What is food freedom?
In a world saturated by diet culture thinking, filled with dietary restrictions, calorie counting, and so much anxiety around food, the concept of food freedom offers a breath of fresh air to eating.
And in case you are wondering, food ‘freedom’ doesn’t mean just letting loose and eating everything. Food freedom is actually a place of safety, because you are healed therefore you don't feel out of control or want to punish yourself with binge or emotional overeating anymore (more on this below). And by now you've actually already broken that automatic habit of soothing yourself with food, so it’s no longer automatic. You have already taken the power back with food and your body, and it’s a peaceful place to be.
Food freedom is a mindset and lifestyle that allows you to feel free of the anxiety, guilt and shame around food, free from feeling self-conscious every time you eat in front of people, free from the constant stress of dieting, following the rules perfectly and trying to get it ‘right’. It also means that persistent inner voice that wants you to judge your body and count every calorie and cut out carbs has disappeared!
Food freedom gives you the head space to connect back to your body, and is the resultant feeling of freedom when you become an intuitive eater. It’s the life you get to live when you are free from the control, rules and restrictions of dieting, whilst also being healthy and living your best life. You have now adopted a more feminine, fluid and flexible way of eating that honours your health and is in alignment with you and your unique body’s wavering needs. Food freedom is when you are in a place of trusting your body and yourself around food, you are confident making your own food choices, rather than an external diet company telling you what to do.
I know this might sound super scary to some of you right now, to eat without any rules, or to trust yourself around food, that you might just eat everything. It may even feel impossible, if you've lived a lifetime battling against food and your body.
I want you to know that at Body Love Lifestyle you are not alone. In fact it’s recommended that you don't ‘stab in the dark’ or try this by yourself. There is a specific healing process that needs to take place to be able to arrive at this point of ease and confidence with food. Just letting go of all food rules on your own without the right strategy or healing your relationship with food and your body first, will likely result in your greatest fear of ‘eating everything’.
Food freedom is the result after healing your relationship with food and your body, when being healthy and enjoying food becomes easy. And we want you to know that YOU can absolutely find food freedom too, just like myself and my clients.
A life of food freedom comes about after being professionally supported through a proven step-by-step process to trust yourself and your body with food, break free from emotional overeating habits, and create new healthy habits that last a lifetime.
At Body Love Lifestyle I lovingly guide you, via a proven step-by-step strategy, to firstly help you accept your body and love yourself a little more so that you want to take good care of yourself.
You are supported to become FREE from the shackles of diet culture and have embraced a healthier, more balanced relationship with food that allows you to not only be healthy, but enjoy your life, and food again without the shame or guilt. We know first hand that this is the only thing that works for long term health and happiness.
Defining Food Freedom
Food freedom is kind of like ‘balanced eating’. It means ALL foods allowed, and you are now so connected to yourself and your body that you are making your food choices based on health, as well as what you actually feel like eating. This provides a far greater variety of food than strict diets, and therefore greater meal satisfaction and enjoyment. This more enjoyable ‘gentle nutrition’ approach makes it far easier to sustain healthy eating long term.
Food freedom means you don’t have to be perfect. You are now so connected to and respectful of your body that you honour its needs, most of the time. You only eat when you are hungry, most of the time. You stop eating when you are satisfied, most of the time. Sometimes you choose to eat more because something tastes super yummy, and you then feel a little too full. But it's ok because it’s a conscious choice now, rather than an impulsive reaction that you feel like you can’t control. And you practice self-compassion, using each eating experience as an opportunity to gain more self-awareness for next time, rather than beating yourself up. No judgement, right, wrong, good or bad. You don't have to be perfect, it’s all just a choice. And when you heal your relationship with yourself, food and your body, you will be more loving and trusting of yourself to make food choices that feel good and healthy, without all the stress and second-guessing.
Food freedom means you don’t have to be perfect. You are now so connected to and respectful of your body that you honour its needs, most of the time. You only eat when you are hungry, most of the time. You stop eating when you are satisfied, most of the time.
What a Life Of Food Freedom Looks Like
A life of food freedom looks like no longer being a slave to or feeling controlled by food. You are out living your best life, honouring your body, and having plenty of fun along the way. You can now even walk down the street licking an ice cream in public, or enjoy a burger and fries with your friends, without worrying about what people think.
You still love food, but there’s a deeper appreciation and respect for it, and you mostly only think about it when you are getting hungry. And when you are hungry, you eat what you actually feel like, instead of what you think you ‘should’ have, and eat only the amount that feels comfortable inside your body. You are confident and love yourself enough to satisfy your cravings without the guilt, only eating the amount that feels good for your body. You no longer eat just for the sake of it, or just because it’s there, or because somebody offered it to you and you don’t want to be rude. You are present with yourself and when eating, and always check in with your body.
Food is no longer your ‘everything’, or your only source of pleasure in life. It no longer consumes your every thought, or is the only way you soothe your stress and emotions. Instead of hiding at home with a bag of chips, obsessing about what to eat or beating yourself up over what you've already eaten, your body feels healthy and your mind is now filled with other more meaningful thoughts like personal passions, projects or hobbies that are fulfilling to you. You are now more present with your family and in your relationships, you’re confident going out socialising again, and rocking your favourite outfits that make you feel feminine and high-vibe.
In conclusion, food freedom is a feeling. It's the result of breaking free from rigid unkind, unloving diet rules, guilt-driven food choices, and the obsession with body weight and size. It’s the result of letting go of perfectionism and the ‘masculine’ control of strict diets, and adopting a more feminine, fluid, and intuitive approach that's in alignment with you, and supports your hunger levels and wavering feminine needs. This flexibility allows you to find your own happy body where it is easy to sustain long term.
The thing I love best about food freedom is that it supports your freedom to choose for your own body. It’s your unique body, your choice. Only you know what you need at each moment. Your body's needs waver day to day, and even meal to meal, according to your hunger levels, physical activity levels, how much sleep you've had, amount of stress, food likes and dislikes, and so much more. No weight loss company or new shiny diet knows what you need or can meet your unique food needs the way you can. That’s one of the many reasons diets don’t work.
Food is also meant to be enjoyed, this also means you get to honour your cravings and eat what you actually feel like, rather than restricting and then bingeing on it later anyway. Food freedom emphasizes the importance of meal satisfaction, choosing foods that bring you pleasure, that mostly honour your nutritional needs, and eating mindfully to completely enjoy your food.
