You Aren't What You Eat

By Dr. Laura Heaphy

Published December 3, 2021

For most of us, the holiday season is in full swing; full of food, family, probably some stress, and more food. In many cultures, food and celebration are closely tied together. We gather around good food. We show love by making and sharing food. 

Enter the darker side of the holidays: diet culture and all the products associated with weight loss. We are inundated with messages about how we need to count calories, make up for food with exercise and ensure that our pants aren’t any tighter as we ring in the New Year. Many of you may be surprised I’m referring to this as “darker” because for a lot of us this just feels normal. 

I’d like to challenge you to consider adopting a different mindset this season that centers around intuitive eating rather than dieting. The main tenet of intuitive eating is that we need to learn to be more connected to our bodies and listen to what our bodies want. There are no “good foods” or “bad foods” but rather various options of things we can choose to eat. If you really listen to your body and have that cookie when you want it, great. Later you may notice that you want blueberries. Fantastic—now that’s what you should eat! 

Intuitive eating is a wake-up call to the mentality that many of us have that we should feel guilty about what we eat. We have been taught (mostly indirectly) that our worth is based on our weight. The goal with intuitive eating is more about mindfulness—being in the present moment rather than mindlessly ingesting food without tasting it. So this holiday season, could you eat some fantastic foods with the goal of really tasting them and really enjoying them? Can you take a moment and notice how you’re feeling before you choose the next food to eat?

It can be easy to get caught up in the outward appearance and size of our bodies. This is another thing that is heavily influenced by culture, as Americans are constantly being told that our body size and outer appearance define our worth. As challenging as it might seem, take a day and dedicate it to noticing all the wonderful things your body can do for you. For example, today I was able to get up and take my dog for a walk. Today my body gave me the ability to hug someone tight. Today my arms gave me the ability to move my wheelchair so that I could get to class. Today my pain level was low enough that I could pay better attention when having a conversation with my mom. As you can see based on these examples, you can do this exercise with differing physical abilities. It takes concerted effort to mentally recognize that our bodies are designed as vehicles to move us through life rather than mannequins to dress or diet into “perfection”. 

I appreciate this meditation included in “Intuitive Eating For Every Day”: 

I thank my body for all it has allowed me to do today. 
I appreciate every cell that works tirelessly for my existence,
From my beating heart cells to breathing lung cells. 
May I nourish every cell, in every organ, to complete satisfaction. 

 

You are more than your weight or your size. What makes you beautiful has nothing to do with your outward appearance. I hope you’ll join me in my plan to focus more on this throughout the coming weeks and into the new year. 

“Intuitive Eating is a journey of one—only I can know what my body needs.” -Evelyn Tribole 

 

 

Reference:

Tribole, E. (2021). Intuitive eating for every day. Chronicle Prism.