0:00

This episode of Food Psych is brought to you by

0:02

my upcoming book The Wellness Trap.

0:04

Break free from diet culture, disinformation,

0:07

and dubious diagnoses and find

0:09

your true 307 which is available

0:11

for 307 now. Just go to

0:13

christy harrison dot com slash the wellness

0:15

trap to learn more and 307 for

0:18

its April twenty twenty three release. That's

0:20

christy harrison dot com slash the wellness

0:22

trap. Welcome to Food Psych,

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a podcast dedicated to critiquing diet

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and wellness culture, and answering your

0:29

questions about intuitive eating and the

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anti diet approach. I'm

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your host, 307 Harrison, and I'm a red just

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a dietician, certified intuitive

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eating counselor, journalist and

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author of the book's 307 diet, which is

0:42

available now wherever books are gold

0:44

and the wellness trap which will be out in early

0:46

twenty twenty three. And by

0:48

the way, on this show, I avoid saying

0:51

diet culture stuff like weight and calorie

0:53

numbers, but we don't censor swear

0:55

words or other adult language, so listener

0:57

discretion is advised. Hey

1:24

there. Welcome to this episode of Food Psych.

1:27

I'm your host, Christie 307, and today I'm

1:29

gonna be answering an audience question about

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whether labeling some foods as

1:33

quote unquote fun and limiting

1:35

their consumption is compatible

1:38

with intuitive eating and diet culture

1:40

recovery. This is a time of

1:42

year when you'll hear a lot about cleansing

1:44

and resetting and atoning

1:47

for all the pleasurable foods you ate over

1:49

the holidays. So I thought it would be interesting

1:51

to explore this concept of fun foods

1:54

and whether that term is even helpful.

1:57

Before I answer few quick announcements, This

1:59

episode of Food Psych is brought to you by my

2:01

intro to Intuitive Eating Mini Course,

2:04

which I'm offering as a live workshop on

2:06

January seventeenth. If you

2:08

wanna learn more about intuitive eating,

2:10

including how to navigate some of the

2:12

trickier nuances and avoid

2:14

turning it into a diet, this workshop

2:17

is for you. You'll learn what

2:19

intuitive eating is and isn't,

2:21

why it's associated with better health outcomes

2:23

than dieting, and how to implement

2:25

its principles without falling into common

2:28

diet culture traps. You'll

2:30

also get a chance to ask me your questions

2:32

about intuitive eating and making peace with

2:34

food. Which is a rare occasion

2:36

these days since I've been so busy with

2:38

childcare. So this is a

2:40

good chance to interact with me and get your

2:42

questions answered if you're interested in that.

2:44

And the workshop is open to everyone, the general

2:46

public, but it's also a great continuing education

2:49

opportunity for healthcare providers.

2:52

If this sounds up your alley, you can learn more

2:54

and sign up at christy harrison dot com

2:56

slash workshop and get a special

2:58

early bird deal now through January tenth.

3:01

That's christy harrison dot com slash

3:03

workshop. Now without any

3:05

further ado, let's get into this week's question.

3:08

It's from 307 who writes In a

3:10

recent piece in your newsletter, you answered a

3:12

question about intuitive eating and mindfulness.

3:14

The person who asked the question used the term quote

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unquote fun food. Which I first

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heard in a non diet diabetes group

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on Facebook. The group forbade

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any talk of diets or intentional weight loss

3:25

but it did allow discussion of eating

3:27

too much fun Because according

3:30

to the moderators, that is part of the intuitive

3:32

eating model. I ended up leaving

3:34

the group over this issue because to me it felt

3:36

like food moralizing. As someone who

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has been healing from disordered eating for the

3:40

last fifteen years, and dealing

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with diabetes for the last ten,

3:44

I wonder about fun food as a designation.

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To me, it suggests some foods are

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less than. Less less

3:52

nutritious, less worthy to be

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part of one's everyday eating. And

3:56

to me, this seems like a gateway to restriction.

3:59

Would you please talk about this and help me understand

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how designating some foods is fun

4:03

can be a helpful practice? So

4:06

thanks Andrea for that great question. And

4:08

before I answer, I'll just give my usual

4:10

disclaimer that these answers and this podcast

4:13

in general are for informational and educational

4:15

purposes only, aren't a substitute

4:17

for individual medical or mental health advice,

4:20

and don't constitute a provider patient relationship.

4:23

Also, this is just my take as one dietitian

4:25

and journalist, and I hope you'll seek

4:27

out other perspectives and consult your

4:29

own inner compass as well. So

4:32

it's totally understandable that you'd have this

4:34

reaction to a group that was full of

4:36

these kinds of discussions, you know,

4:38

eating too many quote unquote fun

4:40

foods. Sounds really triggering.

4:42

I know many people who'd find that kind of

4:44

talk profoundly unhelpful when

4:46

they're trying to heal from disordered eating. 307

4:49

from disorder eating often requires

4:51

having a space that's free from diet

4:53

culture messages, where you can

4:55

get court in reconnecting with your

4:57

internal cues and your sense

4:59

of pleasure and satisfaction in

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food and learn to make

5:03

307 with all foods and not label foods

5:05

as good and bad. And so it

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sounds like for you at least, this group

5:09

was not such a space. To

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be clear, it's not part of the intuitive

5:14

eating model to put any restrictions on

5:16

quote unquote fun foods. Right?

5:19

If you're relabeling certain foods

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as fun instead of quote

5:23

unquote bad or 307,

5:25

but you're still treating them as though they're bad

5:28

by telling yourself you shouldn't eat them,

5:30

then that's not true intuitive eating.

5:32

It's just a diet by another name. Intuitive

5:35

eating is an anti diet approach

5:37

that emphasizes unconditional permission

5:39

to eat all foods. Over

5:42

time, this approach can help you become habituated

5:44

to the foods that you once saw as bad

5:46

so that you no longer fear them

5:49

or feel out of control around them. Instead

5:51

you feel at peace in their presence

5:53

and you view them as simply one option

5:55

among many. You don't feel compelled or

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compulsive around them. General

6:00

nutrition awareness eventually comes

6:02

into play with intuitive eating as well,

6:05

but it's the tenth and last principle of

6:07

intuitive eating for a reason. Right, as

6:09

I'm always saying. And that reason

6:11

is it's hard to approach nutrition

6:13

in a truly gentle and non

6:15

restrictive way. If you're still

6:17

telling yourself you shouldn't eat certain

6:19

things and beating yourself up when

6:21

you do. Now all that

6:23

being said, Some people may

6:25

use the term quote unquote fun

6:27

foods in ways that support

6:29

them in healing from disordered eating and diet

6:31

culture. So it's nuanced. Right? For

6:33

example, if you've been so

6:35

fixated on the perceived badness

6:37

of foods like sweets and

6:39

snacks, etcetera, that

6:41

you've developed an all consuming fear

6:43

of those foods. Or if your

6:45

guilt about eating them has driven

6:47

you into a 307 rebound cycle with

6:49

them, right, or friction cycle,

6:51

then labeling those foods as fun

6:53

might be an important step away from

6:56

diet culture 307. And

6:58

towards a more peaceful relationship with

7:00

them. Because quote unquote, fun

7:02

food is a far more positive

7:04

framing than diet culture stigmatizing

7:06

label of quote unquote junk food.

7:08

Right? So when you're far enough

7:10

into recovery, you may find you don't

7:12

need to categorize foods in this way anymore

7:15

anyway. You're able to see all

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foods as emotionally equivalent and

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not possessing any moral goodness or

7:21

badness. But many people

7:23

find it hard to entirely let go of

7:25

those categories right away. And

7:28

so moving from quote unquote

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junk to quote unquote fun can

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be a radical, linguistic, and

7:34

conceptual shift for some people

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that helps them learn to see the value

7:39

in foods they once viewed as having

7:41

none. Labeling certain

7:43

kinds of foods is fun also doesn't

7:45

have to mean they're less than. For

7:47

one thing, fun is essential in our lives.

7:50

307 if you've been feeling devoid of fun in the

7:52

food department, you might understandably

7:54

find yourself gravitating towards

7:56

more pleasurable foods. Diet

7:58

and wellness culture often deny the

8:00

need for food to be fun, breaking

8:03

each meal down into stark platefuls

8:05

of numbers and nutrients. And

8:07

so 307 the right to have food that

8:09

brings you joy is a really

8:11

important aspect of healing from disordered

8:13

eating. What's more,

8:15

the foods that get labeled as fun

8:17

actually serve other important functions

8:19

as well. So sweets and

8:21

starchy snacks, for example, are

8:23

a source of quick energy, which is

8:25

incredibly helpful when you're experiencing a

8:28

dip in blood sugar or you

8:30

need your hunger satisfied fast. Carbs

8:32

provide the optimal source of fuel for your

8:34

brain, and having enough of them in your

8:36

day can help your mood and your energy

8:38

levels. And

8:40

including carbohydrate rich foods in a meal

8:42

or snack, along with

8:44

protein and fat, generally helps you

8:46

feel more satiated than if you skimped

8:48

on or skipped the carbs. I

8:51

realize all of this can be complicated when you

8:53

have diabetes. Right? Carbohydrates

8:56

and especially sugar tend to

8:58

get demonized in the conventional discourse about

9:00

307, where the message is often to

9:03

cut out or avoid carbs and

9:05

sugar for both prevention and

9:07

management of the disease. But

9:09

that conventional discourse is really

9:11

misleading, as I discussed in episode two

9:13

eighty four of the podcast which we'll link to in

9:15

the show notes. Entirely

9:17

cutting out or drastically limiting

9:19

sugar generally isn't needed

9:21

even for people with diabetes. And

9:23

in fact, it could potentially backfire

9:25

by putting you in a 307

9:27

rebound cycle that's

9:29

ultimately riskier for your health than

9:31

simply learning to have a more peaceful

9:33

relationship with sugary foods.

9:36

So even if you need to count carbohydrates for

9:38

insulin dosing, for example, it's

9:40

possible to do that without

9:42

treating the high carb foods as bad

9:44

or wrong or off limit. Ideally,

9:47

a non diet 307 support

9:50

group wouldn't reinforce moralizing ideas

9:52

about those foods. And

9:54

to be fair, it's possible that some other

9:56

members of the group might not perceive

9:58

these comments about quote unquote fun

10:00

foods as moralizing because different

10:02

people can have different reactions to terms

10:04

like this. But, you know, in my

10:06

experience, social forums

10:08

like Facebook groups often

10:10

aren't great places for these kinds of discussions for

10:12

that very reason. Because it's

10:14

hard enough to manage a small eating

10:17

recovery group in person where you might

10:19

have ten people at distinct points

10:21

on the disordered eating 307. Right?

10:23

But on social media platforms where

10:25

there are often dozens or hundreds

10:27

or even thousands of people at

10:29

various stages of healing, it's

10:31

virtually impossible to meet the specific

10:33

needs of every single person.

10:36

So online groups can of course be helpful

10:38

for some people as adjuncts to medical and

10:40

mental health care or even in

10:42

some cases as stop gaps for people

10:44

who don't have access to care.

10:46

But those groups really lack

10:48

the real time face to

10:50

face element that can help in talking through

10:52

disagreements and supporting

10:54

people at different points in their recovery

10:56

307 dealing with issues where someone gets

10:58

triggered by someone else's language. So

11:01

if you can, I would say it's helpful to work

11:03

with an individual treatment team to

11:06

help support you in your recovery from disordered eating

11:08

and diet culture and help you

11:10

manage the diabetes as well.

11:12

I have a list of folks who've been on the podcast

11:14

that we'll link to in the show notes, and

11:16

many of them offer virtual sessions and

11:18

sliding scale 307. And I'll

11:20

point especially to Lauren Newman who

11:22

specializes in disordered eating

11:24

from an anti diet lens.

11:27

I hope that's helpful in thinking through this

11:29

situation, 307, and thanks

11:31

again so much for the great question. If

11:33

you want to submit your own quest for

11:35

a chance to have it answered 307 here

11:37

or in my Food Psych weekly newsletter or

11:40

both, you can go to christy harrison dot

11:42

com slash questions. That's

11:44

our show for today, and I wanna thank you so

11:46

much for listening. If you wanna learn

11:48

more about intuitive eating, including

11:50

how to navigate some of the trickier

11:52

nuances and avoid turning it into

11:54

a diet, come check out my intro

11:56

to intuitive eating workshop,

11:58

which I'm offering live on

12:00

January seventeenth. You'll learn the

12:02

basics of this anti diet approach, and

12:04

you'll get a chance to ask me your questions

12:06

about intuitive eating and making peace

12:08

with food. You can learn

12:10

more and sign up for the workshop at christy

12:12

harrison dot com slash workshop

12:14

and get a special early bird deal

12:16

now through January tenth. That's christy

12:19

harrison dot com slash workshop.

12:21

This episode was brought to you by my second

12:23

book, The Wellness Trap. Break free from

12:25

diet culture information and

12:27

dubious diagnosis and find your true

12:29

well-being, which is available for

12:31

preorder now. Just go to christy harrison

12:33

dot com slash the wellness trap

12:35

to learn more and 307 it for its April twenty

12:38

twenty three release. That's christy

12:40

harrison dot com slash the wellness

12:42

trap. For full show notes and a

12:44

transcript of this episode, go to christy

12:46

harrison dot com slash 307A

12:48

big thanks as always to our editor and sound

12:51

engineer, Mike Laland. Community and

12:53

content associate, 307 Chuay, an

12:55

administrative assistant, Julian 307, for

12:57

helping me out with all the moving parts that go into

12:59

producing this show. Our album

13:01

art was photographed by Abby Moore Photography, and

13:03

the logo was designed by Melissa Alam.

13:06

Her theme song was written and performed by Carolyn

13:08

Penny Packer Rigs. And I'm your host and

13:10

producer, Christie Harrison. Thanks again

13:12

for listening and until next time,

13:14

stay site.