What is empowered eating?
Empowered eating is a method that I have created, which brings together my fifteen years of clinical nutrition and yoga teaching. It is something that is very close to my heart, as it draws on both my own health journey as well as my clinical observations, and has been evolving over the past decade.
In a world that is inundated with fad diets, conflicting nutrition advice and unrealistic body standards, there is so much need for this new perspective on food and our relationship with it. It isn’t just about what’s on our plate, but also our mindset, our body’s needs and the ability to embrace a sustainable, joyful approach to eating.
Empowered eating therefore shifts the focus from dogmatic and restrictive diets to embracing flexibility, individuality, and a sense of empowerment to make informed food choices. It is a method of personalised nutrition that integrates nutrition research with meditation practices so that you can access self-knowledge to find the diet that is right for you.
At its core, empowered eating is a path of self-enquiry, so that you can find your own diet answers. You learn how to come back into deep relationship with your body and mind and your own inner wisdom as your authority on food. This method values everyone’s unique needs and promotes health, connection and freedom from food confusion.
Empowered Eating is built on ten fundamental principles:
1. No ideal diet
There is no such thing as an ‘ideal diet’. We are all unique, with varying needs. What nourishes one person may not benefit another. Our requirements evolve throughout life, so our approach to diet must also be flexible and adaptable to meet our changing health needs.
2. Freedom from strict rules
Empowered eating embraces nutrition research and frameworks as tools to support specific health conditions, rather than imposing rigid rules. Instead it encourages an exploration of how eating differently feels in your body and what works for you. This grants you the autonomy to make your own food choices.
3. Deepening your relationship with your body
Unlike many diets that seek to control and change the body, Empowered Eating focuses on forging a deeper connection with your body. It’s about befriending your body, listening to its signals, and responding appropriately.
4. Reconnecting to your body wisdom
Empowered Eating teaches various meditation practices to help you rediscover your body’s inherent wisdom and the knowledge it holds.
5. Understanding the origins of your dietary habits
Through contemplation questions, Empowered Eating reveals the origins of your dietary habits and limiting beliefs. These insights can then be transformed to create a new perspective that is more compassionate and all inclusive.
6.Acknowledging different types of hunger
Empowered Eating goes beyond recognising physical hunger signals. It also explores emotional and sensory hunger and how these influence your food choices. When in balance, these forms of hunger are seen as natural processes that we can work with to enhance our enjoyment of food.
7. Cultivating connection to others
The environment in which we eat significantly impacts our eating experience. Empowered Eating encourages nurturing eating environments and connecting with others through shared meals.
8. Cultivating greater connection to the Earth
As you become more attuned to your body and the food you eat, you’ll also develop a heightened awareness of how food deeply connects you to the Earth. Empowered Eating recognises the intricate relationship between your well-being and the well-being of the planet.
9. Embracing joyful eating
Empowered eating moves away from rigid diets that evoke fear, shame, guilt and judgement around food. Instead, it cultivates a sense of joy and pleasure in savouring a diverse range of foods.
10. Cultivating holistic health and thriving
Empowered eating isn’t only about physical health; it embraces your emotional and spiritual well-being too. By nurturing all aspects of your being, Empowered Eating supports holistic health so that you can thrive.
If you are interested in personalised nutrition with intuitive eating and want to know more about how Empowered Eating can help you, then contact me today and we can schedule a free 15-minute discovery call. You have the option of working with me in one-to-one sessions to address specific health conditions, or as part of a community in one of my group courses. Join me on this journey of deep self-compassion, enquiry and empowerment.