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October 5 - October 22, 2022
Sabina Strings, Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia,
Japanese have the wisdom to keep pleasure as one of their goals of healthy living.
“If you don’t love it, don’t eat it, and if you love it, savor it.”
The next time you see yourself eating in a way that feels uncomfortable, unsatisfying, or even out of control, give yourself the gift of remembering what you were thinking before you even took the first bite of food. Get curious. Examine that thought and challenge it. As you get more adept at the Intuitive Eating process, you’ll be able to catch these thoughts before they make you feel bad or cause undesirable behavior.
The Japanese have the wisdom to promote pleasure as one of their goals of healthy living. In our fury to comply with diet culture, we often overlook one of the most basic gifts of existence—the pleasure and satisfaction that can be found in the eating experience. When you eat what you really want, in an environment that is inviting, the pleasure you derive will be a powerful force in helping you feel satisfied and content.
The Japanese promote pleasure as one of their goals of healthy eating. “Make all activities pertaining to food and eating pleasurable ones” is one of their dietary guidelines for health promotion.
Finally, remember the three S’s of satisfying eating: • Eat slowly. • Eat sensually. • Savor every bite.
One of the biggest assets of being an Intuitive Eater is the ability to toss aside food that isn’t to your liking.
There is a growing movement that shifts the focus to all forms of well-being, rather than weight—it’s called Health at Every Size (HAES). Instead of focusing on numbers (weight), the emphasis is on forms of well-being and behaviors that are sustainable for people in all bodies, as well as the practices, environments, and policies that maximize access to well-being for all the people in all the bodies. Weight is not a behavior! For example, physical activity is vital for health, and it’s a sustainable behavior. (To learn more, see the sidebar “Health at Every Size,” here.)
Think of respecting your body in two ways: first, by making it comfortable, and second, by being responsive to its basic needs. You deserve to be comfortable. You deserve to get your basic needs met.
HAES promotes improved health behaviors for everyone, regardless of size (Bacon and Aphramor 2011).
Eating for well-being: Promote flexible, individualized eating based on hunger, satiety, nutritional needs, and pleasure, rather than any externally regulated eating plan focused on weight control.
Ultimately, the key message from the task force was, “In matters of taste, consider nutrition, and in matters of nutrition, consider taste.”
Do I really like the taste of these foods, or am I being a diet/health martyr? • How does eating this food or type of meal make my body feel? Do I like this feeling? • How do I feel when eating consistently in this manner? Do I like this feeling—would I choose to feel this way again?
Am I experiencing differences in my energy level?
Intuitive Eating Bill of Rights: You have the right to savor your meal, without cajoling or judgment, and without discussion of calories eaten or the amount of exercise needed to burn off said calories. You have the right to enjoy second servings without apology. You have the right to honor your fullness, even if that means saying “No, thank you,” without explanation, to dessert or a second helping of food. You have the right to stick to your original answer of no, even if you are asked multiple times. Just calmly and politely repeat, “No, thank you, really.” It is not your responsibility to
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Above all, do not bribe, reward, or attempt to comfort with food. Food is for hunger, satisfaction, and nourishment.
(See the link to the list of Intuitive Eating Counselors in the Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor Directory here
