How to Eat Smarter on Game Day

by Sam Kramer, MS, RD, LDN, CSSGB, CISSN

Sports bring people together, and often around a spread of delicious food. While game day is treated as a holiday for some, it doesn’t have to be a time to overindulge. In addition to making healthy swaps, one tool in the toolbox to create a healthy relationship with food is a concept known as intuitive eating (IE).

IE harmonizes the beauty of physiology and psychology. The term was officially coined in 1995, but it has been around since the early 1980s as part of an anti-diet culture. IE promotes learning how to trust your body’s natural hunger and satiety cues rather than external and emotional cues, without restrictions on types of foods consumed. One must learn to recognize and separate physical versus emotional hunger.

Physical hunger stems from biology and coordinates your brain and digestive tract to stimulate the seeking of nutrients when depleted. When food is consumed, those hunger cues are turned off and eating ceases. Emotional hunger, on the other hand, may include times when true hunger is not present and feelings of happiness, boredom or sadness can drive one to eat beyond biological satiety cues. It is proposed that all individuals can be in tune with an “inner guide” and eat in a way that supports health and healthy body weight, while avoiding overeating and harmful dieting. This concept is referred to as achieving body wisdom. Thus, positive self-talk and recognizing body cues can lead to controlled intake of foods, even if they are not the most nutrient-dense.

In addition to truly understanding hunger and satiety cues, the Intuitive Eating Scale includes three central tenets:

1. Unconditional permission to eat when hungry and the food desired
2. Eating for physical rather than emotional reasons
3. Honoring one’s health or practicing “gentle nutrition”

Is this approach to eating effective for improving health outcomes and changing perception of food? There is unfortunately a dearth of information with many unanswered questions. Furthermore, most of the available research focuses only on Caucasian female college students with the studies ranging from just six weeks to two years.

Despite these setbacks, there is evidence that shows that the longer IE is followed, the more successful it is. More specifically, research shows that participants ate more fruits and vegetables, their Body Mass Index decreased and cholesterol and blood glucose levels improved. Research also demonstrates that participants showed improved aspects of mental health, such as body image and self-esteem.

While IE can be used as an effective tool to reach your goal with nutrition, it should not be the only means for success. But the unique emphasis on psychology can teach us to be more mindful and conscious of foods being consumed. And that’s a great thing. So enjoy your game day festivities, but in the spirit of competition, throw IE into your toolbox to see if it is an effective management tool for you.

Explore more healthy living advice from our team of experts.

_{Disclaimer: This information is educational only and not providing healthcare recommendations. Please see a healthcare provider.}