Health at Every Size (“HAES”) is a weight-neutral approach to health care that promotes the pursuit of healthful behaviors (like eating vegetables, moving your body, getting enough protein, etc.) for the inherent health benefits of those behaviors, rather than for the explicit purpose of weight manipulation.

For instance, HAES-inclined wellness professionals may suggest that clients move their bodies for the sake of its cardiac or mental health benefits—rather than for the purpose of thinness.

Health at Every Size additionally promotes the pursuit of health outcomes (like balanced blood sugar, blood pressure, heart health, etc.) through the pursuit of healthful behaviors, rather than through the pursuit of weight loss.

For instance, HAES advocates may suggest that patients manage diabetes or heart disease through movement or nutritional therapy, rather than asking patients to lose weight as a proxy for healthy behaviors.

You're at your computer, facing a wall of e-mails. After composing a reply, you hit "send" and reach for the bulging tuna wrap on your desk. After a few bites, chewing while glancing at the screen, you set the wrap down, grab a handful of chips, and open the next message. Before you know it, you've finished lunch without even noticing it.

A small yet growing body of research suggests that a slower, more thoughtful way of eating could help with weight problems and maybe steer some people away from processed food and other less-healthful choices.

This alternative approach has been dubbed "mindful eating." It's based on the Buddhist concept of mindfulness, which involves being fully aware of what is happening within and around you at the moment. In other areas, mindfulness techniques have been proposed as a way to relieve stress and alleviate problems like high blood pressure and chronic gastrointestinal difficulties.

Applied to eating, mindfulness includes noticing the colors, smells, flavors, and textures of your food; chewing slowly; getting rid of distractions like TV or reading; and learning to cope with guilt and anxiety about food. Some elements of mindful eating seem to hearken back to the ideas of Horace Fletcher, an early 20th century food faddist who believed chewing food thoroughly would solve many different kinds of health problems.

The Principles of Health at Every Size and Intuitive Eating

The basis of Health at Every Size ^® is just that—you can be a healthy person at any size. Listening to your body’s cues for hunger and satiety are so much more important to establishing your body’s energy needs than a popular (and impersonal) diet plan can be. A Health at Every Size ^® practitioner can help take the focus off of weight and redirect to a focus on metabolic health. They can also answer the question, “What is intuitive eating?” 

Another thing we need to know is that most of us have inflammation in our bodies at different times and for various reasons. There are foods that may aid in preventing inflammation. Consuming antioxidants (berries, dark leafy greens, dark chocolate, artichokes, nuts, and beets) can help. And, a balanced diet overall helps keep you heart-healthy—incorporate a variety of fruits and vegetables, unsaturated fats (olive oil, avocado, fatty fish like tuna, salmon, and mackerel), lean proteins, and whole grains into your daily dishes. Limiting fried foods, saturated fats, and trans fats can help reduce inflammation as well. Lastly, while stress isn’t something anyone puts on a plate intentionally, it is served up to us almost daily in the form of traffic, toxic relationships, tough conversations, and the like—and it, too, causes inflammation in the body. Finding ways to reduce stress (“Hello, exercise and meditation!”) or talking to a behavioral health specialist can be an important step towards keeping your heart happy.

WHAT IS INTUITIVE EATING?

Along with Health at Every Size (HAES) comes the question, “What is intuitive eating? Intuitive eating is NOT a diet—it is a way of eating that listens to your body’s hunger/fullness cues. It is here to teach you if you are physically hungry or emotionally hungry. Sometimes listening to your hunger fullness cues can be hard. Using a hunger fullness scale in the beginning can help you get more in touch with your body.  

0 – Empty
1 – Ravenous
2 – Very Hungry 
3 – Moderately Hungry
4 – Lightly Hungry
5 – Neutral
6 – Lightly Full
7 – Moderately Full
8 – Full
9 – Stuffed 
10 – Sick

So many people spend time dieting and trying to change ourselves in order to fit into a mold—and a body—that is deemed socially acceptable. Yet it is dieting that is the problem: it disconnects us from our body’s wisdom and holds us back from living life to the fullest. The more time we spend trying to “fix” ourselves, the less time we have for the things that really matter.

What presents as a problem about food is, in reality, much deeper and more complex. In my new book, Unapologetic Eating: Make Peace with Food & Transform Your Life, I help you explore your history with food and your body and question societal expectations to get to the bottom of the complexity and find a clear path forward.

Using a four-step approach – Fixing, Allowing, Feeling, and Growing, I walk you through how to reconnect with your body using your relationship to food as the entry point. The book provides actionable tools you can use to confidently nourish yourself physically, mentally, and emotionally. You’ll learn how to make peace with food, improve your body image, trust your intuition, and reclaim the space to eat and live unapologetically.