Powerful Healthy Eating Strategies that Helped Me Overcome an Eating Disorder

What’s the difference between healthy eating strategies and a diet mindset? Why is one better than the other? It’s taken me a long time to develop healthy eating strategies that I’m comfortable with, that keep me fueled and energized and that help me get the results that I want. While I’m 100% positive there is a version of each of these strategies that can work for you, keep in mind that you might have to make some small tweaks here and there to adapt them into your own life and routine.

Understanding the difference between a strategy and a diet mindset is the key.

What’s a diet mindset?

A diet mindset, put simply, is an adherence to a set of rules or a plan that dictates what, when and how much you eat. It’s the belief that you need something/someone to tell you exactly what to do because you can’t be trusted to make those decisions yourself.

If you have a diet mindset, you might have some of these kinds of thoughts running through your head:

I can’t eat ________, it’s unhealthy.
I indulged last night, I don’t deserve this.
I can only eat carbs if I’m going for a long run.
I don’t let myself eat over ________ calories.
How many calories is that? It’s just a snack so I can’t have over ______.

These thoughts are, unfortunately, super common in a lot of women. We’ve never been educated about food and the incredibly positive relationship it can have with our bodies and minds. We’ve only been taught to regulate ourselves so that we fit into a certain mold.

Having a diet mindset means you:

• Focus on rules as opposed to intuition.
• Categorize food as “good” vs “bad”.
• Let your food choices be decided for you based on why someone else has told you.
• Follow a structured plan for the sense of “control” it gives you.

Because the science of nutrition is so complex, and our bodies are so complex, and our feelings are so complex, it’s a natural to come to the conclusion that healthy eating is complex too. Complex is scary. We already have a lot going on in lough so we gravitate towards simple. We adopt someone else’s rules to guide our choices rather than be forced to take responsibility for them.

Totally normal.

But I have a secret: healthy eating does not have to be complex. We’ll get there in a minute.

What is a healthy eating strategy?

On the flip side of a diet mindset, a healthy eating strategy helps forget about the rules and take responsibility. A healthy eating strategy considers the what, when and how much part of food, but it emphasizes the importance of how and why.

Healthy eating strategies involve asking yourself:

How does this food make me feel?
Am I hungry, or am I bored/thirsty/lonely/sad/anxious?
This food fuels my body and makes me happy to eat it.
I’m going to enjoy my birthday dinner because the joy it brings me and my family is far better for me than worrying about how it fits into my macros.

Think of healthy eating strategies as a lens, rather than a list.

Healthy Eating Strategies To Overcome a Diet Mindset

Letting go of that diet mindset takes time. It takes work to develop that trust in yourself and your body. But it’s doable – and it’s worth it.

It’s been over a decade since a truly felt like I shut the door on my eating disorder. Now, I am fully committed to my health and coaching practice. But I still have to put conscious effort into the strategies, like the ones below, that I know work. This is the control that I was searching for when I was sick. This is the real power.

#1: No Foods are Off Limits

Most of us have a list of foods that are consciously or subconsciously “off limits”. Maybe you once read an article or post that said that food _______ is not something to indulge in. That we cannot be trusted around this food and therefore we cannot ever have it.

We are giving away our power and handing it over to an inanimate object. Ice cream is not powerful. Cake is not powerful. Pepperoni pizza is not powerful.

YOU ARE. You have the power to make choices. Give yourself permission. If you are worried that you will take advantage of that permission, see strategy #6.

There is no such thing as a good food and a bad food. There are foods that are more nutritious than others. And there are some foods that offer little to no nutritional value.

But everything must be taken in context.

Think about it this way. Bread has a bad rap these days – but it’s not an inherently bad food unless you have Celiac’s disease. But then look at whey protein – a food that is touted as the healthy, fitness-buffs best friend. Whey protein is great unless you’re lactose intolerant.

See what I mean?

The point is: it’s not the foods fault. It’s that we give the food too much power.

No foods are off limits. You can have a bowl of ice cream and nothing bad will happen. You can order a side of French Fries and still be strong and healthy. Give yourself permission to eat the food and you might surprise yourself with how responsible you can be.

That is power.

p.s. of all the healthy eating strategies on this list, this often feels the most nerve-racking. If that is the case for you, save it for later. Practice the next 5 first.

#2: Don’t Eat Mindlessly, Enjoy It

Eat whatever you want. But don’t eat it mindlessly.

Pay attention. Enjoy every bite.

It’s not the eating that is the problem. It’s the mindlessness.

Compare two hypothetical moments in time:

In the first you are sitting in front of the TV and scrolling through social media at the same time. You’re eating faster but barely aware of what you’re putting in your mouth. It’s only when your plate is empty that you realize the food is gone.

The problem here is multi-fold. First, your brain is occupied on other things – not just the meal at hand. Plus, you’re eating quickly. So your brain has neither the time nor the bandwidth to recognize that it’s full. Second, you’re not enjoying the taste, the texture or the flavor of your meal. So you don’t get that sensory satisfaction that is so important to feeling full.

Second hypothetical moment in time:

You are sitting at your table with friends or family eating a meal you put time and effort into. You eat slower, enjoying each bite and the company and conversation around you. The food is delicious but it’s just a piece of the enjoyment puzzle – it’s part of the moment and the atmosphere.

In this kind of situation you are mindful of each bite. The effort you took in creating this meal or the gratitude you have for someone else having created it for you. You appreciate the tastes and textures just as much as the atmosphere and the opportunity to slow life down and be in the moment.

This is mindful eating.

Enjoying each bite. Giving yourself the time to feel fullness. Regardless of what the food is, eating mindfully gives you the time and the power to say “one more bite” or “I’m full, thanks”.

That is power.

#3: Respect Your Body

What your brain tells you that you need and what your body actually needs are two different things.

When it comes to food, your brain has an incredible variety of inputs that it deals with. There’s a chicken sandwich in front of you. Your brain’s response:

Should I eat that? Is that what I want? Where does that fit into the healthy eating spectrum? Remember that time I ate a chicken sandwich and got sick? My mom makes the best chicken sandwiches. Who’s watching me eat this sandwich? Will they judge me? It’s not even time for lunch…

THE NOISE OF IT ALL!

Your body on the other hand, responds to a different type of input:

Ah, nutrients. Let’s go ahead and use them where they belong.

There is a lot of noise that comes with food and nutrition. A lot of history, cultural beliefs, stigma, memories and connections. But at the end of the day food is simply a substance – nutritious or not – made up of chemical compounds that your body either recognizes and needs, or doesn’t.

When you respect your body, you make respectful food choices. That doesn’t mean that you never choose mac n’ cheese over salad. Sometimes your brain needs mac n’ cheese. It means that you respect your body enough to make the decision consciously.

That is power.

#4: You Can Always Have More

The diet mindset often leaves us undernourished. Our bodies crave nutrients and we battle that craving, calling it weakness or a lack of willpower. But really it’s our brain getting worried because it thinks that it won’t have enough nutrients to work with to survive.

This healthy eating strategy was a game-changer for me. For a very long time after recovering from anorexia (but still dealing with disordered eating behaviors), I’d get incredibly anxious at the end of a meal. I’d starved myself for so long that I’d tricked my brain into believing that this eating opportunity was the only one. That if I didn’t eat all of this now, I wouldn’t have the chance to ever again.

I’m not talking about dinners at fancy restaurants or in foreign countries. I’m talking about a bowl of cereal.

When you sit down for a meal or when you are feeling full remind yourself:

I can always have more.

Always. Give yourself that permission and all of the sudden it doesn’t feel so hard to stop before you are overly stuffed. To slow down enough to feel fullness cues and act on them.

That is power.

#5: Food-Driven Choices Satisfy, Calorie-Driven Choices Don’t

We don’t eat calories. We eat food. Foods that are processed and packaged into 100-calorie packs might be low calorie, but they aren’t satisfying.

And satisfaction is important.

Your diet – the foods that you eating on a daily basis – should be satisfying. If it leaves you feeling unfulfilled physiologically or emotionally – you’re going to crave something to fill that void or need.

Food that is fresh and full of nutrients is fulfilling. Whole, real foods that are packed with vitamins, minerals, macronutrients and fiber satisfy your needs. They leave you feeling content and nurtured.

100-calorie snacks, despite the fact that they are calorie controlled in their shiny packaging, do not satisfy. They don’t contain nutrients or fiber and they don’t leave you feeling nourished or content. In fact, they probably trigger more cravings than they satisfy.

Choose food that feels like you’re eating something. An apple, with it’s crunch and juiciness, it’s fiber and flavor, feels like something. It’s made up of compounds that help you feel full. Pair that with peanut butter that is creamy and rich and you’re 100% satisfied. You won’t crave something more because you don’t need something more.

That is power.

#6: Try Eating Intuitive Today. If It Sucks, You Can Stop Doing it Tomorrow

This final healthy eating strategy is one that I can honestly contribute a lot of my recovery to.

Try something new today – a new healthy eating strategy, a new food freedom. And if it sucks, you can stop doing it tomorrow.

You will never know if something works until you try it.

Your choice.

That is your power.