Are You A Normal Eater?
What does it mean to eat "normally"? With all the info we are fed each day on how to eat, it's easy to get confused and forget what "normal" eating looks like. And just a heads up...it doesn't have to include green juices and ashwagandha powder. Today I'll help you understand what normal eating looks like so you can determine this question. Are you a normal eater?
I just can't help but start with this amazing quote from Ellyn Satter and share her definition of normal eating.
"Normal eating is going to the table hungry and eating until you are satisfied. It is being able to choose food you enjoy 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 under-eating 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." - Ellyn Satter
I remember the first time that I heard this quote read. I was awe-struck. I thought to myself, "Yes! This is it! This is my hope, that everyone was a normal eater!"And what stands out so much about normal eating is this...
#1 It's looks different for everyone.
#2 There's no one "right" answer.
Sometimes normal eating means over-eating. Sometimes it means nibbling throughout the day. Sometimes it's enjoying foods, other times it's eating because that's all you have.But that's the beauty in normalcy... no one is "normal".
So why do we feel the need to streamline nutrition? Why is it that we think that everyone has to eat one certain way in order to be healthy?I think the reason is this...we desire control, as human beings. We desire to feel powerful, and this control over our eating makes us feel power. Restricting what we eat makes us feel above our cravings.
But what happens when we can't live up to these high expectations about how we think we should eat...i.e. perfectly? Well, for one our self esteem crashes because we've often put our worth into how perfectly we eat. Then comes the uncontrolled eating because, well "I've already screwed up so why not go all out."So what does normal eating do, then? Normal eating gives grace. Because, as interesting it is that we're talking about normal eating, as mentioned above...no one's eating is "normal".
Let's talk quickly now about what isn't normal.Normal eating isn't planning every meal, stressing about menus at restaurants, restricting all day only to find yourself (understandably) binging at night. It's not feeling the need to only eat organic or paleo or gluten-free because it's healthier in your mind. It's also not dieting.What does normal eating look like then?
Normal eating is eating foods that you crave, feeling no guilt, enjoying each bite. It's choosing to go out to ice cream with friends and not choosing the lowest calorie option there. It's over-eating around Christmas and New Years and then just getting back to your normal routine with eating without feeling the need to "cleanse". It's eating a cookie (or two) as a snack at work because that's all you have and you're starving. This is normal eating.