On the wellness market, it’s safe to state that there will always be a popular trend diet. It’s also reasonable to conclude that, despite promising to address your health problems with a single quick and straightforward purchase or hack, these diets are unlikely to be a long-term solution to your health goals. Most dieters recover more than half of the weight they lose within two years. But it’s not simply weight fluctuations that might arise from fad diets; other lifestyle factors and habits can also have a long-term impact.
While there are undoubtedly expert-approved eating programs that can assist people in reaching (and maintaining) their weight and fitness goals safely and sustainably. Dieters are five times more likely to experience an eating disorder than persons who change their lifestyle. What about those on a calorie-restricted diet? Their chances of acquiring an eating disorder skyrocket. That is why, in response to the culture of dietary limitation and restraint, many nutrition and psychology professionals are pushing the concept of “food freedom.”
What Exactly Is Food Freedom?
Food independence is not a diet. Rather, it is the mindset of nourishing your body intuitively without feeling compelled by the “shoulds” that we often acquire from diet culture. Allowing yourself—and truly knowing—that it is good to have a slice of pizza (or two or three, depending on your appetite ) for lunch today since you aren’t assessing your self-worth based on what or how much you ate is an example of this. If you are in a position of food freedom, you are not critical of yourself for making this choice and recognize that you can trust your body to steer your food choices. However, dietary freedom does not imply a disrespect for nutritional foods. On the contrary, it allows for more freedom, variety, and pleasure while honoring hunger, satisfaction, and cravings and relinquishing foods that are ‘off limits.’
Why Food Freedom Is Important
Diet culture has an agenda: to create ‘issues’ with our bodies that can then be ‘corrected, whether through the newest fad diet or weight-loss product. However, data shows that more than 95% of diets fail.” Because dieting can be so time-consuming, with all of the preparation, calorie-counting, and self-control required, it’s a direct strike to our self-esteem when our diet fails. At best, shame over nutritional “failure” has a detrimental impact on how someone perceives oneself. “However, it can also lead to unhealthy habits such as limiting, purging, or over-exercising to alleviate the guilt. These aberrant behaviors can lead to genuine, serious eating disorders.”
Food independence provides an alternative to dieting and all of its associated baggage. Finally, being flexible with our eating habits gives us more freedom in other parts of our lives. Furthermore, having a food freedom mindset means you can’t fail. When food isn’t at the forefront of your consciousness, eating something unusual doesn’t have the same potential to make you feel so bad. True freedom to eat whatever you want, whenever you want, theoretically means you can never slip up.
Weight Control and Food Freedom
Dieting can have a negative impact on people’s physical health. Popular fad diets frequently result in dietary shortages, which can lead to a variety of adverse health consequences. In addition, diets can sometimes make it difficult to maintain a healthy weight. Dieting restrictions can cause metabolism to slow down. In fact, after intensive crash diets, they discovered that their damaged metabolisms never recovered completely. While food freedom is not explicitly a weight loss tool, it does not exclude the two from coexisting. There is some increasing evidence that intuitive eating can help with weight management. There is a substantial link between intuitive eating and self-reported weight stability, as well as general body acceptance and a lesser desire for weight change. Furthermore, people with a food freedom perspective were less likely to engage in disordered eating habits, body image dissatisfaction, depressive symptoms, and low self-esteem.
How to Achieve Food Independence
If you’re concerned that you won’t be able to do it ‘correctly,’ remember that food freedom is different for everyone because we all have varied eating experiences. Take solace in the fact that we don’t have to love our weight, shape, or look in order to find food freedom.
Examine Your Food Relationship
A smart first step, according to Coniglio, is to assess your present restraints and consider where they came from. “There could be dietary restrictions that you are unaware of. When you go to the grocery store, are there foods or even entire aisles that you routinely avoid? Allow yourself to experiment with adding more diversity to your diet, and remember that starting small is alright.
Recognize That All Foods Fit
This means that all forms of food have a place in our lives. Of course, including nutrient-dense foods in our diet is vital, but so is being able to enjoy birthday cake with friends and family. Giving oneself unconditional permission to eat while re-learning your body’s hunger, fullness, and wanting cues, which can be repressed with long-term dieting, is the first step in allowing this mentality to take root.
Disconnect Your Self-Worth From Food Choices
Dieting requires a lot of mental energy. When you let your brain think about topics other than food and weight, you broaden the metrics you use to assess your self-worth. Practice listing positive traits about yourself that aren’t related to weight or appearance—and, to take it a step further, clean up your social media. Unfollow any account that makes you feel horrible about your body or eating. Add one body-positive or food-freedom-related account for every unfollow.
Create a Support System
Surround yourself with people who share your viewpoints. Food should be appreciated! Many studies have demonstrated that social support helps people achieve their physical activity and exercise goals, which is valid for food modification. A supportive social group helps people achieve their healthy eating goals.
Have Mercy on Yourself
We live in a world that values diet culture and the slender ideal, making it difficult to be satisfied with our appearance. This can make us feel like we’ve failed or that if we “just tried harder,” our bodies and body image would improve. It might also be challenging to break free from this cultural perspective. However, food freedom is a long-term goal, and it’s appropriate to do it slowly and with encouragement. If you’re struggling, reach out to a therapist, or registered dietitian specialized in intuitive eating and disordered eating treatment to support you in your path.
Kim’s Final Thoughts…
Before making any dietary changes, consult with a healthcare practitioner, especially if you have underlying health conditions. This is especially crucial for those in eating disorder rehabilitation. Food freedom is a terrific objective to strive for in these circumstances, according to experts, but any dietary changes during the recovery should be monitored by a doctor.
