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What Should I Eat?

By Mary Radovich

Well…what do you want? What do you have? What are you doing? When is the next time you’ll eat?

These are the things you should consider when deciding what to eat. Instead, many of us consider other things like “I heard this is bad,” or “this has too much sugar,” or “I had too much yesterday so I probably shouldn’t…” What’s the difference? Judgments verse practicality and logic. We pick up rules and diet tips everywhere and this often results in a chaotic, confusing relationship with food. My practice is all about helping you sort it all out.

My approach to food is summed up with the old cliche “everything in moderation.” Sounds familiar, right? And it’s easy enough…except that it’s really not. We’ve been programmed to view food as good and bad, to restrict and fear things that taste good, and to trick ourselves into feeling full with vegetables and low-calorie diet foods. A lot of this is in the name of achieving better health, but more often than not that isn’t the result.

Restricting foods or food groups can lead to overeating, feelings of guilt, and preoccupation with what you have (or haven’t) eaten. Your mental and physical health can suffer greatly when you are dieting or in the midst of an eating disorder. This is why I utilize the non-diet philosophy of wellness, which is about adding things that might make you feel good, instead of taking things away and feeling deprived.

I also follow the Health At Every Size approach, and acknowledge that size does not equal health. I basically ignore the scale and instead focus on health-promoting behaviors like enjoyable physical activity, stress management, and balanced eating, which are much more likely to improve your life in a sustainable way than following the latest fad diet or making yourself crazy with counting calories or macros. I can’t stand that our culture has made us afraid to eat delicious things, and that it is the norm to try to make our bodies smaller no matter what the cost.

Mary Radovich is a Registered Dietitian at Elle who specializes in eating disorders and disordered eating. Learn more about her and request an appointment to develop a healthier mindset toward nutrition in your life.