- Real Nourished: Reinventing Your Relationship with Food
- Posts
- You can forget about healthy eating for the rest of the year
You can forget about healthy eating for the rest of the year
Stuff you actually want to read about from Pam Moore
Content warning: disordered eatingHi ,On the way home from the pool on Sunday I felt the sudden urge to punch my dashboard. I was listening to the radio (yes, I was seriously listening to FM radio and if that makes me a fossil, fine) when the DJ joked, “You can forget about healthy eating for the rest of the year!” I know it’s just a relatable joke. I know she wasn’t speaking to me personally. I know she’s a radio personality, not a healthcare professional. I know all of this, but still, her offhand comment had me enraged. Here’s why. 1| The idea that you can just say "Forget it!" when it comes to healthy eating during the holidays assumes that healthy eating is binary — either you’re eating kale salad and acai smoothie bowls or you’re eating Taco Bell three meals a day. But healthy eating (or any measure of health) is not an all-or-nothing proposition. Before I found intuitive eating I had this habit where I’d eat “healthy” for days (read: avoid carbs, eat salads that left me bored and often hungry, and generally micromanage my eating to the point of mental exhaustion) until something — a random cookie, a glass of wine, my kids’ leftover chicken nuggets — sent me careening “off the wagon.” Once I’d eaten that one bite, slice, nugget, whatever, my attitude immediately shifted to “Who cares?” Who cares if this doesn’t even taste that great, I’m eating it now because I am not allowing myself to eat it ever again.Who cares if I’m so full it's uncomfortable? I’ve already ruined my “healthy eating” plan, might as well really go for itWho cares if I’m getting sick of eating this? I need to finish the whole thing so it won’t tempt me tomorrow. That mentality, also known as black-and-white thinking, doesn’t make sense. Worse, it creates the perfect conditions for the binge/restrict/repeat cycle. The idea that you have to eat an entire chocolate bar just because you had a square of chocolate, or that you must eat all the sweets in your pantry just because you had one cookie is just that — an idea. Facts: You can always choose what or how much you want to eat, no matter what you’ve already eaten. Full stop. 2| Healthy eating isn’t just about what’s in the food.It’s also about how you feel — both physically and emotionally — when you eat it. I’m not here to convince you that chocolate cake is more nutritionally dense than a bowl of your mom’s vegetable soup. (It’s not.) But if you like chocolate cake and you want to enjoy a slice as part of a celebration among friends and family, that can be a very healthy choice. I’m thinking of the time I gnawed on a head of romaine when everyone else was devouring a box of chocolates and let me tell you, there was nothing healthy about that lettuce, fiber content and all.Do you love your aunt’s Christmas cookies? Do you look forward to frying up a batch (or two or three) of your grandmother’s famous matzoh latkes every Hannukah? Does your work host a potluck holiday party every December? If enjoying those foods makes your soul happy (and you don’t have a medical reason to avoid them), give yourself full permission to eat them. What’s unhealthy is the guilt and shame we associate with eating “bad” foods. Not only that, but the more we tell ourselves we shouldn’t have something, the more exciting it becomes. When we take away the rules, those “off-limits” foods become far less exciting and your decision about whether and how much of them to eat is driven by your body’s needs and your heart’s true desire not your obsessive mind.
Hit reply and let me know what foods you look forward to at this time of year (My favorites would have to be the aforementioned, not at all hypothetical latkes and chocolate peppermint bark.)xo,
P.S. Are you ready to let go of black-and-white thinking and forge a healthy relationship with food and your body? If you need help, I'd be honored to be part of your journey. Click here to find out how we can work together or just hit reply with any questions.
4 Things Worth Checking Out
If you have 50 minutes: I had the opportunity to chat with The Another Mother Runner podcast about intuitive eating for athletes and we had a blast.
If you have two minutes: Fat is not a feeling. (Raffela Mancuso's IG post explains why.)
If you have 10 minutes: A diabetes medication called Ozempic is being prescribed as a weight loss drug and it ruins the taste of food.
If you have five minutes: Jessica Grose wrote a thoughtful piece for the NY Times on the "slim thick ideal" and what it means for girls and women.
The Real Fit podcast features real conversations with women athletes on topics like body image and confidence, my goal is to share stories that will let you know you're not alone and that you're already enough. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and anywhere you listen to juicy podcasts. New episodes every other Tuesday.
Are you ready to heal your relationship with food and exercise?
I’m on a mission to help smart women like you stop wasting your precious energy on the quest to shrink your body. You were made to do amazing things and your obsession with food, exercise, and body image is a huge distraction.Together we can clear that mental clutter and turbocharge your path to being your best self.I'm a certified intuitive eating counselor, occupational therapist, and certified personal trainer and I offer 1:1 intuitive eating coaching services.
Thank you so much for inviting me into your inbox.
If you appreciate receiving this newsletter, my podcast, or any of the other content I'm creating,you can show your gratitudeby treating me to a cup of coffee.
Did you get this newsletter from a friend? CLICK HERE to get it directly in your inbox every other Tuesday.As an insider, you'll get your FREE guide:"11 Things You Can Do Right Now to Feel Better in Your Body."
Let's connect!
