Two approaches for changing your relationship with food

Weight loss or maintaining a healthy weight can be difficult for many of us. Most of us have tried dieting at some stage of our lives. Often the more we try, or the more intense the diet, the harder it can be to sustain those eating habits and the weight creeps back on. We are left feeling discouraged and defeated. There are, however, some other options in regards to changing our mindset that can assist us to make changes to be healthier.   

Healthy at every stage (HAES)                  

‘HAES’ stands for Healthy At Every Size and is a ‘weight-inclusive’ approach to being healthy. It recognises that healthy doesn’t always look the same and that being ‘skinny’ is not always healthy and being in a larger body doesn’t mean you are unhealthy. Instead, it focuses on ensuring you are being healthy and practising good health in your day-to-day life, regardless of the size of your body.

Finding what healthy means for you.

Healthy will look different to all of us. Some principles of HAES include:

1.     Eating for your well-being – eat wholesome foods that your body needs based on hunger, nutritional value and enjoyment instead of choosing foods or diets just to regulate your weight. This includes the use of Intuitive Eating (see below).  

2.     Life-enhancing movement – encouraging movement that is fun and enjoyable and can be accessed by people of all shapes and sizes.

3.     Health enhancement – the understanding that health does not just include physical health but also incorporates spiritual, economic, social, emotional and other needs.

Intuitive eating

Intuitive Eating dismisses the idea of a “traditional diet”. It follows the principles that your body knows what it needs and knows the weight that it is comfortable at – and this weight will change throughout your life. It makes you the ‘expert on your body’ and encourages you to listen to the hunger cues of your body for what you really need.

Principles of Intuitive Eating:

1.     Reject the diet mentality – modern diets often leave you feeling life a failure and create a poor relationship with your body and food.

2.     Honour your hunger – eat when you are hungry. Don’t resist food and rebuild your trust in food and your body.

3.     Make peace with food – allow yourself to eat what you want. Resisting certain foods can often lead to overindulgence and more feelings of failure when you do ‘give in’ to this temptation.

4.     Challenge the food police – be conscious of your thoughts about food telling you something is good for you, bad for you or has too many calories.

5.     Discover Satisfaction – choose foods you enjoy, not foods you think you should have. Not only will you be happy but you will only eat what you need.

6.     Feel your fullness – listen to your body and pause while you are eating to check in if you are still enjoying it and if you are full.

7.     Cope with your emotions using kindness – eating your emotions can often lead to short term comfort but long term guilt. Recognise these emotions within you and understand that food will not solve the problem.

8.     Respect your body – All bodies deserve dignity and as mentioned above you can be healthy at EVERY size. Learn to love your body for what it is and feel better about yourself.

9.     Movement – Find movement you enjoy and enjoy the feeling afterwards.

10.  Honour your health – choose foods that honour your health and do not stress about having ‘treats’. You are not going to suddenly become unhealthy from one food choice. Progress is most important.

A practitioner’s perspective

There is value in both approaches. However, there are times when weight loss becomes essential such as when there is pain in a joint; if you have a heart condition or diabetes; or if your pelvic floor is not functioning adequately.

If these situations are occurring, we need to explore whether a person is truly healthy or if there is an aspect of health that can be improved. The best approach for each individual will depend on a number of factors and understanding what your current relationship with food is a great start.

Once you make changes to become healthier, you can expect to feel stronger, be able to move more freely, reduce you pain and improve pelvic floor function. With increased wellbeing, this can positively impact your mental health and overall happiness. So what are you waiting for?

Any body size or shape can be healthy. Healthy does not look a certain way. We need to learn to trust our body, love our body and give it what it needs.

If you are tired of the diet treadmill and ready to learn new ways to improve your health and feel better about yourself, contact us on 07 5337 9853.