I shouldn’t eat that….Am I allowed to eat that?…Have I had too many calories today?…If I eat that it’ll go right to my hips!

There’s so much negative language and lack of mindfulness around dieting and eating healthy. My good friend Nancy reminded me of this as she was talking to her daughter about her own food choices one evening at dinner. Her daughter wanted to know why she wasn’t eating the taco shell with her meal like everyone else.

Kids notice more than we think

Our kids pick up on that and internalize that negative relationship with food when they hear us say things like ‘I’m not allowed to eat that on my diet’ or if they watch us put very little food on our plates in an effort to cut calories. It’s so important to help kids develop a healthy relationship with food, to see food as enjoyable and as a source of nourishment. We want them to learn how to make healthy choices because it will help them grow and think and be happy. We don’t want them to think that some foods are ‘bad’ or to feel guilty or fearful about eating them on occasion. GUILT and FEAR are so destructive and can lead to eating disorders or emotional eating later in life.

Be a good role model

It’s much more helpful to be a good role model…be vocal about making food choices to get healthy or stay healthy. Choose food for health, nutrition, variety, and balance. We need fat, protein and carbs in varying amounts to be healthy. Instead of saying ‘I can’t eat rice…that’s a carb and I don’t eat carbs’, say ‘I want to eat in a balanced way that includes variety.’ This is what Nancy said to her daughter: ‘I’m paying better attention to what I’m eating and realized I’ve already had all my grains for today. I haven’t had enough vegetables so I’m choosing to have my taco on a salad instead’.

Don’t deprive yourself. Nourish yourself. Be positive, not negative.

Let’s change that mindset for ourselves too

When you make a choice to eat a certain way, whether it’s to lose fat, feel better or improve your health, instead of thinking about what you ‘CAN’T HAVE’ but rather what you ‘GET to EAT’.

Move away from the negative, deprivation language of CAN’T that tends to make you feel sorry for yourself instead of making you feel empowered by healthy choices.

Think about all of the health-promoting benefits of the food you are choosing to eat.  Think about the bone-building-immune-boosting vitamin D you’re getting in that scrambled egg, or the cancer-fighting-and-heart-protective antioxidants you’re getting in that kale salad.

How awesome is it that you’re doing this for your body? So awesome.

THINK about it. Be MINDFUL. Instead of mourning the loss of your favourite chocolate bar, remember that you’re keeping your blood sugar stable and therefore improving your hormone function/reducing cravings/gaining more energy by making a choice to eat olives or high-fat yogurt instead.

By the way, you should have that chocolate bar once in a while, if you want. Enjoy it. Savour it. No guilt.

You might also be interested in the blog post Your Mind is a Powerful Tool.