What Does Normal Eating Actually Look Like?
What does normal eating look like?
“...eating without really thinking about it. You sense hunger, so you eat and don’t question it.”
“...following your hunger and fullness signals and finding joy in food.”
“...mostly three meals a day, or four or five, or it can be choosing to munch along the way.”
The common theme: normal eating is subjective. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to “normal eating.” Everyone has their own health concerns to keep in mind when they are choosing foods to fuel their body. Your normal may be different from your sister’s or best friend’s normal. You may find yourself eating more at one meal than another, or you may need to snack more frequently on certain days. The point is, your body actually need different things EVERY day! What may be normal for you one day may not be the same for another. If you are a woman, menstrual cycles will demand different changes as well. In fact, most women witness an increase in hunger at the beginning of their cycle due to the body’s increased energy needs for rebuilding the uterine lining.
What is not normal eating?
Consistently being worried about everything you put in your mouth. Whether that be worrying about calories, macronutrient content, how much weight you think you’ll gain, or if you are eating more than someone else around you; it is not normal to obsess about calories or feel like you have to cut out specific food groups to attain a perfect diet. Feeling fear about food and avoiding social connection due to these fears is a sign you probably need to find a dietitian to help you understand your anxious thoughts and overwhelming fears.
Takeaways:
Your meal choices and eating habits are going to be different from your neighbors and even different from your past self (comparing yourself to a smaller version of yourself from 10 days to 10 years ago is generally not useful). What matters most is eating enough food AND building a healthy relationship with food. Ideally, eating 3 meals a day with snacks is what tends to make our clients the best version of themselves!
Book an appointment with us today if you are interested in developing a more mindful eating pattern and want to let go of your fear of food.
Written by Trinny Duncan, Student Intern and Peggy Pratt, PhD, RDN, LDN, CEDS-C