What is unconditional permission to eat?
What is unconditional permission to eat?
The freedom to choose what you eat, when you eat it, and how much you choose to eat.
Unconditional permission to eat is freedom of choice. We are removing the restriction placed on food and providing a healthier food relationship.
It supports the removal of labelling foods (good, bad, cheat, dirty) and the guilt or associated negative feelings people feel around their food choices. It backs food neutrality, the concept that all foods have the same moral value.
How does unconditional permission to eat help me if I’m trying to lose weight?
Losing weight requires a calorie deficit. For many, it will require an individual to make choices and possible lifestyle changes to meet their reduced calorie intake. The diet choice is the individual's choice, and therefore that individual always has the choice to eat what, when, and how much they choose, even if this means they over-consume their energy requirements.
Having the choice allows the individual to assess what they value at a particular period and therefore make an informed decision that lines with their values. Your values guide your behaviour and your choices in life. They are what you believe to be important and worthwhile in your life. Therefore, if you value your health and well-being, you will feel strongly about making healthy lifestyle choices to support that value. If at a current period of your life, losing weight supports a healthier body, then you will choose to make informed food and activity choices that support a calorie deficit to achieve weight loss.
When working towards losing weight, the individual still has unconditional permission to eat. They can choose to consume more calories than required to reach their goal at any time. If they find they are consistently over-consuming their daily energy requirements, they return to their values to see if they are still valid at the present moment of their life and question what’s most important to them right now.
Do my choices line with my values?
This can also be used alongside a logical dose of enjoyment when consuming indulgent high-calorie foods with a weight loss goal. The simple ability to pause and create a level of mindfulness (awareness) alongside the question of why you wish to consume a particular food. These actions allow you to make an informed choice that suits what you believe is important at that time. An example of this could be sharing a slice of cake with a family member as you celebrate an important milestone because you value love and connection. You pair this alongside recognising that you only need half a portion of the cake to feel content and satisfied. The opposite situation may look like having a slice of cake because you have walked into the office staffroom after a busy day at work where you didn’t take your lunch break. You are overly hungry and feel tired and overworked by not placing your health first. You choose to overconsume the cake in front of you, driven by stress, tiredness, and hunger. You mindlessly consume the cake only to feel still low and unsatisfied.
Neither of these situations is wrong. We must remember that we are not perfect and will make decisions from time to time that doesn’t line with our values and what we want. However, if you find you are regularly not moving towards how you want to live your life or achieving the targets and goals you are working towards, it may be time to re-evaluate your values and what you want most from your behaviours.
How do you want to show up?