Intuitive Eating - Handling Unsolicited Comments

When you learn to tune into what, and how much your body is telling you to eat, you’re listening internally. However, that will not stop other people, companies and organisations, telling you what they think you should be eating or drinking. This is as aspect of one of the principles of Intuitive Eating, Challenging the Food Police.

I, as a Nutritionist, experience unsolicited comments very frequently. Back when I wasn’t non-diet and working with a personal training company, I would always feel pressure to eat certain foods when in the office out of fear of being judged. The pressure to eat foods that seemed “healthy” was very strong, regardless of what I actually wanted to eat. To this day, I still get comments like “you’re a nutritionist, you shouldn’t be eating that”, as I sit there eating a Cadbury cream egg or packet of crisps and enjoying myself. It used to put a strain on my relationship with food and my body. It even impacted my perception of my ability to help others, where I started thinking I has to be thin before I could help anyone else, “fix” my way of eating (so not eat any joyful food). I was putting very unrealistic expectations on my body and holding myself back from being successful in my career. But, after growing as a Nutritionist and as a person, I now know how to handle such situations. Such comments don’t even phase me anymore.

-

Getting comfortable telling people their comments aren’t helpful is a skill and needs time and practice. You’re learning how to create boundaries and deal with the emotions such messaging can evoke.

Below are some phrases to help you reject unhelpful comments.

I hope you find this helpful.

Handling situations like this is something we can work through in consultations. We can work on building a foundation of support for you to feel confident for the next time you need to protect your space.

If you need support, book a Discovery Call here.