Have you ever heard of “food freedom”? It’s a term that’s buzzing around social media lately, but what does it really mean? Well, food freedom is about ditching the rules about what you eat and not judging yourself based on your food choices. It’s about separating morality from the food you eat, and is often linked to something called Intuitive Eating, which can help you reach food freedom.
Do You Have Food Rules?
Whether you realize it or not, you likely have some food rules that dictate how, when, or why you eat certain foods. Some examples of common food rules are:
- Avoid sugar.
- No snacking between meals.
- No food after a certain time of day.
- Fruit is too high in sugar.
- I can only eat sweets if I workout before.
- Avoid all processed foods.
- This food is good, while this one is bad.
These are just a few examples of food rules, there are many more that may be specific to you and how you grew up. Sometimes you don’t realize something you do is a food rule, it’s just something you’ve always done. If you’ve ever thought, said, or felt that you are doing “so good” eating what you feel is healthy, or that you’re “being bad” because you’ve eaten something you see as unhealthy, then there is a good chance that food is controlling the worth you put into yourself. This is also a sign that you should continue reading to learn more about food freedom!
Many critics of food freedom and intuitive eating feel that these terms simply mean “eat whatever you want, whenever you want it”. Which, in the very, very basics of the concepts, is true. However, what they don’t see is the numerous steps needed after that initial baby step.
Is Food Freedom Just Another Diet?
Now, here’s the thing: getting food freedom isn’t easy. You’ve probably spent a long time following diets and counting calories, carbs or fats, so breaking free from those habits takes time. These food rules are ingrained into your brain and control your daily routines. Something that takes up so much of your brain power won’t be a simple task, but it will get easier as you work through your relationship with food. Trust us, it’s worth it!
It is also important to note that not everyone’s path to food freedom looks the same, and that this isn’t to be used as a “diet”. There will be no comparing your progress to others or taking any “before and after” photos. There can be a fine line between using intuitive eating and food freedom as a classic diet, and using them to actually obtain food freedom. This can get increasingly harder to do if you struggle with food rules. Working with a Registered Dietitian can help you stay off the path of dieting and strolling along down the boulevard to food freedom! We all need a little help and accountability sometimes!
How to Make Peace with Food
Also known as the third principle of intuitive eating, making peace with food is all about letting go of food rules. A big part of this principle is attunement – taking how food makes you feel into consideration. Does it keep you full? Do you feel sluggish afterwards? Do you actually enjoy eating that food? Initially, you will likely feel that you can eat all of the foods you previously restricted, and as much of them as you’d like! However, after eating a pint of ice cream or a whole batch of cookies, you probably won’t feel too great. So maybe next time you’ll be satisfied and happy with just adding a cookie to your lunch or go out to eat ice cream with your family after dinner. After this, you notice you don’t feel the same way you did after eating the whole ice cream container.
Your journey to food freedom will be full of little realizations like this. Once you stop restricting certain foods or labeling them as bad, the stress around them fades away. When you stop restricting yourself, you’ll actually eat less of the foods you used to overindulge in, and you won’t feel guilty about it. Let’s take a look at food freedom in action.
So, imagine this: your coworker brings cookies to work to celebrate a birthday. If a cookie sounds good, you’ll eat one. If it doesn’t sound good or she brings peanut butter cookies which aren’t your favorite, then you don’t eat one. You see, when we restrict foods, we try to find any reason to justify eating that food. We will also likely overeat on the restricted food as well. So, in the above scenario, you might eat 5 cookies even though you don’t like peanut butter cookies. Afterwards you feel shame for “giving in” and vow to never eat cookies again. Then, the cycle repeats itself the next time someone offers you a cookie. This cycle causes stress and worry before, during, and after eating the food in question. With food freedom, that stress and worry has lessened, if not disappeared, and you have more mental space for other areas of your life.
What You Should Know About Intuitive Eating
Intuitive Eating is a set of principles designed by dietitians who were tired of fad diets ruling the world, to help people break free from diet culture. Intuitive eating includes 10 principles:
- Reject the Diet Mentality
- Honor You Hunger
- Make Peace with Food
- Challenge the Food Police
- Discover the Satisfaction Factor
- Feel your Fullness
- Cope with Emotions with Kindness
- Respect your Body
- Movement- Feel the Difference
- Honor your Health with Gentle Nutrition
Want a deeper dive into intuitive eating? Learn all about it in one of our past blog posts highlighting the 10 principles of intuitive eating.
Additionally, we have a Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor on our team of dietitians, so if you’re interested, reach out!
Is food freedom right for you?
Probably! Food freedom can benefit almost anyone. Here are some signs that it could help you:
- You spend all day thinking about what your next meal will be.
- You ignore your hunger signals, or you don’t get them at all (or rarely).
- You feel ashamed of your food choices.
- You worry about the amount of calories you consume.
- You restrict food throughout the day, then binge at night.
- You workout to “earn” food.
- You’ve tried more diets than you can keep track of.
- You ”save up” your calories when you have an event.
If one or more of these statements rings true to you, then I’d encourage you to look further into food freedom and intuitive eating. If you spend a lot of time worrying about what you eat, feel ashamed of your food choices, or constantly go on diets, then food freedom could be a game-changer for you. Food is a big part of our lives, but it shouldn’t rule your life!
Food freedom can be a difficult topic to understand, and it’s understandable if you still have questions after reading this blog post. Don’t hesitate to reach out to our team of Registered Dietitians. Everyone’s path is different, but with a little support, you can find your way to a more positive relationship with food.
