Naturally Thin Eating

1. Diets don’t work!

• Diets DO cause initial weight loss but almost everyone gains the weight back plus more after
resuming normal eating. Why? Most restrict too many calories and/or restrict certain foods.
o When your calorie restriction is too low, your body and brain rebel.
 Your body fights off starvation by slowing down your metabolism. That means that when
you start eating normally again, it will take lots fewer calories to maintain your weight. That’s
one reason most people gain back all the weight plus more.
 Your brain is designed to keep you from starving so a complex reaction kicks in to make you
think about, crave, and seek out food (usually the ones you are restricting) non-stop.
Sometimes just one diet will turn on that reactive switch and it takes real effort to turn it back
off, even after the diet is over. It may result in an unhealthy and unnatural relationship with
food that can be very difficult to overcome.
2. Intuitive/Mindful Eating
• How do naturally thin people stay thin? They obey 4 rules:
o Eat when you are biologically and physically hungry.
 Not because you are bored, lonely, sad, mad, glad, procrastinating, deserve a treat, the food
tastes marvelous, etc.
 Learn to deal with emotions without turning to food.
o Eat exactly what your body wants.
 If you are craving chocolate then eat it. Filling up on carrot sticks when you want the
chocolate will leave you feeling empty. If you deny the cravings for too long, you are setting
yourself up for a binge.
 There is no such thing as good food and bad food. Food is just food. When you fully realize
that no food is restricted from your diet and that you can eat anything you want, the desire to
eat large amounts of foods that you have forbidden in the past will diminish, and you will
learn to really listen to what your body is saying it wants/needs.
o Eat each bite consciously.
 Pay attention to your eating. That means you eliminate all distractions – no eating while you
read or study, watch TV, work on the computer, etc. so that you are present and aware of
what is going into your mouth.
 Pay attention to the way the food tastes. On a scale of 1-10 with 1 being the worst and 10
being the best, eat only those foods that have a satisfaction factor of 7 to 10. Why would
you waste your calories on a 3 or 4?
 Make it a habit to only eat when sitting at the table and paying attention – no unconsciously
popping candy or chips in your mouth every time you pass the candy dish or pantry.
o Stop eating when your body has had enough.
 This is the hardest but most important rule to follow. Enough does not mean stuffed or even
full. It means satisfied. On a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being starved (think 24 hour fast) and 10
being uncomfortably stuffed (think Thanksgiving), learn to stop eating when you are at a 5 (1
to 4.9 = hungry; 5.1 to 10 = too much).
 Learn to trust that you will get hungry again (probably within the next 3 – 4 hours) and you
will get to eat again.
 This is America – with all the food available to us, you will not starve so you don’t have to
eat each meal as though you will never get to eat again.
 If you are eating only when you are biologically hungry, eating exactly what your body
wants, and eating consciously and mindfully, you will be amazed at the small amount of food
it takes to satisfy you without feeling deprived. You will find that you no longer think about
food 24/7.

Debra Christofferson, MDA, RD Scattering-Sunshine.com

 3. Food Choices:
• If a food that is better for your health tastes as good to you as a food that is less healthy, go for the
healthier version.
o Examples – 1% or skim milk instead of 2% or whole; whole wheat bread instead of white; light
sour cream instead of full fat; grilled chicken instead of fried; apple instead of apple juice.
o Slowly learn to acquire a taste for whole foods that are not highly processed.
o Plan menus and make at least ½ to ⅔ of your meal be veggies and fruit.
o Follow the 90/10 rule – learn to make 90% of what you eat be wholesome foods; the other 10%
is play food (remember there are no ‘good’ and ‘bad’ foods).
o If any of these suggestions sound like a diet instead of just making healthy choices, don’t worry
about this yet. Come back and explore this way of thinking when you have neutral feelings
about your food choices.
4. Physical activity:
• Find any activity that you enjoy and try to get at least 30 minutes in a day. Physical activity is not
punishment and should not be associated with dieting. It is just a way to find joy in moving your
body!

Suggested Activities:

• Keep a food log – write down everything you eat, when you eat it, and how you are feeling when you
eat. You will probably be surprised to find out what you are unconsciously putting in your mouth!
• Keep a journal – think about all of the reasons that put the weight on and the barriers that keep you
from loosing the weight. Then address each reason and barrier and brainstorm solutions/ideas.
• Make a goal statement (a paragraph to several pages in length) or vision board describing how you see
yourself in 5 years. The possibilities are endless so don’t be afraid to think big! Read this daily.
• Consciously choose to replace all negative self-talk with positive statements. Put the statements on
3x5 cards and read them to yourself daily.

Suggested Reading List:

• Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch
• Mindless Eating by Brian Wansink
• Diets Don’t Work by Bob Schwartz
• What to Say When You Talk to Yourself and Self-Talk for Weight Loss by Shad Helmstetter
• Women Food and God by Geneen Roth
• Volumetrics by Barbara Rolls

“My mind controls my body but I control my mind!”

Carl Brown, family friend

Debra Christofferson, MDA, RD Scattering-Sunshine.com

 Today’s Date:    

Naturally Thin Eating Chart

• Eat when you are biologically and physically • Eat each bite consciously.
hungry. • Stop eating when your body has had
• Eat exactly what your body wants. enough.

Time/occasion

Foods eaten

Physical
hunger when
eating started
(1 – 10)
Physical
hunger when
eating ended
(1 – 10)
Taste/
satisfaction of
food (1-10)
Mindfulness/
consciousness
Any
distractions?

Emotions –
sad, mad, glad,
lonely,
depressed,
bored,
procrastination,
neutral

Hunger Scale: On a scale of 1 – 10, with 1 being starved (24 hr. fast) and 10 being stuffed
(Thanksgiving), stop eating at 5 (1 to 4.9 = hungry; 5.1 to 10 = too much).
Goal – never take one more bite than you need.

Taste/Satisfaction Scale: On a scale of 1 – 10, with 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, eat
only those foods that have a taste/satisfaction factor of 7 – 10.
Why would you waste calories on 3’s and 4’s?

Debra Christofferson, MDA, RD Scattering-Sunshine.com

Eating for Health
Once you really understand that there are no forbidden foods and that you really can eat anything you
want, the allure of foods that affect your physical health in an adverse way diminishes. Then you can
start thinking about eating for health as well as pleasure.

What does healthy eating look like?

You can prevent and sometimes even reverse chronic diseases such as heart disease, stroke,
cancer, and diabetes by eating a diet full of vegetables, fruits, and legumes. These foods are full of
over 100,000 micronutrients like vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and phytochemicals. They are low in
calories and high in nutrients. They fill you up without filling you out!

More
Vegetables vegetables,
and fruits,
fruits and legumes

Low-fat Whole
meats, grains,
dairy, seeds,
eggs nuts

Think of your plate as a peace sign and try to fill the top two thirds or more (70 – 80%) with
vegetables, fruits, and beans (black, white, pinto, kidney, garbanzo, etc.) Eat these as close to the
way they grow as you can (for instance, eat the orange rather than drinking orange juice, the
strawberry rather than strawberry jam).

10 – 15% of your plate should contain low fat protein such as chicken, fish, skim milk or yogurt, eggs,
tofu, etc. Almost all whole foods contain protein so getting enough protein in your diet is rarely a
problem.

10 – 15% of the plate should contain whole grains (wheat, oats, barley, quinoa, etc.) and nuts and
seeds. Nuts and/or seeds (walnuts, almonds, flax seed, etc.) contain omega 3’s (heart healthy fats).
Try to get about an ounce a day. Refined grains (white flour) and added sugars are treats, not snacks.
Eat them on rare occasions.

Debra Christofferson, MDA, RD Scattering-Sunshine.com