Karen is interested in changing her eating habits to improve her health and energy level. A close friend of hers, Samantha, has just recently started consuming only raw foods in order to “maximize nutrient absorption and decrease her risk of cancer and heart disease,” and reports feeling great. Karen is considering the change, but is concerned that she will only stick to it for a few days or weeks. With her love of all foods, Karen knows that she will end up feeling deprived of her favorite dishes. Still, Karen feels intrigued, and can’t help comparing her varied eating habits to Samantha’s seemingly health-promoting plan.

Diet messages traditionally focus on changing eating habits in order to lose weight. The Health at Every Size approach emphasizes the importance of focusing on the complete health of the individual, regardless of weight. When you begin to shift to this non-diet approach, it is important to be critical of food and nutrition messages that you come across on a daily basis.

Is this a diet?

Well, it really depends on where you are at. Do an honest self evaluation of your eating habits:

~ Am I responding to my hunger, appetite, and satiety?
~ Do the foods I eat satisfy me?
~ Do I feel deprived because I am avoiding certain foods?
~ Am I able to enjoy all foods, without any feelings of guilt?

When you are responding to your body’s natural cues, you feel satisfied with your eating experiences and do not feel deprived or guilty. When you listen to your reliable body signals, you trust that these innate cues will not lead you astray. Your body naturally knows what it needs, and will encourage your desire for a variety of nutritious and pleasurable foods regularly.

As you have more positive experiences with eating, you may become interested in learning more about food and nutrition. Based on what you learn, you may choose to change your eating habits. As you change your habits, reflect back to the questions above to be sure that you are taking care of yourself, without falling into a restrictive, deprivation-driven pattern of eating.

Red flags of dieting messages include:

Feeling like you have to overhaul your eating habits all at once in order to get it “right.”  It’s best to focus on one or two simple, sustainable changes at a time. When those changes become a habit, work on the next one or two changes.

Using “good foods/bad foods” categories.  When you judge foods that you like to eat, you end up judging yourself as “good” or “bad” when you eat them. Instead, keep all foods that you enjoy legal or neutral in your mind. Based on your new knowledge, you may decide that you no longer want to eat certain foods, but be sure you are completely at peace with that decision. Also, be nonjudgmental about foods that other people choose to eat.

Feeling overwhelmed after reading new information.  Are you empowered to make some gradual and significant changes? Or do you feel like a failure in the world of food and nutrition? If you feel overwhelmed, it’s likely that the messages are promoting diet-like changes that are not sustainable. Take a step back and focus on what you can change in order to move you closer to a long-term non-diet goal.

Two months after her raw diet experiment, Samantha is now back to eating a variety of foods. She told Karen that she was not able to keep up with the diet, and that she was tired of avoiding dinner functions that included foods not on her plan. Karen never ended up starting the raw foods diet, but has started shopping more often at her farmer’s market to buy local ingredients for some of the new recipes she is trying.

I’d like to hear from you: what have been some of your experiences with eating as you have shifted to the Health at Every Size approach?

Brought to you by: Plus-SizeBra.com

Melissa is a Registered Dietitian, Certified Personal Trainer, and Intrinsic Coach(TM), and is the owner of Well Being--Nutrition & Wellness Services, LLC. Melissa uses HAES principles in working with all clients, and primarily works with clients recovering from eating disorders and disordered eating patterns. To learn more, please .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).