3 Tips to Cultivate a Healthy Relationship with Food in the College Environment

By: Jaclyn DiGregorio

1. Don’t fall into the trap of dieting

You might not call it a diet but if you’re “never allowed to eat chocolate cake again” or if you can eat chocolate cake but “only if it fits into your macros,” it’s a diet. Anything that involves food rules or is restrictive in ANY WAY (other than for medical reasons) is a diet.

So why is it impossible to have a healthy relationship with food if you’re on a diet? When certain foods are “off limits,” a few things happen. First, your desire to eat those foods skyrockets. Often times I find that when clients allow themselves the freedom to eat those “off limits” foods whenever they’re in the mood, they realize they don’t really even eat chocolate cake THAT MUCH.

When you eventually “give in” and eat one of those off-limits foods, you feel guilty. This resets the diet cycle because you feel guilty, you vow to never eat that chocolate cake again. Until a few weeks later when you failed your midterm and you just NEED that cake.

All foods are energy. Rather than telling our bodies what foods we can and can’t have, we should simply listen to them.

2. Listen to your hunger and fullness cues

Hunger Fullness Scale created by Jaclyn DiGregorio

When was the last time you ate past the point where you felt comfortably full? Overeating and binge eating are common signs of a potentially unhealthy relationship with food. Don’t get me wrong, we’re all human and it’s okay to overeat once in a while. But generally, a healthy relationship with food includes respecting those fullness cues most of the time.

So how can we do this? Ironically, one of the most important aspects of respecting fullness actually starts at respecting hunger. If you wait until you are absolutely ravenous to eat, you throw moderation out the window. There is nothing wrong with you for overeating. It’s just the way our bodies are biologically wired. Also, since it takes about 20 minutes to feel full, that fullness will hit you after you’ve already overindulged.

To makes this easier for you to visualize, my version of the hunger fullness scale is listed below. I recommend you screenshot the photo, save it to your favorites on your phone and go back to this when you are trying to listen to your hunger and fullness cues.

Your goal should be to eat when you are around a 3-4 and to stop eating when you are at a 7-8 most of the time. Remember though, this is NOT the hunger fullness diet. This should not feel restrictive in anyway. Instead, it should feel empowering that you are fueling your body based on what it needs.

3. Find your balance with late night eating

If it’s 2am and haven’t eaten since your 6pm dinner, you’re probably hungry! Let go of the guilt for allowing yourself to eat when you are hungry. That being said, if you find yourself overeating or bingeing late at night, this is likely a sign of restriction elsewhere. Ask yourself if you restricted your food intake earlier that day or that week? Be honest with yourself. Was this related to the fact that you would be consuming extra calories from drinking over the weekend?

These are all things to consider. Apply the same hunger fullness and no restriction guidelines that you would apply during the day, even if it’s 2am. Remember no matter what time of the day it is, practice gentle nutrition. Your body will crave fruits, vegetables and whole grains if you listen to it. Allow yourself to enjoy these foods in a non-restrictive way. If you’re truly listening to your body, some nights you might crave pizza at 2am and other nights you might crave a salad. To the best of your ability, fuel your body with what it needs no matter what time it is. (I know it sounds crazy, but you could catch me at Sweetgreen every Wednesday after SIPS this summer as proof!)

If you take one thing away from this article, please be kinder to yourself. College is hard. Balance and confidence can sometimes feel impossible to find. Practice self-care and give your body what it needs, whatever that may be without judgment.

Pictured above: Jaclyn DiGregorio

Jaclyn DiGregorio is the founder of CuspIt, a wellness community that encourages young women to cultivate a healthy relationship with food and their bodies. Jaclyn is the bestselling author of The Cusp Method and is a frequent speaker on college campuses about wellness and body image. For more from Jaclyn, follow @cuspit on Instagram and go to cuspit.com.