4 Ways to Help Patients Embrace Food Freedom Around the Holidays

I love the holidays, but there’s one thing I could do without: the dreaded “What do you do?” question at parties. Don’t get me wrong, I’m proud to be a dietitian, and I could happily talk about food all day! But holiday diet talk certainly puts a damper on the season.

Seasonal food and body talk can make this time of year tough for patients healing their relationship with food. We can help by promoting intuitive eating, an empowering framework that helps patients trust and listen to their bodies.

Let’s dive into how we can support our patients in navigating the holidays with less stress and more food freedom.

What is Intuitive Eating?

🌟 Spoiler: Intuitive eating is more nuanced than just "eat when you're hungry, stop when you're full."

Intuitive eating, defined by its founders, Evelyn Tribole, MS, RDN, and Elyse Resch, MS, RDN, is a “dynamic mind-body integration of instinct, emotion, and rational thought.”

I describe intuitive eating as an internally guided approach to eating, free from rules and restrictions. It guides you to reconnect with your mind and body by choosing physically and psychologically satisfying foods.

Here’s what I tell my patients: we’re born intuitive eaters, but with time, it becomes harder to listen to our bodies. Diet culture, which bombards us with messages that promote a “thin ideal” and encourage food restriction, is a big reason for this shift.

There are 10 principles to intuitive eating.

1. Reject the diet mentality
2. Honor your hunger
3. Make peace with food
4. Challenge the food police
5. Discover the satisfaction factor
6. Feel your fullness
7. Cope with your emotions with kindness
8. Respect your body
9. Movement: feel the difference
10. Honor your health: gentle nutrition

➡️ Learn more about each of these principles here.

What Does the Research Say?

Many of my patients' gut reaction to intuitive eating is that it sounds a bit "flowery.” But rest assured, there’s solid evidence behind it. Nearly 120 studies show the benefits of intuitive eating, including improvements in blood sugar, cholesterol, and fruit and vegetable intake!

Intuitive eating is also linked to better psychological well-being, improved body image, and higher self-esteem. Counseling patients with this approach helps them break free from yo-yo dieting and reduces anxiety about eating.

How Can I Apply Intuitive Eating with Patients?

It can feel overwhelming to apply intuitive eating with patients. After all, it’s a less traditional approach than many of us have been taught! I’ve compiled four practical ways to get started, including soundbites I regularly use with patients.

1. Move Away from Food as "Good" or "Bad"

Incorporating intuitive eating into your practice means moving away from the rigid labels of "good" and "bad" food. Instead, frame food as emotionally neutral. We often see this balanced, non-restricted approach with young children.

While we’re not claiming that Oreos are more nutritious than kale, we’re also not saying that Oreos are "bad” and kale is "good." This binary thinking fuels guilt, shame, and the cycle of restriction and overeating. And it makes us crave more of the foods we label "bad."

💡Soundbite: If you restrict certain foods–let’s say, donuts–you may find yourself feeling out of control around them. On the other hand, if you have access to donuts every day, some days you might choose to have one, while other days you might not.

2. Promote Interoceptive Awareness

Interoceptive awareness refers to the ability to perceive, interpret, and respond to internal bodily signals such as hunger, fullness, heart rate, breathing, and emotional sensations. Encourage your patients to understand what hunger, fullness, and satisfaction feel like.

For instance, ask patients to consider how certain meal choices make them feel. Do they feel energized? Are they still hungry? Are their stomachs and tastebuds satisfied?

💡Soundbite: Your body knows when it’s hungry and full. The more you practice honoring these cues, the easier it becomes to trust your body.

3. Encourage Gentle Nutrition

I practice gentle nutrition by promoting meals with fiber, protein, and fat and recognizing that nutrition isn’t just about meeting nutrient needs, it’s also about satisfaction.

In other words, gentle nutrition acknowledges the importance of basic nutrition but integrates these choices into meals in enjoyable, not restrictive, ways.

💡Soundbite: Reflect on the physical fullness of drinking water and the satisfaction from a bite of chocolate. After a meal, we want both: physical fullness and emotional satisfaction. This comes from including protein, fiber, and fat, and enjoying our food.

4. Foster Self-Compassion:

Remind patients to be gentle with themselves. Food is meant to be enjoyed and celebrated, especially during social and festive occasions. You would never shame a child or close friend for eating past comfort, so try to extend this compassion to yourself, too!

To manage holiday diet talk, I remind my patients that everyone’s relationship with food is unique. I encourage them to redirect diet-talk to celebrate the enjoyment of food. And it’s perfectly okay to step away from conversations that feel triggering or unhelpful.

💡Soundbite: Children need play, and adults need time away from work. We should extend this joy and rest to food, too!

A plug: If you want to explore intuitive eating with patients, I highly recommend The Intuitive Eating Workbook by Evelyn Tribole, MS, RDN, and Elyse Resch, MS, RDN. It’s a game changer, especially for our lifelong dieters!

Conclusion

Many patients struggle with guilt, anxiety, and rigid dieting rules during the holidays. Support them in letting go of food-related shame by embracing intuitive eating.

Intuitive eating is an evidence-based framework that promotes a healthy combination of foods and a healthy relationship with food. After all, food is more than just nutrition; it’s also about love, tradition, joy, and connection. 💛

By focusing on weight-inclusive, compassionate care, we create supportive spaces that foster lasting behavior change and help patients break free from yo-yo dieting.

This article was written by Amy Corcoran. She is a dietitian at Dietitian Driven LLC and a health writer driven to bring more peace, understanding, and evidence-based practices to nutrition.