I overcame most of my food issues in my twenties. It happened during a 10-month internship in the city of New Orleans. I was obsessed with eating low-fat even though I still carried extra weight. I constantly complained about how fat seemed to be infused into every food imaginable until a friend called me on it: “Do you even enjoy eating, Maryann?” At that moment I decided to ditch my low-fat-only diet so I could enjoy the culturally-diverse food while I was there.

But this time was different. I didn’t take it as free license to eat like crazy. Instead, I continued to eat a balanced diet and exercise. I soon figured out there was no reason to over-eat because unlike before, I could always have some fatty food the next day. By the end of the 10-months, I actually lost some weight. How could this be? My desire to over-eat was almost nonexistent. It was one of the most liberating feelings of my life.

After I started working as a dietitian, I searched for books on this topic. Eventually I found a book called Intuitive Eating: A Revolutionary Program That Works by Evelyn Tribole, MS, RD and Elyse Resch, MS, RD. These two dietitian-authors write that we are all born with a natural ability to regulate food intake. Unfortunately, modern society teaches the opposite – we should clean our plate, restrict what we eat to lose weight and avoid eating “bad” foods even if we crave them. What I have learned since reading this book is that our children will pick up on our food issues unless we break free of them. This is especially true for mothers and daughters.

Intuitive Eating aims to get you back to the intuitive eater you were born to be – eating when you are hungry and stopping when you are comfortably full (and that means eating any food you want!). There are 10 strategies to guide you through the intuitive eating process. The first eight work to undue the damaging effects of culture’s “dieting mentality” and the last two discuss nutrition and exercise.

Being a good food role model for your kids is not about eating perfectly. In fact, I hope my children don’t become obsessed with eating only healthy foods. I want them to have a healthy relationship with food – one where eating nutritious foods isn’t a chore, where they naturally maintain a healthy weight and they are able to eat indulgent foods without feeling guilty or “bad”.

So I recommend this book to moms everywhere. It will not only make you a better role model, it will change your life.

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