GENTLE NUTRITION Is it possible to eat what simply sounds good AND honor my health? Many people grapple with this balance of food cravings with nutritional information they’ve learned as they begin to let go of rigid diet rules and adopt an intuitive way of eating. Gentle nutrition allows food desires and nutritional information to live in harmony, reducing the internal battle that often accompanies food choices. Gentle nutrition teaches us to listen to both our physical health needs and our mental health needs, applying what we know about nutrition in a non-diet, flexible way that allows for all foods to be an option. There’s no judgment around the food or sacrifice when implementing gentle nutrition. It gives you a compass to make the decision that’s right for you at the moment. It’s giving yourself the opportunity to apply nutritional information instead of letting that rule your decision-making. Let’s walk through what this might look like in the real world.
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October 2021
A BALANCE OF HEALTH AND SATISFACTION
APPLYING GENTLE NUTRITION The first step in applying gentle nutrition is to ask yourself if you’re craving anything in particular. This step alone takes some getting used to. Often we just react to being hungry and don’t stop to ask ourselves what actually sounds good. Two things to work through during this first step: Ask yourself what sounds appealing in terms of all five senses: taste, texture, aroma, temperature, appearance, and size/amount. For example, do I want something hot or cold? Crunching or smooth? Salty, sour, or sweet? This will give you your first clue as to what would be most satisfying for you. The second thing is to remember that you will always get another opportunity to eat. This meal is not your one and only chance to have whatever it is that sounds good. There will be another time, actually every time once this tool is learned(!) to eat what you want.
Once you’ve identified if you are craving something, ask yourself if applying gentle nutrition would make the craving just as satisfying. Or, put another way, would implementing gentle nutrition take away from my satisfaction of simply fulfilling the craving? Here’s an example. It’s a hot summer evening after the kids have gone to bed. You start to crave something sweet, cold, and creamy. You immediately think about the ice cream in the freezer. You also know that having sugar this late at night makes you sleep restlessly. Without any judgment or mental diet debate, ask yourself if you’re craving ice cream in particular or if some vanilla yogurt with fruit and honey would do the trick. It’s also cold and creamy and wouldn’t disrupt your sleep. If the answer is no, then have the ice cream! End of conversation. If you think the yogurt would be just as satisfying, then congratulations! You’ve just implemented gentle nutrition.
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