The Day I Became A Normal Eater
What is normal eating, anyway?
The best way that I can define it is: eating when we are hungry, stopping when we are satisfied, and taking the emotional component out of it. This is exactly why the first 3 letters in my G.O.A.L.S. principles are Get Hungry First, Observe for Fullness, Allow Feelings.
And, while these principles sound simple… we often have difficulty implementing them because we just don’t trust them. Doesn’t this sound silly? We would rather trust some “diet plan” before we would our own body. Now, for many, following a prescribed plan is no big deal. But, for those of us who have ever been on a diet and have struggled; following someone else’s prescribed nutrition plan just isn’t going to work. Not long-term.
Those of us who do not have “normal eating” usually do 1 of 2 things (or both). They are either constantly restricting food, or they are saying yes to food most of the time. So, wherever you may fall on this spectrum, the idea is to find yourself in the middle. If you say “No” too often, then we actually need to say “Yes” more often. If you say “Yes” more often, then we need to learn how to respectively say “No.”
But if I say “yes,” won’t I gain weight? But if I say “no,” won’t I feel deprived?
The idea is that if we can live in the middle and become “normal eaters,” then we will say “yes” and “no” appropriately. And, by default - we will become less emotional eaters.
Now, if this is a new concept for you… then I must warn you. This will not happen overnight. You will need to play around with your “yes” and “no” functions in order to get it just right. If you are a restrictive eater, then it may be easy to potentially overdo it. If you are an emotional eater who says “yes” more often, then there is a possibility that you will say “no” a bit too much and feel restricted.
You see, no one can tell us exactly how to find our own normal eating. We just have to be curious and experiment. What does it take to actually move forward with this strategy? I can tell you that it takes a whole lot of trusting the process. But, ultimately, if we are able to normalize our eating, we will be able to enjoy contentment, joy, and freedom. Food will have less control over us.
You know when you make your best friend a care package. And, you think about him/her opening it and the delight they will feel. We believe that our friend will feel cared for. Well, imagine giving yourself the ultimate care package of listening to and honoring your body. Every time you make a food decision, you get to do that.
Whether it is saying “no” to extra bites because you are already full, or saying “yes” to the birthday cake at the party… the idea is that you become empowered to be the authority on your own health. And, when we feel empowered, we will continue to take actions that will honor our health.