Conscious Eating: C.R.E.A.T.E. Your Plate
Over the last 40 years, diet culture in the Western world has been largely been counterproductive and mentally destructive.
It is a slick multi-billion pound industry, with addictive messages honed over decades.
However.
The climate is changing.
People have become savvy to the manipulation; we know we are being bombarded with messages that aren’t in our interests.
Younger people have seen the misery of their parents and grandparents on lifelong restrictive diets, and reject this kind of life for themselves.
More than ever before, people value honesty and authenticity.
They demand the food that they eat is ethical, fair and sustainable too.
The mentally draining wall of strict rules and deprivation of the past is being dismantled brick-by-brick, to reveal something much healthier.
Often younger, ‘messaging-aware’ consumers are leading the way with this.
Teaching their parents by example, that wellbeing, and a joyful, ethical relationship with food is not just possible – but essential.
Our mental model for this in Human Upgrade – is called:
CONSCIOUS EATING
and the framework to help remember how to do it, is:
‘C.R.E.A.T.E’.
We’ll look at it next in detail – but in brief, it stands for:
- C – Consideration (Conscious Choices)
- R – Reflection (Reflective Eating)
- E – Engagement (Eating Mindfully)
- A – Awareness (Attuned to Body)
- T – Transformation (Total Well-being)
- E – Enjoyment (Eating for Pleasure)
While we look at the science and the practicalities of food and nutrition in University of Food, Conscious Eating is the philosophy that underpins how we eat.
It is a celebration of self-love – and a rejection of restrictive diet culture.
It’s about embracing nourishing food as an act of self-care, listening to your body’s cues of hunger and fullness, and delighting in the sensory joys of eating.
This approach transcends traditional ‘dieting’.
The aim is achieving harmonious relationship with food that honours your body and mind.
It’s not just about what you eat, but how you eat and why.
All against a backdrop of mindfulness and respect for yourself.
Conscious Eating is a form of self-appreciation, where every meal becomes an expression of self-love.
Rejecting the punitive norms of diet culture, it allows you to embrace a balanced, joyful, and nourishing way of eating, reflecting a profound care and value for yourself.
Let’s get into it…