Eat with Intention, Not Restriction

Ditch the diet culture! Focus your healthy diet goals on positive intentional eating, rather than overly restrictive, punitive dieting. What is intentional eating? It’s all about investing in yourself, focusing on the positives, and creating balance. Check out these top tips to eat with intention, not restriction, along with these top 10 intentional eating recipes.

Are you making healthy eating goals? Today’s barrage of eating advice—available on the Internet and social media—would have you buy into a variety of trendy fat diet strategies. Carnivore diet anyone? What about a keto diet? Or “demure” eating? You can always eat your weight in cucumbers, right? These are just some of the diet strategies you’ll see bandied about on social platforms. Given a reported 50% of people are planning to start a weight loss diet this year, there are many fad diet traps waiting to trip you up.

The Danger of Fad Diets

Unfortunately, these fad diet trends don’t measure up for long term wellness, as they often eliminate known healthful foods such as whole grains, pulses, and even many fruits and vegetables. They also may omit your favorite foods—even those that are part of your traditional eating style, such as rice, tortillas, potatoes, and beans. These crazy diets can zap the pleasure of food from your life, leaving you with hunger pangs and cravings. It shouldn’t be a surprise that only 2% of TikTok diet information is accurate. What’s more: research documents that fad diets, such as keto and carnivore diets, are linked with poor cardiovascular health. This should be no surprise, as these diet patterns are rich in saturated fat and dietary cholesterol, and low in fiber, certain vitamins, and antioxidant compounds that we know lead to good health and longevity. And sadly, the weight loss effects of these diets are transitory—the moment you stop eating this restrictive way, the pounds pop back on. Even well-meaning diet goals can be too lofty, such as “I will eat zero sugar or processed foods in 2025.” The worst part is that restrictive diets are utterly punishing, zapping the joy out of food and the social aspects of coming around the table with love and traditional foods. These diets make you feel guilty when you have a treat, feeding into unhealthful attitudes surrounding eating. You can see the writing on the wall when you call a family or holiday meal a “cheat day”. A diet is a way of life, not something you can’t wait to “go off” of because it’s unbearable.

The Art of Intentional Eating

So, what should your healthy eating goals look like? How about taking on a new frame of mind when it comes to diet. Focus on intention instead of restriction. What is intentional eating? Intentional eating is all about making choices based on positivity and self-care, rather than negativity and shame. Intentional eating is about investing in yourself and making a plan that makes you feel good. Check out these tips to find a kinder, healthier you. Check out my video on intentional eating here.

Top 4 Intentional Eating & Health Tips

Try these strategies for ditching diet culture and winning with healthy eating intentions.

1. Create Balance
Focus on eating goals that provide balance in your life, rather than disorder. If you’re skipping breakfast or missing out on healthy snacks, consider making an adjustment to restore equilibrium. Include a nutritious breakfast each day, such as this recipe for Berry Bowl with Quinoa and Walnuts. Plan for nutritious snacks, such as this Classic Chickpea Hummus with fresh veggies.

2. Be Mindful
Enjoy and savor your meals—every bite of them—by being more aware at mealtimes. Eat at the dining room table, rather than in front of a screen. Share your meals with loved ones, if possible. Take time to really enjoy the taste, texture, and aromas of the food.

3. Listen To Your Body
Tune into your body cues for hunger, fatigue, and stress and respond to them. That means not eating when you’re not hungry, but also fueling your body with the nutrients it craves.

4. Invest in a Plan
Practice self-care through a wellness plan. For example, instead of listing all of the foods you hope to avoid, consider all the healthy foods you want to include: more succulent fruits, luscious avocados, crunchy nuts, and brightly colored veggies. When you pile on the good stuff, you crowd out the not so good stuff. And it’s a much more positive mindset, too.

5. Move with Joy
Highlight physical activity that you relish, rather than dread. That means you don’t have to slog your way to the gym (unless you absolutely love that experience). Think activities you enjoy, like gardening, hiking, walking, pickleball, dancing, or yoga.

Top 10 Recipes for Intentional Eating

These recipes focus on joyful healthy eating by including delicious, nutritious ingredients that help cultivate self-care and wellness.

For more blogs on healthy eating strategies, check out the following:

Main Image: Green Goddess Bowl, Sharon Palmer

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