Intuitive Eating- Guidelines for Fostering a Positive Relationship With Food & Eating
SEPTEMBER 17th, 2024
Every parent wants to raise healthy kids, but it’s hard to know how to teach children to have a healthy relationship with food in a society preoccupied with body image and fad diets. With 52%¹ of parents revealing they've gone on a diet since becoming parents and 28%¹ not confident they're setting a good example of healthy eating, it's time to examine how our relationship with food affects kids.
In this article, we explain why children need healthy eating habits and resilience against diet culture, and how you can empower your daughter by following simple, intuitive eating principles.
In this article, we explain why children need healthy eating habits and resilience against diet culture, and how you can empower your daughter by following simple, intuitive eating principles.
Is It Important for Girls to Have a Healthy Relationship With Food?
A positive relationship with food benefits children's physical health, mental well-being, and overall development.
Unfortunately, girls grow up in a society that values thinness, leading them to face damaging messages about food and body image.
But when we create a safe home where girls enjoy nourishing food and love their bodies, we'll give them the tools to navigate these messages successfully, leading to a healthier and happier life.
Unfortunately, girls grow up in a society that values thinness, leading them to face damaging messages about food and body image.
But when we create a safe home where girls enjoy nourishing food and love their bodies, we'll give them the tools to navigate these messages successfully, leading to a healthier and happier life.
A healthy relationship with food has lifelong benefits:
• Foundation for Health —Balanced eating gives² kids the necessary nutrients for growth, development, and energy.
• Prevention of Eating Disorders — Practicing intuitive eating means rejecting the diet mentality, which may be a precursor³ to eating disorders.
• Healthy Body Image — Girls who associate⁴ food with nourishment are more likely to accept and appreciate their bodies.
• Positive Social Interactions — Kids who feel comfortable around the dinner table can enjoy get-togethers without stress.
• Empowerment⁵—Girls who learn to listen to their bodies' hunger and full cues trust in their own needs, leading to a healthy sense of self.
• Prevention of Eating Disorders — Practicing intuitive eating means rejecting the diet mentality, which may be a precursor³ to eating disorders.
• Healthy Body Image — Girls who associate⁴ food with nourishment are more likely to accept and appreciate their bodies.
• Positive Social Interactions — Kids who feel comfortable around the dinner table can enjoy get-togethers without stress.
• Empowerment⁵—Girls who learn to listen to their bodies' hunger and full cues trust in their own needs, leading to a healthy sense of self.
So, how can we help kids establish a healthy relationship with food? Here's where intuitive eating principles come in.
Give her a confidence boost with our bestselling coloring book.
What Are Intuitive Eating Principles?
Intuitive eating is a lifelong and natural approach⁶ to eating. Developed by dieticians Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch in 1995, it centers on listening to your body's signals, such as "Am I full?" "Am I hungry?" With intuitive eating, there are no strict rules, counting calories, and no 'good or bad' foods.
Here are the fundamental principles of intuitive eating:
1. Say No to Diet Culture
Abandon diets and don't get taken in with promises to lose weight quickly.
2. Honor Your Hunger
By trusting your body's signals, you'll eat until you're full and avoid the urge to overeat.
3. Make Peace With Food
Don't deprive yourself of foods you love, nor label foods bad or good. By removing restrictions, you remove the power food has on you, and you're less likely to binge on 'forbidden' foods.
4. Discover the Satisfaction Factor
If you view eating as pleasurable, you will feel satisfied and content.
5. Feel Your Fullness
Check while eating to determine if you are full. If you are, stop eating, even if food is on your plate.
6. Silence Negative Thoughts
When you make weight-related barbs in your head, challenge those thoughts.
7. Honor Your Feelings Without Using Food
Find ways to cope with stress, sadness, or boredom that don't involve eating, like reading a book, exercising, or talking to someone you trust.
8. Respect Your Body
Be realistic about your shape and accept your body. When we realize that our society's body standards are unrealistic, it's easier to understand that everybody's shape is unique.
9. Movement - Feel the Difference
Enjoy exercise for how it makes you feel rather than the calories you burn.
10. Honor Your Health - Gentle Nutrition
Consider nourishing yourself with foods that make your body feel good. It's all about balance without strict rules. One snack will not ruin your health.
This project book was designed to help girls document the best parts of themselves.
How To Help Your Daughter Foster a Positive Relationship With Food & Eating?
Parents play an influential role in shaping how children view themselves, their bodies, and their self-worth. Practicing intuitive eating principles will go a long way toward raising kids who love food and their bodies.
Here are six simple steps to get you started.
1. Finance permitting, stock up on various foods, from fruit and vegetables to treats.
2. Eat more home-prepared family meals together. Studies have shown⁷ that eating with family is associated with healthier dietary outcomes for kids and adults.
3. Try not to vilify food. However, with 33%¹ of parents admitting they’ve called food like desserts bad, you're not alone in finding this difficult. Registered dietician and cooking instructor, Ariel Johnston⁸ recommends⁹ calling junk food ‘play food.’ Another suggestion? Replace⁹ 'Processed meat like pepperoni will give you cancer.'’ with ‘Let's mix a little bit of meat with a bunch of veggies on our pizza.’'
4. Forget about clean plates. Allow your child to self-regulate and stop when she's full. When she doesn't like something, remember that it may take her a few¹⁰ times to enjoy it; try again another time. Bonus: Being more relaxed around food will transform mealtimes.
5. Cook together. Kids who cook tend⁹ to try more diverse foods. It's also a great (grand)parent-child bonding activity.
6. Be a good role model. Research suggests¹¹ that mothers' fear of fat is related to daughters' fear of fat, so consider examining your relationship with your body and try to cut out fat talk. Also, throw out weighing scales, don't comment on other people's shapes, compliment kids on characteristics rather than appearance, model body-positive behavior, and get moving together.
The way we behave around food affects our kids. When we raise them to have a positive relationship with food, we help them navigate untrue messages about food and bodies and set the foundation for healthy living.
Here are six simple steps to get you started.
1. Finance permitting, stock up on various foods, from fruit and vegetables to treats.
2. Eat more home-prepared family meals together. Studies have shown⁷ that eating with family is associated with healthier dietary outcomes for kids and adults.
3. Try not to vilify food. However, with 33%¹ of parents admitting they’ve called food like desserts bad, you're not alone in finding this difficult. Registered dietician and cooking instructor, Ariel Johnston⁸ recommends⁹ calling junk food ‘play food.’ Another suggestion? Replace⁹ 'Processed meat like pepperoni will give you cancer.'’ with ‘Let's mix a little bit of meat with a bunch of veggies on our pizza.’'
4. Forget about clean plates. Allow your child to self-regulate and stop when she's full. When she doesn't like something, remember that it may take her a few¹⁰ times to enjoy it; try again another time. Bonus: Being more relaxed around food will transform mealtimes.
5. Cook together. Kids who cook tend⁹ to try more diverse foods. It's also a great (grand)parent-child bonding activity.
6. Be a good role model. Research suggests¹¹ that mothers' fear of fat is related to daughters' fear of fat, so consider examining your relationship with your body and try to cut out fat talk. Also, throw out weighing scales, don't comment on other people's shapes, compliment kids on characteristics rather than appearance, model body-positive behavior, and get moving together.
The way we behave around food affects our kids. When we raise them to have a positive relationship with food, we help them navigate untrue messages about food and bodies and set the foundation for healthy living.
Sources:
1. [Report] How Parents Struggle with Keeping Kids Healthy in 2023
2.10 Ways to Ensure Good Nutrition for Child Development
3. The spectrum of eating disorder in adolescence
4. The relationship between food cravings and body image with healthy eating index in adolescent girls - ScienceDirect
5. The key principles of intuitive eating | The Gut Health Doctor
6. 10 Principles of Intuitive Eating
7. Desires, Barriers and Directions for Shared Meals at Home
8. Kansas City dietitian nutritionists
9. Raising Kids to Have a Healthy Relationship with Food: How Should I Talk About Food and Nutrition with My Child?
10. How to raise a healthy eater | UNICEF Parenting
11. Like mother, like daughter: Association of maternal negative attitudes towards people of higher weight with adult daughters’ weight bias
1. [Report] How Parents Struggle with Keeping Kids Healthy in 2023
2.10 Ways to Ensure Good Nutrition for Child Development
3. The spectrum of eating disorder in adolescence
4. The relationship between food cravings and body image with healthy eating index in adolescent girls - ScienceDirect
5. The key principles of intuitive eating | The Gut Health Doctor
6. 10 Principles of Intuitive Eating
7. Desires, Barriers and Directions for Shared Meals at Home
8. Kansas City dietitian nutritionists
9. Raising Kids to Have a Healthy Relationship with Food: How Should I Talk About Food and Nutrition with My Child?
10. How to raise a healthy eater | UNICEF Parenting
11. Like mother, like daughter: Association of maternal negative attitudes towards people of higher weight with adult daughters’ weight bias
Intuitive Eating: Guidelines for Fostering a Positive Relationship With Food & Eating
SEPTEMBER 17th, 2024
Every parent wants to raise healthy kids, but it’s hard to know how to teach children to have healthy relationship with food in a society preoccupied with body image and fad diets. With 52%¹ of parents revealing they've gone on a diet since becoming parents and 28%¹ not confident they're setting a good example of healthy eating, it's time to examine how our relationship with food affects kids.
In this article, we explain why children need healthy eating habits and resilience against diet culture, and how you can empower your daughter by following simple, intuitive eating principles.
In this article, we explain why children need healthy eating habits and resilience against diet culture, and how you can empower your daughter by following simple, intuitive eating principles.
Is It Important for Girls to Have a Healthy Relationship With Food?
A positive relationship with food benefits children's physical health, mental well-being, and overall development.
Unfortunately, girls grow up in a society that values thinness, leading them to face damaging messages about food and body image.
But when we create a safe home where girls enjoy nourishing food and love their bodies, we'll give them the tools to navigate these messages successfully, leading to a healthier and happier life.
A healthy relationship with food has lifelong benefits:
- Foundation for Health: Balanced eating gives² kids the necessary nutrients for growth, development, and energy.
- Prevention of Eating Disorders: Practicing intuitive eating means rejecting the diet mentality, which may be a precursor³ to eating disorders.
- Healthy Body Image: Girls who associate⁴ food with nourishment are more likely to accept and appreciate their bodies.
- Positive Social Interactions: Kids who feel comfortable around the dinner table can enjoy get-togethers without stress.
- Empowerment⁵: Girls who learn to listen to their bodies' hunger and full cues trust in their own needs, leading to a healthy sense of self.
So, how can we help kids establish a healthy relationship with food? Here's where intuitive eating principles come in.
Give her a confidence boost with our bestselling coloring book.
What Are Intuitive Eating Principles?
Intuitive eating is a lifelong and natural approach⁶ to eating. Developed by dieticians Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch in 1995, it centers on listening to your body's signals, such as "Am I full?" "Am I hungry?" With intuitive eating, there are no strict rules, counting calories, and no 'good or bad' foods.
Here are the fundamental principles of intuitive eating:
Here are the fundamental principles of intuitive eating:
1. Say No to Diet Culture
Abandon diets and don't get taken in with promises to lose weight quickly.
2. Honor Your Hunger
By trusting your body's signals, you'll eat until you're full and avoid the urge to overeat.
3. Make Peace With Food
Don't deprive yourself of foods you love, nor label foods bad or good. By removing restrictions, you remove the power food has on you, and you're less likely to binge on 'forbidden' foods.
4. Discover the Satisfaction Factor
If you view eating as pleasurable, you will feel satisfied and content.
5. Feel Your Fullness
Check while eating to determine if you are full. If you are, stop eating, even if food is on your plate.
6. Silence Negative Thoughts
When you make weight-related barbs in your head, challenge those thoughts.
7. Honor Your Feelings Without Using Food
Find ways to cope with stress, sadness, or boredom that don't involve eating, like reading a book, exercising, or talking to someone you trust.
8. Respect Your Body
Be realistic about your shape and accept your body. When we realize that our society's body standards are unrealistic, it's easier to understand that everybody's shape is unique.
9. Movement - Feel the Difference
Enjoy exercise for how it makes you feel rather than the calories you burn.
10. Honor Your Health - Gentle Nutrition
Consider nourishing yourself with foods that make your body feel good. It's all about balance without strict rules. One snack will not ruin your health.
This project book was designed to help girls tell the story of themselves, and times they've been brave, strong, confident, etc.
How To Help Your Daughter Foster a Positive Relationship With Food & Eating?
Parents play an influential role in shaping how children view themselves, their bodies, and their self-worth. Practicing intuitive eating principles will go a long way toward raising kids who love food and their bodies.
Here are six simple steps to get you started.
Here are six simple steps to get you started.
1. Finance permitting, stock up on various foods, from fruit and vegetables to treats.
2. Eat more home-prepared family meals together. Studies have shown⁷ that eating with family is associated with healthier dietary outcomes for kids and adults.
3. Try not to vilify food. However, with 33%¹ of parents admitting they’ve called food like desserts bad, you're not alone in finding this difficult. Registered dietician and cooking instructor, Ariel Johnston⁸ recommends⁹ calling junk food "play food." Another suggestion? Replace⁹ "Processed meat like pepperoni will give you cancer." with "Let's mix a little bit of meat with a bunch of veggies on our pizza."
4. Forget about clean plates. Allow your child to self-regulate and stop when she's full. When she doesn't like something, remember that it may take her a few¹⁰ times to enjoy it; try again another time. Bonus: Being more relaxed around food will transform mealtimes.
5. Cook together. Kids who cook tend⁹ to try more diverse foods. It's also a great (grand)parent-child bonding activity.
6. Be a good role model. Research suggests¹¹ that mothers' fear of fat is related to daughters' fear of fat, so consider examining your relationship with your body and try to cut out fat talk. Also, throw out weighing scales, don't comment on other people's shapes, compliment kids on characteristics rather than appearance, model body-positive behavior, and get moving together.
The way we behave around food affects our kids. When we raise them to have a positive relationship with food, we help them navigate untrue messages about food and bodies and set the foundation for healthy living.
Sources:
1. [Report] How Parents Struggle with Keeping Kids Healthy in 2023
2. 10 Ways to Ensure Good Nutrition for Child Development
3. The spectrum of eating disorder in adolescence
4. The relationship between food cravings and body image with healthy eating index in adolescent girls - ScienceDirect
5. The key principles of intuitive eating | The Gut Health Doctor
6. 10 Principles of Intuitive Eating
7. Desires, Barriers and Directions for Shared Meals at Home
8. Kansas City dietitian nutritionists
9. Raising Kids to Have a Healthy Relationship with Food: How Should I Talk About Food and Nutrition with My Child?
10. How to raise a healthy eater | UNICEF Parenting
11. Like mother, like daughter: Association of maternal negative attitudes towards people of higher weight with adult daughters’ weight bias
1. [Report] How Parents Struggle with Keeping Kids Healthy in 2023
2. 10 Ways to Ensure Good Nutrition for Child Development
3. The spectrum of eating disorder in adolescence
4. The relationship between food cravings and body image with healthy eating index in adolescent girls - ScienceDirect
5. The key principles of intuitive eating | The Gut Health Doctor
6. 10 Principles of Intuitive Eating
7. Desires, Barriers and Directions for Shared Meals at Home
8. Kansas City dietitian nutritionists
9. Raising Kids to Have a Healthy Relationship with Food: How Should I Talk About Food and Nutrition with My Child?
10. How to raise a healthy eater | UNICEF Parenting
11. Like mother, like daughter: Association of maternal negative attitudes towards people of higher weight with adult daughters’ weight bias