How to Practice Flexibility Around Food
By: Kelsey Pukala, registered dietitian/nutritionist at Nourishing Minds Nutrition
If I asked you to describe your relationship with food in five words, what would you say? Would you use words like: confusing, obsessive, complicated, stuck and chaotic? Or is your relationship with food calm, free, easy, enjoyable and flexible?
I definitely don’t want to give you unrealistic expectations for what your relationship with food could be, because there’s no such thing as “perfect” eating or a perfect relationship with food. But, how can you begin to move towards flexibility, calm and ease around eating? What does that look like? So often, I hear clients explain how stuck they feel between restrictive dieting patterns and complete food freedom, just bobbing back and forth but not necessarily making “progress.” Maybe on paper this process of moving towards flexibility sounds like a smooth transition, but there is a LOT of work, time, compassion and practice as you navigate food freedom.
Remember, one step forward and two steps back is still one step forward. Your journey to food freedom and food flexibility isn’t defined by each individual food choice you make or even the amount of guilt or shame you feel after making a food choice. But rather, your food flexibility journey is defined by how you show yourself kindness and compassion in the process. What are you learning about yourself? The foods you like and dislike? What feels good in your body and what feels uncomfortable? PSA: There is no wrong way to pursue food flexibility!
There are a few practical ways to practice flexibility around food:
Get curious rather than judgmental
It’s so easy to get frustrated with ourselves if we feel like we messed up, made a mistake, ate the “wrong” thing or ate past fullness. Rather than approaching that behavior with judgment and criticism, for example:
I can’t believe I did that
I know better
I’m never going to be an intuitive eater
I can’t eat xyz tomorrow
… Can you approach these behaviors with curiosity? Here are a few ways to reframe these thoughts with curiosity:
I can’t believe I did that 🡪 I wonder what my vulnerabilities were?
I know better 🡪 This is new for me and I’m still learning about myself
I’m never going to be an intuitive eater 🡪 This process is harder than I expected and that’s okay
I can’t eat xyz tomorrow 🡪 I don’t have to let a previous meal dictate my future meals
Practice, Practice, Practice!
While intuitive eating is intuitive, it’s also something we have often become so disconnected with, that we don’t even know what our intuition is telling us! In some ways, Intuitive Eating is actually a set of learned skills that needs to be developed and practiced. We are all born intuitive eaters, but because we live in a world obsessed with dieting, over time we become more and more disconnected from our intuition.
How can you practice being more flexible? There are a lot of ways to go about this, but here are a few ideas for you:
-Buy one new thing to try at the grocery store this week. It doesn’t have to be fancy or elaborate… it could be something as simple as picking a different type of fruit or vegetable or ice cream flavor. But, let it be something that sounds good to you!
-If available, introduce one “fear food” into your day then journal about what comes up for you around that food… thoughts, emotions, fears etc.
-Practice compassion and kindness when something doesn’t go as planned – what comes up for you when you have to deviate from your plan? How can you practice compassion with yourself? This could be around eating, but also around other things like movement and exercise.
-When all else fails… ask yourself “would I say this to a friend?” If a friend came to you and expressed the same concerns you have around food, how would you respond to them? My hunch is you would be a LOT more forgiving than you are with yourself.
We say it all the time: you never “arrive” at Intuitive Eating. It’s a journey. There’s no right or wrong way to pursue Intuitive Eating and every eating experience is an opportunity to learn something about yourself.
Kelsey, Megan and I (the team of dietitians at Nourishing Minds Nutrition) hope to see you at the FREE workshop I am hosting to help you understand and embrace food flexibility in your life.
The workshop starts THIS WEEK with four dates available to choose from.
If you been a little too obsessed with your eating, food choices and all things health and wellness- this workshop was made for you.
The Food Obsession to Food Flexibility Workshop is free but there are limited spots available.
Hope to see you there! Learn more and sign up HERE.
