Did you know, you make about 200+ choices about food a day? That’s a lot!
There is so much power in choice, it would be a disservice to reduce ‘eating right’ to just choosing foods you think are quote healthy. Eating only whole foods without enjoying foods you love would be neither satisfying or sustainable.
The truth is making food choices that support how you want to feel can be challenging. Especially if you aren’t aware of or equipped to handle the nuances with the tools, and skills for simplifying these everyday decisions.
If you find making food choices challenging.
You may have thoughts that sound like this…
“Everyone else is going on the diet. I should do it too.”
“I love cake but I should eat the fruit instead to be good.”
“I had one cookie might as well have the rest of them.”
“What yogurt is best for me? Maybe that was a bad choice because it had too much sugar.”
Keep eating simple.
Eating has a tendency to get really complicated quickly which may lead to the development of unhealthy eating behaviors that result in feelings of guilt, shame, frustration and/or disappointment.
The stories, beliefs and attitudes you have about food affect the food choices you make and your wellbeing. There are ways to simplify, making food choices.
It might be tempting to resort to a meal plan , diet or cleanse because they don’t have to choose right?!
But the truth is meal plans or diets will only take you so far, because they don’t consider your unique circumstance, needs and leave you lost and confused.
Instead of resorting to a meal plan, diet or food rules that limit your choices. Be open to exploring how to simplify and make better food choices. Putting in the practices will allow you to find flexibility with eating that you can’t achieve with diets.
With the right tools and practice you’ll be able to eat with freedom, and to feel confident when you making your food choices.
4 ways to simplify food choices.
- Tune into your body’s unique needs.
When the world around you is chaotic, and you have thoughts on your mind besides just what you should be eating. There is this tendency to follow the crowd, it can be easy to allow someone else to make a decision for you. Or even to be influenced by someone else food choices.
Taking a moment to check in with yourself, “how hungry am I?”, “is this food something I really even enjoy eating? or would I prefer _____ .” This little pause will support you in aligning your decision with how your body is feeling at that specific moment.
2. Step away from labeling your behaviors as “good” or “bad”.
Your choices do not determine your moral character. The tendency to label your behaviors as good/bad I.e. “ eating beets is good” or “eating chips is bad”, has a way of shifting your thoughts, where by eating good, will give an urge to “eat bad”, however you define it.
Plus you may then use illogical ideas for permission to eat. Like “I ran 3 miles today, so I deserve a piece of cheesecake”.
Instead give yourself full permission to eat freely, no validation required.
3. Shine a light on how you experience food.
Let’s start by saying each day is different, it offers unique situations, and a level of uncertainty. Therefore you may have a completely wonderful experience with food one day and the next not so much. It is totally normal to have these inconsistencies with your eating experience, Lots of time you are able to learn from them and grow. There is really no such thing as eating perfectly, and trying to achieve an unrealistic way of eating or body image is like chancing your tail.
You can ask yourself when it comes better understanding how and why you experience food the way you do. From your preferences, to what foods did you grow up eating? Getting really clear on what foods you enjoy and bringing awareness to each eating experience. From
4. Notice the emotions you feel around making food choices.
Paying attention to the emotions that arise when it comes time to make the call on what to eat exciting? Or stressful? Do you feel like you never know what to eat? What are some of the same feelings that pop up. Do you feel guilt or shame because you know you want to eat something you shouldn’t?
Allowing your emotions to influence food choice happens probably more often than you think. Whether it is an impulse buy in the grocery store aisle or just noshing because it is fun and social. There are plenty of times where eating happens, when you are not necessarily hungry and absolutely okay!
When emotional eating happens routinely as a coping mechanism to relieve stress, anxiety or overwhelm or to numb from feeling difficult emotions that is when it becomes frequent or the only method for coping is when we need to look a bit deeper.
Creating a healthy relationship with food takes patience, practice, a whole lot of compassion and awareness. This can be challenging to do on your own without a professional to support you in unlearning beliefs, and patterns of eating that are making it stressful and difficult to make food choices.
If you are open and ready to make changes, you may benefit from working with a nutrition expert, to address your unique nutrition needs, provide clarity and support so you can be confident and find ease in making food choices. Fill out the form here to schedule a free phone call with me, to see if nutrition coaching is right for you.
Leave a Reply