I’m pretty sure gentle nutrition saved my life, far before knowing it was a thing. From someone who used to live on a slice of toast for more than eight hours, to someone who eats burgers after the gym (if I felt like it), gentle nutrition is the deal. And guess what is common between these two periods? My weight. And my relationship with food is better than ever.
Gentle nutrition is the 10th (and last) principle of intuitive eating. And one common myth I hear about it is that it forgoes all the rules of nutrition which couldn’t be farther from the truth. I believe the reason behind gentle nutrition being the last principle is that to make gentle and good choices, you should at least have a good standpoint with your relationship with food–meaning that you’re good with all the other nine principles of intuitive eating.
That is because it could easily turn into a diet (which is the last thing we want) if not done right. Gentle nutrition is about making food choices that make you feel satisfied and at the same time, honoring your health. Basically, it is the act of honoring both your mental and physical health.
This graphic is to illustrate how gentle nutrition is the balance between nutrition knowledge and your body’s needs/wants:
Am I ready for gentle nutrition?
When working on improving your relationship with food, nutrition needs to stay on the back burner for a while. That’s why gentle nutrition is the last principle of intuitive eating because before you practice nutrition, you have to be at peace with food. Viewing food more as fuel for your body and something that makes you feel good, rather than bad. Letting go of the ‘diet culture’ and unlearning it is essential before taking nutrition into consideration.
Jumping right into the gentle nutrition wagon without fixing your relationship with food is like building a house without a foundation. You should create a solid foundation first, and then implement gentle nutrition. This keeps you from turning it into a diet, and actually viewing food in a “neutral” way instead of labeling good food and bad food.
When gentle nutrition is not for you
The rule is: if you’re able to eat what you want without feeling guilty, and are able to tune into your hunger, fullness, and cravings, then you’re ready. But if you’re not, then it’s not time for it yet–there’s still some work to do.
The work involves feeling comfortable with the other nine principles of eating first before jumping into gentle nutrition. However, if you have a history of disordered eating, it is recommended that you consult with a therapist or dietitian first, since flexible guidelines can turn out to be very strict with those who have a history of eating disorders.
Also, if you’re someone with a dietary restriction like an intolerance, specific health condition, allergy, etc. you might need to be more strict in terms of nutrition. Or, if you are someone who just went through a traumatic event or a major life event, you might need to not worry about nutrition altogether and get out of survival mode first.
Gentle nutrition in practice – what does it look like?
What does practicing gentle nutrition look like? It’s different for everyone. You get to decide what it looks like for you since there needs to be a balance between taste buds and nutrition.
Some examples of gentle nutrition look like this:
- Adding vegetables to your meal because the fiber makes you feel satisfied and full
- Carrying a water bottle with you everywhere to hydrate
- Adding a side of fruit to your usual breakfast
- Eating a variety of carbs, fat, and protein at each meal
- Adding protein powder to your muffin recipe for a nutrient boost
- Having some ready-to-eat healthy snacks with you so you don’t grab the first thing you see
- Packing beverages that have lower added sugar/ are more natural
- Thinking about the three main macronutrients when preparing meals (carbs, protein, and fat).
- Eating protein after a workout
- Grabbing whole wheat pasta instead of white pasta
- Choosing a lower-fat option when craving chocolate
- Eating portions that make you feel comfortable instead of uncomfortably full (experimenting with different portions)
- Trying to have some structure with meal timings to avoid going too long without eating
How to get started
1. Focus on adding food, not subtracting
The best thing about gentle nutrition is that no food is off-limits. However, you will feel like eating chocolate pancakes for breakfast won’t make you feel as energetic or refreshed as you’d like to. This doesn’t mean that your favorite breakfast is given a bad label, but it’s a better idea to combine what you’re craving with someone more nutrient-dense to find a balance and feel good and energetic for the day.
2. Let your choices stem from self-love, not self-control
Gentle nutrition is an act of self-love, so it should be approached in the same way. It encourages you to develop a healthier relationship with food–which can’t be done without coming from a place of self-love.
It is important to monitor yourself when implementing gentle nutrition to see if you’re starting to restrict more or guilt-trip yourself after eating something you labeled as bad. That is when it’s time for a re-evaluation because control beats the essence of gentle nutrition.
On the other hand, if your eating habits are making you feel happy, energetic, and balanced, then you’re doing gentle nutrition right. If you look at food in a neutralized way, you’re on the right track.
3. Develop your hunger/fullness cues
I’m someone who had zero trust in myself–including my body. I didn’t trust it to make the ‘right’ choices for me, so I completely tuned out of my hunger/fullness cues. I used to convince myself that I felt bored, not hungry so I couldn’t eat. And that is what diet culture wants you to do. It wants you to rely on technology and food scales to keep track of how much you should be eating when your body is already a hundred percent capable of doing this on its own–only if we listen.
Gentle nutrition encourages us to tap into those cues. Some days you’ll feel like eating more than others, and that is normal. On other days, you will feel like you don’t need a lot of food, which is also normal. Follow these cues to make choices that work for YOU.
4. Don’t eat food that tastes bad even if it’s ‘healthy’
Gentle nutrition doesn’t mean eating fried chicken breasts every time you cook chicken, but it means you can enjoy them every few days if you feel like it. And it also doesn’t mean eating grilled chicken that’s bland and unseasoned. There’s a fine line between both, and that is experimenting with healthy recipes that taste good to you.
If you don’t like salad, you can try some dressings that you might like. Try to make your favorite dishes more ‘nutrient-dense’ without compromising on taste. If you don’t feel a difference in taste between white rice and brown rice, then definitely go for brown! If you do, you can try making swaps with other ingredients.
Final thoughts
Gentle nutrition is the perfect balance between intuitive eating and nutrition, and neither one is less important than the other. Nutrition IS important, and so is feeling satisfied. However, your food choices shouldn’t solely be based on nutrition.
I believe it’s also a way to trust ourselves more since the choices come from YOU and it’s highly individualized. There are no limits and no restrictions, so you have to fully believe in yourself to make the right choices, which helps carry on the same mindset for other self-care pillars in life. For me, that is my ‘why’.
What do you think about gentle nutrition? What’s your purpose with it? Leave a comment below, I would love to hear from you!