a salad (or anything I like to eat), I will. This time, however, I’ll know it’s simply because I prefer that food, not because I’m trying to eat perfectly.
If IE is anti-diet, isn’t that anti-health?
Since 95% of diets don’t work, IE offers a better way to support our overall health through encouraging healthy behaviors such as good sleep, movement your body enjoys, and through providing tools to address harmful thoughts we have about food and our bodies.
I’ve noticed I always crave sugar when I drink alcohol, why?
Diet culture has demonized sugar. Many people I work with have been on diets that completely eliminate sugar, and even more people think of sugar as “bad” (which often translates to “I’m bad for eating it”), so they avoid it as much as possible. Alcohol makes us less inhibited so once the armor has fallen, we find ourselves eating sweet foods, and possibly lots of them. This typically leads to feelings of shame and guilt, possible physical discomfort, and a period restricting sugar, which unfortunately starts the restriction-binge cycle anew.
Try this: Give yourself unconditional permission to eat the sweet treats you love when you’re not drinking alcohol. Set aside the time and find a quiet space. Try to pay attention to the appearance, taste, temperature, and texture of the treat. What do you notice? - This part sounds a lot like mindful eating ;)
Dieting and diet culture wouldn’t make sense if we simply accepted that people come in all different sizes.
Virgie Tovar
