How to be a “Normal Eater”
“I just wish I could be a normal eater!”
I hear this all the time.
I think what people mean by this is
- They want to stop dieting and starving themselves. They want to fill satisfied and fulfilled and nourished.
- They want to stop eating foods that they really don’t like and start eating foods that they do.
- They want to do the above and be at their body’s natural weight.
So, how do you do this?
Let me share with you the WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, HOW, WHERE, WHY, and WHO of BEING A NORMAL EATER!
WHAT: What is a Normal Eater?
A normal eater is someone who eats foods that they love, foods they could eat forever, AND foods that will help you reach your goal.
Normal eater aren’t on a diet. They’re not temporarily eating a certain way. If you want to stay at your natural weight, you have to keep eating that way forever. You can’t start and stop and expect to stay where you’re at.
Normal eaters eat foods that help them reach their goal. You can’t expect to eat junk foods and crap foods and be at our natural weight or be your healthiest best self.
WHEN: When do Normal Eaters eat?
Normal eaters eat when they’re physically hungry. They don’t eat for emotional purposes. They don’t eat when they’re bored, tired, stressed, or because other people are eating or there’s food sitting around. They eat because their body is in need of fuel.
HOW: How do they eat?
Normal eaters eat slowly and mindfully just until they’re satisfied and then they stop eating. It doesn’t matter if there is still food left on their plate (or their kids’ plates), they don’t eat anymore past satisfied – not full! There is a difference. Satisfied means your body has had just enough fuel and you won’t need to eat again for another 4-6 hours.
Slow and mindful eating means you are breathing in between bites. You’re not shoveling in y our food as fast as you can, you are actually pausing between bites, tasting your food as you chew, and stopping to checkin with your hunger levels as you eat your meal.
WHERE: Where do Normal Eaters eat?
They eat sitting down. They don’t eat on the go. They don’t eat while they’re working and they don’t multi-task during a meal. They don’t eat in their closet, the pantry, or the refrigerator. They eat sitting down.
They also eat as undistracted as possible. They’re not on their phone. They’re not reading a book or the newspaper. They’re not watching a movie or a show on tv. They’re not playing a game on their phone. They eat as undistracted as possible.
WHY: Why do Normal Eaters eat?
It’s not for emotional reasons. It’s not to feel some kind of an emotional need. They eat to nourish their body and their soul. Of course we want to eat to fuel our body and to give it the energy and nutrients it needs, but we also want to eat to fuel our soul.
When you’re on a diet and you’re eating plain baked chicken and lettuce and foods that don’t fill your soul and cutting out all the foods that you love, it is hard to continue doing that. Normal eaters balance foods that fill their soul -which means they eat foods that they like, foods that make them happy, foods that taste good- with foods that nourish their body and help them reach their goal.
WHO: Who do Normal Eaters bring to the table with them when they’re eating?
They bring their Higher Brain.
All of your habits eating come from our Lower Brain. Some of these may not be the best habits for you. So, what you want to do is use your Higher and Wiser Brain to do your eating. This part of your brain will be able to help you recognize any eating habits and patterns that aren’t serving you and help you make wiser choices that will. Stop eating out of habit and use your Higher Brain to help you think ahead and make better choices that will help you reach your goal.
XO- Rachael
Want More? Watch this short video
