In the past, most people thought of healthy eating as being about what you should eat and what you shouldn’t eat. There were foods that were good for you and foods that were bad for you. For a lot of people, the goal might have been to lose or at least maintain their weight.
That relationship with food is changing for many people, at the encouragement of dietitians and nutritionists who want them to banish “diet culture” and focus less on the ways food hurts them and more on the way food helps them.
Rejecting “Diet Culture”
When people talk about diet culture, it often looks like:
- An emphasis on strict restriction, especially restricting calories or specific nutrients: For example, avoiding all fats or carbohydrates even from nutrient-dense foods
- A goal of weight loss or weight maintenance that feels unachievable: For example, constantly worrying about losing 10 vanity pounds
- Designating certain foods, food groups, or eating times as off limits or bad: For example, no sugary treats, no snacking between meals, no dinner after 6 p.m.
For some people, this is confusing—these kinds of practices are healthy in theory, and something you might have been taught by your doctor. The nuance is in your mindset. If you have a healthy approach to this advice—great! The problem is when you find yourself constantly monitoring what you eat or worried about food to the point that it interferes with your mental health or your daily life.
“There is no flexibility in a diet mentality—it either is or isn’t in your program, and this is not sustainable long term, which only creates unhealthy eating habits and yo-yo dieting, which is bad for your metabolism,” says Shelley Balls, a registered dietitian and nutritionist.
Switching Your Mindset
In some ways, it’s as simple as changing your mindset when it comes to healthy eating habits. “Viewing our eating habits as nourishing ourselves takes the negativity out of it,” says Stacy Antos, a certified health coach and self-care strategist for women. “It’s about eating food, noticing how it makes us feel, and choosing to focus mostly on what helps us feel good in our body, provide steady energy throughout the day, and may even contribute to weight loss if that’s the goal.”
Consciously focusing on hunger, fullness, and satisfaction can be difficult for someone who has always been guided by diet rules. However, this practice—often described as intuitive eating—can lead to better overall health:
- An observational study published in the peer-reviewed journal Eating and Weight Disorders in 2021 found intuitive eating is associated with glycemic control in type 2 diabetes.
- Similarly, a study published in the Journal of Nutritional Education and Behavior found adults who eat intuitively are likely to eat more fruits and vegetables.
Why? Consider this: Maybe it’s the middle of an afternoon when you’re feeling hungry but you’re craving chips—realistically, you might know the chips won’t fill you up, but avoiding the chips won’t make the craving go away. So, what if you were to have a small portion of chips with 1) a dollop of hummus for fiber and healthy fats, along with 2) a string cheese for protein. That way, you get to enjoy the chips while also satisfying your hunger by making your snack more nutrient-dense. It balances want with need.
Nourishment first: Putting the emphasis on nourishment takes the emphasis off restriction. “A nourishment-focused approach focuses on what you can add to your plate instead of restriction,” says Mel Spinella, a women’s health dietitian. “Focusing on meals balanced with protein and fiber is key for feeling full and satisfied, energized, and overall more in control around food.”
Good choices in the long term: Being too restrictive isn’t sustainable. When you focus on nourishment, and giving yourself consistent nutrients throughout the day, you’re more likely to continue making healthy choices. “I hear from clients all the time, ‘I eat so well in the morning, but then everything falls apart at night,’” Spinella says. “This doesn’t happen because the person ‘failed’ the diet, but rather hunger is a biological response to being too restrictive. Eating regular, balanced meals throughout the day can help keep hunger levels more steady.”
Focus on Health, Not Weight
Many people make the mistake of telling themselves they want to be healthier, but what they really want is to lose weight. Losing weight does come with positive outcomes, but it can be a difficult goal. If the weight doesn’t come off, it’s easy to get discouraged. Instead, you can focus on other measurable outcomes that are more controllable with a nutritious diet.
For example: “I want to lower my blood sugar.”
“I want to lower my blood pressure.”
“I want to lower my cholesterol.”
“I want to have the energy to train for a 5K.”
Nutritious food is an integral part of all these goals—and as a bonus, you may lose weight while pursuing them. But even if the numbers on the scale don’t move, you’ll have the pride and satisfaction of knowing your other health metrics still improved.
Choose to Feed Yourself
Even while you’re striving to have a better relationship with food, you may face days where you have negative body image—that’s normal. Balls emphasizes these are days when you still need to eat. “Making the choice of ‘I don’t like the way my body looks today, but I’m going to nourish it anyways’ with nutritious foods is a way healthier mentality than skipping meals,” she says.
And when you understand all foods fit into a healthy diet, sometimes the healthiest thing you can do is let yourself enjoy a small indulgence. A small portion of your favorite dessert might not offer you a lot of nutrients, but it offers you a lot of pleasure—and a small portion in the context of an otherwise nutritious diet won’t slow you down. As Antos puts it, “Nourishment comes from a place of knowing your body, choosing to mostly eat foods that make you feel good, and not shaming yourself if you choose something another person might consider ‘bad.’”
