Food Freedom creates space for you to pay attention to how each food makes you feel and helps you develop resilience as you discover the foods that make you feel your best.

Most people judge their food in some way. Broccoli is so healthy! I should only have a small bite of this brownie. While this may seem harmless, consider this:

• Viewing certain foods as “healthy” creates pressure for us to eat them, even if we don’t enjoy them
• When we see a food as “bad” or indulgent, it turns it into a restricted food
• Restricted foods become more desirable, which pits our foods against one another (good versus bad)

This tension causes stress around food, which research suggests may promote the production of certain hormones that can have negative effects on health. Not to mention, it isn’t fun!

While it’s true that there are nutritional differences in food that matter for health, this is only one piece of how food nourishes us. Food Freedom is about letting go of judgment and viewing food as food—not good or bad.

If something looks good to you, eat it! Rather than spending energy deciding whether you should eat something, simply consider whether you want to. If you do, say yes!

When you choose to eat a food, try bringing more attention to the whole eating experience. Consider following the steps to eating mindfully to practice non-judgmental curiosity.

Tune in to what your body is telling you, paying close attention to physical sensations. Set aside previous judgments, and instead trust the messages you receive from your own experience. Learn what feels right for you so you can start making choices that honor this.