The Intuitive Eaters Bill of Rights
While the song says, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year!”, it might not always feel that way. Especially when it comes to food, body, and exercise. Whether you have a challenging relationship with these three areas or a positive one, it can be tricky to navigate holiday meals and festivities. Today, we are sharing the Intuitive Eaters Bill of Rights and hope that it can help give you some insights into how to advocate for yourself during this season.
The Intuitive Eaters Bill of Rights
You have the right to savor your meal. Full stop. This means without shame or guilt, without discussion or worry about how many calories you ate, without planning how much exercise you’ll do to burn off the calories, and without sweeping promises to ‘get back on track’ or ‘back on the wagon’ on Monday.
You have the right to unapologetically enjoy more servings of any food.
You have the right to honor your fullness (and satisfaction) even if that means saying ‘no thank you’ or asking to take home leftovers to enjoy later.
It’s not your responsibility to eat beyond fullness just because someone spent time making an elaborate holiday dish/meal.
You have the right to say “no thanks”, without explanation or justification, when you’re offered more food, when you don’t care for the texture/taste, or you’re too full to eat more food.
You have the right to stick to your OG answer of ‘no thanks’ even if you are asked multiple times if you want more food.
You have the right to have pumpkin pie for breakfast [1].
Here are some ‘rights’ that we wanted to add to the list:
You have the right to remove yourself or change the conversation if it centers around dieting or diet culture.
You have the right to honor your hunger throughout the day rather than ‘saving calories’ for one meal.
You have the right to try new foods without the requirement to finish the entire portion.
You have the right to protect yourself and your energy by practicing self-care before, during, or after a holiday event.
You have the right to wear cozy, comfortable clothes that make you feel safe in your body.
You have the right to put up boundaries with family members who make comments about your body and food choices.
And finally, the Intuitive Eaters founders shared an Intuitive Eaters Bill of Rights Part 2 and we love these responses!
“You have the right to feel less than “cheerful” no matter what others are saying about the ‘true spirit’ of the holiday season. You have the right to honor your true feelings and respond to them with compassion.” – Rebecca Galla
“Not right now thanks but maybe later” works really well to appease the pushy host/hostess. If there isn’t a “later” then remind yourself that there is tomorrow and you won’t perish today.” -Tracy Stoker
“You have a right to notice how your body responds to different foods and to eat foods that look good, taste good and make you FEEL GOOD.” – Latoya J. Williams
“You have the right to share your inner peace with food, without judgement! Others may just even be jealous!”- Kathryn Fink
“You have the right to enjoy your food immensely even if a loved one with food challenges is present.”- Becky Henry
“You have the right not to participate in diet/weight talk.”- Judith Matz
“I suggest my clients say “maybe later” with a smile…helps to neutralize the situation.”- Janice Baker MBA RD CDE CNSC
“You have the right to eat others’ forbidden foods without feeling guilty.” – Jaime Fenton
“You have the right to say a graceful “Thank you” when someone compliments you without denying their comment or putting yourself down.”-Sumner Brooks, MPH, RD, CSSD
And Elyse Resch, co-author of Intuitive Eating offers this gem: “You have the right to feel the painful feelings that may come up at holiday time and to ask for support from someone safe.” [2]
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Moving Forward
We know the holiday season can be stressful. As a human, you have all these rights and we hope that seeing them written out empowers you to practice them. Learn more about Intuitive Eating by visiting this post. If you need more support, feel free to reach out to the Collaborative Counseling and Nutrition team today!
Resources Used:
[1] Original Intuitive Eating Pros. (2024, January 23). Intuitive Eaters Holiday Bill of Rights. Intuitive Eating. https://www.intuitiveeating.org/intuitive-eaters-holiday-bill-of-rights/
[2] Original Intuitive Eating Pros. (2019, April 12). Intuitive Eaters Holiday Bill of Rights-Part 2. Intuitive Eating. https://www.intuitiveeating.org/intuitive-eaters-holiday-bill-of-rights-part-2/
