No such thing as good or bad eating, only joyful eating

“Eat this, not that.” “This food is bad, don’t eat it.” “Eat less of this, because it’s unhealthy.”

You may have heard these phrases before, or you may even have been the one to say them. People often like to categorize or label things to help better understand them. As you can see, we do this with food as well. You may notice that some foods get called “bad” and “good” or “heathy” and “unhealthy”. These are very loaded labels that pack a lot of punch into how we perceive certain foods, if we allow ourselves to eat them, how much we allow ourselves to eat, how we feel about ourselves when we eat them, even what we think of others who eat them. Add on to these labels the never-ending waves of conflicting diet messages from social media, television and advertising that tell us what we should or should not eat. Just to sweeten the deal, our friends and family may have a say on the matter. Combine all of these messages, and suddenly eating becomes overwhelming, guiltinducing, burdening, a rulebook that needs to be followed. Talk about taking the joy out of eating.

What if we shift our focus away from these messages? Put in our earplugs and drown them out. What would we be left with? Consider “competent eating”, a concept for which the primary principal is a good relationship with food and addressing our eating attitude and behaviors rather than only our food selections. Competent eating is when we are positive, comfortable and flexible with eating, as well as “matterof-fact” and reliable about getting enough to eat of enjoyable foods. The Satter Eating Competence Model (ecSatter), created by registered dietitian and family therapist, Ellyn Satter, outlines this concept for us1 . In fact, it is a model that has been scientifically tested and validated, and has shown that people who eat competently are more active, have better nutrition and metabolic markers, and have more positive quality of life indicators2,3 .

Sounds pretty great, right? Let’s see how one can become a competent eater. To start us off, 1. Feed yourself faithfully, which means to reassure yourself and your body that you will be fed at all times. Create a regular meal and snack routine including foods that you actually enjoy and not being dictated by the labels

“foods-to-avoid” or “foods-toeat”. Make eating times pleasant and relaxing, pay attention as you eat, and take your time with every bite. 2. Give yourself permission to eat, which means, eat what you want, as your body requires variety of good foods and to feel happy. Eat as much as you want, as your body knows how much food it needs. Trust in this. Go to meals hungry (not starving) and eat until you really feel like stopping. Finally, eat food if it tastes good, if it doesn’t, then don’t force yourself. This all may sound very freeing and relaxing, but also, scary. In fact, you may worry that by giving yourself permission to eat competently, you will lose complete control over eating and not eat well. This is where the last point comes into play: 3. Notice, as you learn and grow.

Becoming a competent eater takes time and patience. It’s been so long that you’ve been holding onto those food labels, diet messages, and the “do’s” and “don’ts” of eating. Give yourself structure and permission to eat. Eventually, you will be reliable about seeing to that you get fed regularly, you will eat what you need regardless of the portion size, you will eat “forbidden” foods as normal foods in completely normal ways, and you will eat a variety of nutritious foods (fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, etc.) simply because you enjoy them and not because anyone is telling you should. 

As the holidays and year-end festivities are on the horizon, you may notice yourself feeling more pressure, stress, even guilt around eating. Try to think back and remember these main concepts behind competent eating, structure and permission to eat. Start small and slowly work to bring back the joy to your table. For more information on competent eating, visit: http://www.ellynsatterinstitute.org.

References:

(1) Satter E. (2007). Eating competence: Definition and evidence for the Satter Eating Competence model. Journal of nutrition education and behavior, 39, S142–S153. https://doi-org.proxy.bib.uottawa. ca/10.1016/j.jneb.2007.01.006 (2) Krall, J.S. & Lohse B. (2011). Validation of a measure of the Satter eating competence model with low-income females. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act.; 8,2636. doi: 10.1186/1479-5868-8-26 3. (3) Lohse B. (2015). The Satter Eating Competence Inventory for Low-income persons is a valid measure of eating competence for persons of higher socioeconomic position. Appetite. 87: 223-8. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2014.12.228.