What is Healthy and Normal Eating?
What is healthy? What is “normal” eating?
Do those questions cause you feelings of confusion and discouragement?
What is healthy?
The World Health Organization defines healthy as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”(1)
Being healthy does not just mean physical health but includes mental and emotional health as well. The body, mind, and soul are interrelated. In order to feel and be your best, you must nurture the body, the mind, and the soul. Each piece of the puzzle is vital to your health and wellbeing.
You must foster a healthy self-image and create a relationship with yourself that is nourishing- this includes loving your body. On this blog there is zero tolerance for body-shaming. We are all beautiful women and men. The habits that surround your eating patterns may impact how you see yourself. This is where normal eating comes in.
What is normal eating?
I love this definition given by Ellyn Satter, MS, RDN, MSSW, it’s long but it’s a goodie:)Normal eating is going to the table hungry and eating until you are satisfied. It is being able to choose food you like and eat it and truly get enough of it- not just stop eating because you think you should. Normal eating is being able to give some thought to your food selection so you get nutritious food, but not being so wary and restrictive that you miss out on enjoyable food. Normal eating is giving yourself permission to eat sometimes because you are happy, sad or bored, or just because it feels good. Normal eating is mostly three meals a day, or four or five, or it can be choosing to munch along the way. It is leaving some cookies on the plate because you know you can have some again tomorrow, or it is eating more now because they taste so wonderful. Normal eating is overeating at times, feeling stuffed and uncomfortable. And it can be undereating at times and wishing you had more. Normal eating is trusting your body to make up for your mistakes in eating. Normal eating takes up some of your time and attention, but keeps its place as only one important area of your life. In short, normal eating is flexible. It varies in response to your hunger, your schedule, your proximity to food and your feelings.”(2)If you are one of those people who think a little too much about what you can and cannot eat, this post is for you. Why can’t eating be fun?? AND flexible???
Normal eating is not obsessing about the little things.
-It’s learning how to let things go and move on.
-It’s about learning how to trust your body and creating a loving, nourishing, healthy relationship with it.
-It’s about letting yourself be alive in the moment! It’s eating that hamburger and shake because it sounds good.
-It’s savoring each bite.
If your world is not quite what you would like it, I urge you to tip the scales. It’s time to create a world in which your body/mind/soul are at peace with one another. It is a difficult journey. It requires patience, diligence, courage, and self-love. It might take you all your life, but I can tell you it is worth it. What is your definition of health and normal eating?
Love,
Kaylee
1. WHO. http://www.who.int/about/definition/en/print.html
2. Ellyn Satter Institute. http://ellynsatterinstitute.org/hte/whatisnormaleating.phpPlease share!