The theme of National Nutrition Month 2025 is “Food connects us”. Although the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics is focused on food connecting us to one another, food is also a way to connect deeply with yourself and your needs. Making peace with food is a cornerstone of intuitive eating principles. It is through this principle that clients eventually learn the concept of gentle nutrition, the ability to eat for both your intuitive needs and your nutrition.
Gentle Nutrition: Eating for Nourishment, Not Perfection
Intuitive eating supports nutrition without obsession. A great way to open up this conversation with yourself is to play with the phrase, “For the most part…” For example, “For the most part, I eat with nutrition in mind” or “For the most part, I am learning to honor my hunger cues” or “For the most part, I have started recognizing when I’m full.” This phrase helps you expand rigidity around perfectionistic thinking regarding food choices and eating patterns.
Sometimes people ask, “But if I give myself unconditional permission to eat, won’t I just eat a bunch of junk?” In the beginning, you might eat more “play foods” (food low in nutritional value), but the truth is that if you are cultivating the skill of eating for satisfaction, you won’t want to eat play foods all the time. The goal is not to “burn out” on foods like chips or cookies or cakes, but rather that when you recognize you can have these foods (truly) whenever you want, you eat only what you need to feel satisfied. And satisfaction includes how food digests, makes you feel mentally, gives or does not give energy, etc.
Curious questions around creating satisfaction in food choices:
- Do I like the way this food tastes?
- Does this food cause me any stomach upset?
- Am I choosing this food because I truly want to eat it, or another reason?
- Do I feel any biological signals of hunger?
- Will this food leave me feeling any uncomfortable sensations, like sugar crashes or fatigue? Will it leave me energized?
- Will this food keep me full and might I need fullness for later movement, or an inability to eat due to other activities or commitments?
Letting Go of Food Guilt and Shame
When it comes to the name of nutrition, sometimes people feel a lot of guilt or shame for not picking “good” choices. “Good” food choices tend to correlate with “healthy” choices. For example, “If I make a healthy food choice, I am being good.” It becomes about morality, rather than simply what you’re eating.
Self-compassion and flexibility in eating habits are also cornerstones of gentle nutrition. True food freedom is embracing that we do not always eat for biological reasons, and that that’s okay because “for the most part” we can make nutritious choices. It is more about your general eating patterns than a few days of eating “play foods”. So when people ask me, “How do I eat without guilt?” my response is to become curious about making peace with food and giving yourself the unconditional permission to eat.
Last Thoughts on Cultivating Gentle Nutrition
National Nutrition Month 2025 offers us a time to reflect on our overall relationship with our body and food. Give yourself the space to try one small step toward intuitive eating this month, whether it’s pausing to check your hunger level, eating a meal without distraction, or processing a long-held food rule with your therapist. If you’d like to explore your personal bridge between intuitive eating and mental health, feel free to contact me (Christina) for scheduling. I also have an intuitive eating, mindful movement, and gentle nutrition group coming up at the end of April or early May, which you can email me at christina@lotuscounselinggroup.com to get on the mailing list for any upcoming groups. I hope this blog has given you some curious places to explore self-care through food choices.
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