Embrace Holiday Feasting with Intuitive Eating
Grab that Schokoriegel and enjoy every last bite. The holidays are the perfect time to indulge in sugary treats and satisfy our sweet cravings. Depending on your relationship with food, this could be the best time of the year or a minefield of guilt and shame.
"We want to make people understand that food doesn't make us happy," says Elyse Resch, a registered dietitian, nutrition therapist, and co-author of Intuitive Eating. "When we go on a diet during the holidays, it's obviously going to breed rebellion."
If you're one of those people who feels guilty and ashamed about holiday indulgences, those feelings might be transferred to your kids. This could lead to a complex and unhealthy relationship with food, as they develop beliefs and emotions around food that are not based on nourishment and enjoyment.
Let's explore how intuitive eating can help you and your family establish a better relationship with food during the holidays.
What is intuitive eating?
Understanding the concept of intuitive eating is crucial to helping families develop a healthier relationship with food. Intuitive eating means listening to your body and trusting it to choose the foods that make you feel best. This philosophy is directly opposed to diets that restrict or prohibit certain foods.
Resch explains the idea as similar to feeding a baby. Regardless of whether they get nutrients from breast milk or a bottle, babies instinctively know when they're hungry and stop when they're full. As we grow older, our food cues change, often due to changes in food culture. This can make it harder to listen to our hunger and fullness signals and to stop eating when we're satisfied.
"Intuitive eating is about helping people reconnect with the food they were born to eat," said Resch.
Don't tell your kids 'you can only have one cookie'
The concept that people want what they can't have also applies to food. Telling your kids they can only have one cookie at a family gathering sends the wrong message about what and how much we should eat.
If you tell your kids they can only have one cookie and they really want more, they might feel guilty for wanting more. This can lead to a negative relationship with food.
"They say, 'I can't believe you know what's best for me,'" said Resch. "When we limit the possibilities for kids, we make them feel ashamed. We don't develop a sense of being able to nourish ourselves."
Children develop a lack of trust in their bodies when they're told to clean their plates even if they say they're full. We want to enjoy our food, and when children are burdened with finishing their meals, they learn not to trust their fullness cues, which can lead to feelings of dissatisfaction.
Kids don't only eat dessert
Most parents believe that if left to their own devices, children would only eat sweets and cakes at family gatherings. But if we start with a positive relationship with food from the beginning, kids will choose foods that they truly enjoy, not just the ones that are the most appealing.
Resch acknowledges that not all families can provide a variety of nutritious foods, but the process of starting to establish a healthy relationship with food begins with creating opportunities for children to sit and enjoy a meal together as often as possible. Kids will enjoy the food they find interesting, and that should hold true even at dinner parties.
"When kids get to choose what they want and not eat what they don't want, they don't just eat desserts, but other foods look fun and appealing," said Resch.
Putting it in practice
If you tell your kids they can only have one cookie and they really want more, they might feel guilty for wanting more. This can lead to a negative relationship with food.
Instead, allow your kids to make their own choices about what they want to eat. Don't place restrictions on what they can or can't eat. By doing so, you're giving them the freedom to choose what they truly enjoy and develop a positive relationship with food.
Changing your perspective on food can be a process, but it's one that's worth the effort. By understanding the concept of intuitive eating and putting it into practice, you can help your kids develop a healthy relationship with food that will last a lifetime.
Sources:
- Tylka, T., & Mann, T. (2016). Intuitive Eating and body respect in the real world: A systematic review of 2 randomized controlled trials. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 116(5), 680-696.
- Green, C. A., Becker, H. B., & Wardle, J. (2015). A systematic review of Mindful Eating programs and interventions. Appetite, 93, 82-99.
- Wierzbicki, A. F. (2006). Intuitive eating for teenagers. New Harbinger Publications, Inc.
- Resch, E., & Tufts-Coaction Research Ctr. (2012). Intuitive eating: A revolutionary program for overcoming diet disappointment and achieving permanent weight loss. North Atlantic Books.
