Nutrition
About the Nutrition section
The Nutrition section of The Body Optimist helps you make sense of food without diets or guilt: foods and trends decoded, hunger and fullness, your relationship with food and balanced eating day to day. Our articles are for all women, whatever their body type, with an approach built on the pleasure of eating and listening to yourself rather than on restriction.
What you’ll find in the Nutrition section
- Balance without restriction: simple guidelines to eat better without depriving yourself over the course of the week.
- Your relationship with food: guilt, cravings, constant thoughts about food and ways to quiet them.
- Foods and trends decoded: coffee, fiber, matcha, evening soup… including a nutritionist’s take on eating soup every night.
- Eating disorders: guidance to recognize the warning signs, support a loved one and know where to turn.
- Hydration and seasons: hydrating fruits for hot days, comforting winter cravings and meals that fit your own rhythm.
How do you eat a balanced diet without depriving yourself?
Balanced eating means varying what you eat over several days, not following strict rules at every meal. A satisfying meal usually combines vegetables or fruit, a starch (bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, legumes), a source of protein and a little fat. Eating at fairly regular times keeps you from arriving ravenous at the next meal. Sit down to eat, ideally away from screens, and take time to enjoy your food: fullness signals take a while to kick in. No food is off-limits: chocolate, fries and pastries all have a place in a varied diet. For general benchmarks, the health authorities in your country publish official dietary guidelines that don’t require following any diet.
Our approach
Our editorial team rejects diet culture: no weight-loss diets, no calorie counting, no “forbidden” foods and no promises of physical transformation. We believe health can’t be read on a scale and that every body has its own needs. When we share a study or an expert’s view, it’s to inform your choices, not to tell you what to eat. Our articles provide general information and don’t replace advice from a health professional: for any personal question, talk to your doctor or a registered dietitian.
Our articles to get you started
- The disorders that can hide behind “healthy” eating, and the signs to watch for.
- Why winter cravings are normal and nothing to feel guilty about.
- Last-bite guilt, the quiet phenomenon that spoils meals.
- Why “fibermaxxing” isn’t as good an idea as it sounds, according to experts.
Frequently asked questions
What is intuitive eating?
Intuitive eating is an approach developed by American dietitians Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch. It encourages you to reject the diet mentality, listen to your hunger and fullness cues and make peace with all foods. Its goal isn’t weight loss but a calmer, more flexible relationship with food.
Are there foods you should cut out completely?
No food needs to be banned from a varied diet unless you have an allergy, an intolerance or a medical reason to avoid it. Very sugary, very fatty or highly processed foods can be enjoyed without guilt, just less often than everyday staples. Labeling foods as “good” or “bad” can actually fuel frustration and bingeing.
How do you know if you have an eating disorder?
Several signs should raise a flag: thinking about food constantly, feeling guilty after meals, cycling between restriction and binges, making yourself throw up or avoiding eating in front of others. Eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa or binge eating disorder, can affect people of any weight. Talk to your doctor, who can refer you to appropriate care, or reach out to an eating disorder support organization in your country.
Keep exploring: put it into practice with our easy, delicious recipes, find all our content in the Food section and take care of yourself every day with the Well-being section.