Intuitive eating for guilt-free celebrations

During this festive season marked by abundance, when festive dinners follow one another at the same pace as the snow falls, excesses can affect our sleep, our training, our stomachs... but also, sometimes, our anxiety. Some people fear losing the physical fitness they have worked so hard to achieve during the year... and gaining weight. In this "Christmas special" nutrition article, I invite you to reflect on mindful and intuitive eating, which should help you reconnect with what is essential. 

A balance unique to each individual

If the fear of breaking your scale is keeping you from enjoying Grandma's delicious cream sugar, it's time to set the record straight. 

Although it depends on several factors, weight gain is ultimately the result of an imbalance between intake (calories consumed) and expenditure (calories burned). When our weight is balanced, it means that we are eating the amount our body needs to perform its vital functions and daily activities (walking, working, eating, exercising, etc.). Conversely, when intake exceeds expenditure, the body stores the excess in the form of fat.

Furthermore, it is very difficult to have a precise idea of the number of calories to consume in a day to achieve a perfect balance between our needs and our expenditure. Why? Because the number of calories a person needs each day depends on several factors: first, their metabolism, which is influenced by their gender, age, weight, level of physical activity, and muscle mass; and second, their level of daily physical activity. It is therefore normal that you do not have the same energy needs as your loved ones. And, following the same idea, you cannot rely on others to calculate your own dietary intake.

Listen to your body

So, should you start calculating everything to make sure you never exceed your needs? Absolutely not! Mainly because it's difficult to know exactly how many calories you need to consume each day, and in the long term, this can lead to unhealthy and obsessive behaviors toward food, such as restriction, frustration, guilt, and a decrease in overall well-being.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting you overeat, but rather that you use your body as a measuring tool to determine how much food you should eat each day. (It may not seem like much, but the body is much more accurate than any trendy gadget when it comes to assessing your needs.) The principle behind this mindful technique, known asintuitive eating, is to listen to your hunger and satiety cues and let your food preferences dictate your intake, with simplicity and self-respect. Far from being a diet, intuitive eating is a way of eating based on 10 principles. Without going into detail about each one, I will introduce you to a few of them to get you started on this journey and give you a taste for taking the time to enjoy every bite.

1. Stay away from fad diets and don't exclude foods. This will help you stop depriving yourself of certain foods (the famous restriction!), to the point where when you let your guard down and let go, you can't stop and end up eating until you feel sick. Instead, learn to be open to your food preferences and cravings on a daily basis. If you give yourself "permission" to eat chocolate, you'll consume it in moderation and enjoy it more!

2. Learn to respect your body and its needs. This will help you make better food choices and gradually recognize what makes you feel better. In particular, you will make more positive connections between a balanced meal and your intestinal well-being, noticing, for example, how a large portion of French fries before exercise can hinder your performance compared to a bowl of yogurt and fresh fruit. This also means that all foods will have a place on your plate and that you will realize that unhealthy foods are better in moderation.

3. Listen to your hunger and satiety cues. True hunger, which can be recognized by physical symptoms such as headaches, low energy, or rumbling stomach, is the best indicator that it's time to eat. Before you do, take a moment to ask yourself where you are on a scale of 1 (not hungry) to 5 (very hungry), and adjust your intake accordingly. Following the same logic, halfway through the meal, ask yourself if that number has changed. If you were at 4 at the start of the meal and now feel like you're at 1, it probably means you've eaten enough. I recommend using smaller plates and, above all, taking at least 15 minutes to eat, so you can be more attuned to these signals.

The Christmas season is an excellent opportunity to experiment with these principles. When you find yourself feeling anxious in front of the buffet, ask yourself how hungry you really are on a scale of 1 to 10, and more importantly, what foods would truly make you happy at that moment. Eat smaller portions of those foods and, above all, take the time to enjoy them while sharing them with the people you love. Don't worry too much if you eat a little more than usual on certain evenings, and remember that it's consistency on a daily basis that will bring you health and well-being for the rest of the year.

During all these dinners, take some time to celebrate in a different way, for example by doing outdoor sports activities, reading a book, learning to knit, or embarking on a short cycling camp at Vélo CartelHave a joyful and enjoyable holiday season!