YMCA Healthy Living Magazine, powered by n4 food and health (Winter 2015)

If you feel out of control around certain foods, or feel unable to trust your appetite then you may benefit from talking with a health professional who can help you with this. 3. Eat food that you enjoy the taste of Eating should be pleasurable and there is a huge variety of whole food that is capable of providing both nourishment and pleasure. By eating food you enjoy, you can nurture a healthy relationship with food and your body, and you need never feel like you’re on a diet or missing out. Eating food you enjoy is also a maintainable way of managing your eating for life. Why not calories? If you choose a food based on calorie content, are you considering your appetite, how the food will taste and whether or not it will satisfy you? If you are, then the food is likely a suitable choice. If you’re choosing a food purely because it’s low calorie, you may not find it as satisfying so it’s possible you’ll end up craving something else later. If you’re not physically hungry, the food is still calories that you may not actually need. Why not nutrients? Similar to calories, if you’re choosing a food purely because it’s low fat, low carb or sugar-free, then you may not find it as satisfying and will still be craving something else. If you eat a food because it’s full of vitamins and you’re not hungry, you may be giving your body nourishment it doesn’t actually need. Routinely eating when you’re not hungry can make it harder to work out when you are actually hungry. Why not the latest trend? Most diets use external rules to help you manage your eating. By this I mean they suggest you eat certain types of food and restrict others. They may also ask you to weigh and measure food portions or track your calories. For most people, a more powerful and sustainable way to manage your eating is to learn how to listen to, and act on your internal cues of hunger and fullness. This way you don’t need to rely on an external source to guide you with what, when and how much to eat. Trusting your internal cues also gives you the freedom to manage your eating when you’re out of your usual routine (e.g. travelling for work or on holidays). I’m not saying that various diets or food trends are wrong or don’t help anyone; I am just describing an alternative way to manage your eating. If you’ve spent years, or a lifetime, looking for diets or diet programs to improve your health, then perhaps it’s time to take a look internally – let’s call it “food for thought”! WINTER 2015 YMCA HEALTHY LIVING MAGAZINE 19

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