What Type of Eater Are You? Part 1

We may become aware of some residual effects as we recover from diet culture. Whether it be how we look at ourselves or our food, a sense of bitterness can be left behind. Today we will discuss what type of eater you may be, the triggers accompanying that eating style, and some of the characteristics. Having been a product of diet culture and in a later stage of recovery, this blog post felt essential for me to write. This will be part one of a two-part blog series on the eight eating styles. 

Careful Clean Eater:

We all know a careful clean eater; this person is focused on fitness and health and only fitness and health. This type of eater is known only to eat foods labeled “clean, organic, low calorie, high protein” and such. These eaters will put in a massive effort to ensure their meals are all natural and clean. This is the person who appears to be the perfect eater. However, they still feel remorseful about the food they eat, no matter how clean and ‘healthy’ it is and how it will affect how their body looks and feels. I feel that this needs to be said, after any living being eats, their stomach will have expanded to fit the amount of food they just ate; whether it’s an adult, an infant, or a kitten, we will display some level of bloat after eating. 

Professional Dieter:

This is the eating style I followed when I was younger, thanks to America’s Next Top Model. The people who take part in this eating style are triggered by the idea of shrinking their bodies to a size they deem acceptable. Think of any dieting fad, magazine, or program; this individual has tried and failed, causing them to move on to the next “big” thing. They know everything about macros and what nutrients they “should avoid or cut out.” These eaters are keeping the dieting business in the black. Learning kindness and how to be gentle to your body and mind are good places to start if you fall into this category.

Unconscious Eater:

This is a title that most people might feel they fall under in this list. The Unconscious Eater eats while they are doing something simultaneously; as a college student, I tend to eat like this during the semester. There are more characteristics to this eating style than just eating while doing another task simultaneously. This person usually needs to be made aware of their eating or the amount of food they eat. These people, myself included, need more time to sit and eat. At the moment, it feels like time is too valuable and scarce for us to spend eating, and so many other priorities take precedence. There are many sub-types of this eating style because this form of eating can be paired with another activity to preserve the idea of productivity. We are so busy being good Americans and producing, we lack caring for ourselves.

Chaotic Unconscious Eater:

I will also admit to this eating style during a busy semester, like the one I’m about to start at the end of the month. The chaotic unconscious eater has an overscheduled life. Take me for example. I am graduating this December, I will still be interning at Body Positive Acupuncture. I also have four classes that I’m taking (including the senior capstone project that I have to write during this time and a media campaign for my department), and I will still be working my part-time job during all of this. My life is overscheduled and packed, so I eat when I can, and when I can. If I’m working on some project, I can easily fall into the trap that has me unconsciously eat everything within arm’s reach. This is because I can easily be on autopilot, as I fall into being the most productive I can be when time is a limited resource.

Next week we will go into the remaining half of the different eating styles. Do not lose heart if you fall into any of these eating styles. As I shared while writing this, I fell into two of these styles and feel like I am in late-stage recovery with one of them. There is a light at the end of the tunnel if you notice you’re still holding onto some dieting mentalities; this is where Robin comes in! Starting or continuing your journey of Intuitive Eating will help you learn how to move away from these ways of thinking and improve your relationship with food! If you have questions about Intuitive Eating, please message Robin Harris through email at robin@bodypositiveacupuncture.com to schedule a workshop.