How to Become A More “Normal” Eater

For 10 years, I battled my weight, food, and my body. I was completely confused about how to eat, so even during those few times when I’d lose weight, I would gain it right back because I had no clue how to eat for my body.

I had a few friends who never thought twice about food; they would eat when they were hungry, choose food that sounded good to them, and stop when they were satisfied. It was such a basic concept, but for me, it seemed like rocket science.

Now that I'm a holistic health coach, when I work with clients, I'm on the other side of the table. They always come to me with a similar request: They just want to be “normal” eaters.

The truth is, normal eating looks different for every single person. The fastest way to become a normal eater is to depart from any sort of diet, rules, and rigidity and to instead learn to tune in to your body's fullness and hunger cues.

Think back to when thought of yourself as a more “normal” eater. This may be when you were a little kid, or it may be from when you were in college. Most of us can remember a time in our lives when food wasn’t such a big deal and we naturally maintained a stable body weight. What types of food did you gravitate toward then? Did you like three big meals or more frequent, smaller meals? What kinds of food didn’t sit well with you?

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We all have internal body wisdom that is better than any "diet." It tells us when, what, and how much to eat in a perfect way for our bodies. However, as we grow up and have constant input from outside sources telling us not to eat carbs after a certain time or that bananas have too much sugar, we lose trust in the signals our body naturally gives us.

Becoming a “normal” eater is all about getting back in touch with your body's inherent wisdom and peeling back anything that's blocking you from tuning into it. Here are a few steps that may help you get back to a “normal” eating pattern for you:

Challenge yourself to eat only when your body is genuinely telling you to. Many of us are so used to eating at certain “meal times” that we ignore our hunger cues. Some of us aren’t even sure what hunger feels like anymore. For two days, experiment with only eating when you're pretty sure you feel true hunger. This is likely felt in your stomach, but use this as an opportunity to learn what hunger feels like for you.

RELATED: 4 Steps That'll Prevent You From Eating When You're Not Actually Hungry

Many of us can’t find a “normal” way of eating because we forbid ourselves from eating certain foods—and then they start to develop a strange power over us. These are likely sweets and carbs, foods we’ve been told we shouldn’t eat. It’s impossible to feel normal around food when there's a constant battle between what you want to eat and what you feel you  "should" eat—and one of my favorite ways to chip away at these forbidden foods' allure is to start keeping them around more often. If chocolate is frought with anxiety for you, walk around with the best-quality chocolate bar in your purse, and let yourself have it when you really, genuinely are craving it. As you allow this food back into your life and see that nothing horrible happens when you enjoy it, you’ll slowly take the indulgence off of its pedestal—and it will start to have less of a hold over you.

Get curious about what foods satisfy you, what foods give you energy, and what foods leave you feeling empty or uncomfortable. If you’re constantly “searching for something else” after your daily salad for lunch, consider whether that salad is really satisfying you. Maybe you need to add some healthy fats or protein to it or eat half a sandwich in addition to it. Learn what types of foods make you thrive and feel happy—and which ones don’t. You can have fun with this—it's basically a giant experiment to get to know yourself better. Again, no diet can give you this information; it can only come from your paying attention to yourself.

Jamie Mendell is a holistic health coach who specializes in helping women lose weight without dieting. To find out more about her philosophy, check out her Web site.

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