Tag Archive for: food enjoyment

4 Steps to Eating Intuitively on Vacation

Chronic dieters are familiar with the all-or-nothing mindset. Either they are following all the guidelines laid out by the diet perfectly, or they don’t. When it comes to vacations, dieters who promise themselves they won’t eat anything they “shouldn’t” miss out on all the delectable foods that this new destination has to offer. Or, more commonly, they adopt the “nothing” mindset and just eat mindlessly thinking, “I will resume my diet when I get home.”

 

I have heard many of my clients vent their frustration that they know they will inevitably gain weight on vacation because they will be eating differently. Often, I hear the terms “good food” and “bad food” thrown around. Clients eat too much of the “bad food” and feel guilty for days when they return home, or even while on vacation.

 

With all that money spent on vacation, it should be enjoyed without guilt. That is one of the reasons I encourage chronic dieters to begin to reject the diet mentality and embrace intuitive eating. When you listen to your body’s hunger and fullness cues and needs, you can nourish your body anywhere without guilt. Your dieting habits are inevitably going to change in a new place; however, your mindset doesn’t need to.

 

Trust your body and enjoy yourself while you are away. Vacation should not be stressful. That is why I have come up with a few ideas that you can keep in mind while you’re away.

 

Here are the 4 Steps to Eating Intuitively While on Vacation:

 

  1. Tune in to your body

 

If you are looking through the menu at a local restaurant and something catches your eye, go for it! Or perhaps you want to end your meal with dessert. If you are truly listening to your body, you won’t overindulge, and you’ll be able to stop eating or drinking when you want to. Some of these cuisines you may not have the opportunity to try again.

 

  1. Trust your body.

 

Trusting your body and the intuitive eating process will help you enjoy your vacation even more. You will most likely eat more than you used to because you’re trying new foods, but you need to trust that your body will respond intuitively and tell you when you’ve had enough. Don’t forget to put your fork down between bites so you can stay attuned to your body’s needs.

 

  1. Make time for breakfast and lunch.

 

Vacations often mean sleeping late, missing breakfast, and an overall erratic eating schedule. You may be the type of person who has a full schedule even while on vacation. If that is the case, your body needs fuel to keep it going. Make it a priority to start your day off with breakfast and pack a lunch to take with you, or plan a lunch stop in your itinerary. It’s easy to get caught up in all the activities, but if you skip a meal, you’re more likely to eat past satiety at dinner.

 

  1. Pack your favorite snacks for a busy day.

 

It can be easy to forget to pack snacks when you’re busy with activities, but it’s important. Your body will need to use the food as energy to do all the activities you have planned. Take the few extra minutes before you leave to pack a goodie bag of snacks. Be sure to include at least 2 food groups for your snacks. Your body will thank you when you’re not starving heading into lunch or dinner.

 

Your vacation is a time for relaxation and happy times and should not coincide with “giving up” your intuitive eating practice. Be mindful and always listen to your body and your vacation will become even more enjoyable.

4 Ways to Incorporate Gentle Nutrition

After years of dieting you may feel like your life is ruled by food. The dieting mindset has taught you that food is meant to be consumed under strict guidelines without enjoyment. However, you probably realize now that this is just not true!

 

Remember back to when you were a child, there were so many exciting things to experience every day, and meals and snacks were just a part of the routine.  Day-to-day life was not driven by whether or not you ate the “right” or “wrong” foods.

 

When you focus too much on eating and dieting, food begins to control your life rather than being a part of your day.  You find yourself cancelling your lunch date with your friends because you’re afraid there will be nothing on the menu that you “can” eat. Following food rules to hopefully lose weight removes the pleasurable experiences from your life.

 

The good news is that when you finally give up dieting you do not need to follow external food rules anymore. When you start the intuitive eating journey  you learn how to eat based on your body’s hunger and fullness cues. And, when you rely on your body’s signals, you enjoy each and every eating experience.

 

The concept of “Gentle Nutrition” can be confusing for you. In truth, if you are still dismantling diet culture messages that have flooded your mind, you may not be ready to learn how to incorporate nutrition into your journey in a gentle way. And that’s okay. Your time will come. But if you are ready, then here are some gentle ways for you to do so from a lens of self-care!

 

4 Tips to Incorporate Gentle Nutrition

 

1. Start Your Day with Breakfast

When you wake up in the morning, your body calls for fuel. If you ignore this call, you will likely overeat later in the day. Instead of focusing on food as a tool for weight loss, focus on it as a tool for fueling your body to get your day started. As a past dieter, you likely skipped breakfast because you either claimed you weren’t hungry or that it caused you to eat more throughout the day. On the contrary, when you skip breakfast, you set yourself up to be overly hungry which then leads to overeating. Enjoy a hearty nutritious breakfast such as oatmeal with fruit and nuts or a veggie omelet in a whole grain tortilla.  You will see how much energy you have to start your day and will find you are not “starving” by lunchtime.

 

2. Be Prepared – Bring Healthy Snacks with You

If you approach mealtime feeling ravenous, you may eat beyond comfortable fullness to the point that you feel stuffed and sick. When you begin to feel the first signals of hunger, the only way to answer that call is to eat, which you can only do if you have food with you. This is the reason why I always carry some snacks when I leave the house and I recommend you do too. Having snacks on hand will prevent you from making a trip to the vending machine and can even save you some money.

 

3. Be Creative with Produce

If you’ve been a dieter, you have probably had your fill of fruits and veggies. Maybe so much so that you avoid them at this point (“carrot sticks, no thanks!”) Do a quick audit of the food you eat in a day. If you’re falling short on produce, then you are falling short on valuable nutrients and antioxidants for good health. Instead of reluctantly adding steamed broccoli to your menu, get creative. Make a spinach lasagna, stuffed peppers or a roasted eggplant salad.

 

For more recipes and intuitive eating wisdom, check out this resource!

 

4. Approach Your Meal with Positivity

By making food a positive force in your life, you will end that unhappy relationship you’ve had with food and be on the road to optimal health and wellness. Approach each meal as an opportunity to show respect to your body. Keeping the intuitive eating principles (https://dietfreeradiantme.com/intuitive-eating-for-adults/) top of mind will ensure you have full satisfaction in your meals.

 

What is one food rule you might still be holding onto that is preventing you from enjoying gentle nutrition for your health.