Scale of Rigidity

Structure doesn’t have to equal restrictive

As you may or may not know, when it comes to changing habits I am a huge fan of making smaller, more sustainable changes rather than extreme, ‘all-or-nothing’ approaches.

I am an advocate of ‘intuitive eating’- which is when you are able to make food decisions based on how you are feeling, honouring your hunger signals but also accepting that there are many reasons to eat outside of hunger which are perfectly acceptable.

However, I see ‘intuitive eating’ as more of an ‘end goal’ accomplishment, rather than something that should be attempted by everybody right away.

In fact, in many cases I believe that a more structured approach is necessary, and then the level of rigidity can be scaled in and out depending on the goals, needs, accessibility and readiness of the client.

To use myself as an example, I have been ‘intuitive eating’ for the most part of the last 3 years. However, there have been several times I have made some conscious adjustments (increased rigidity) because I wanted to ‘check in’ on how my nutrition is going, make sure I’m consuming the right amount of energy, and adequately support my different goals. I will do this by tracking my food for a few weeks at a time to do my own dietary analysis, and make ‘micro-changes’ to improve the overall nutrient density of what I am eating. For example, I realised that by adding a tablespoon of chia seeds to my smoothies, I could increase omega-3, fibre, calcium and iron in my diet to meet RDIs (recommended daily intakes) more easily, and now I have made that a regular habit.

Intuitive Eating

Intuitive eating implies an ability to ‘self regulate’. You become aware when you need more or less food than usual, or even a particular nutrient or food group (ever heard of people ‘craving’ vegetables after they go on holiday and eat out a lot?). It is an amazing skill to have, but it can be surprisingly challenging to achieve, particularly for those of us who are perpetually dieting or attempting to control our eating with ‘maximum’ rigidity 24/7.

But sometimes, attempting to go straight into ‘intuitive eating’ can be counterproductive for somebody already fixated heavily on what they are eating, or somebody who actually does want to lose weight or achieve a specific goal. We often do need to add structure and rigidity, but the level of that is going to be individual.

If we go straight into intuitive eating, we may find ourselves at a complete loss of what exactly to eat… 

Some people have found that their attempts at intuitive eating enabled binge eating behaviour. Others, perhaps a ‘freeze’ response where they become so stressed that a food is ‘off plan’, or that the calorie content is unknown, that they are too uncomfortable to eat at all. In either case, we might actually need to introduce some structured habits that support that person's goal, that will also allow for them to eventually try intuitive eating again.

Using the Scale of Rigidity

From there, we can ‘dial in’ or ‘dial out’ how intensely structured the plan is, the more progress that we make and the more confident we become with making autonomous choices that support our goals. That way, we can introduce more freedom around things like socialising, eating out, getting busy and handling stressful periods - and have better systems in place for when ‘life happens’.

In fact, whenever somebody’s style is looking a little bit ‘all or nothing’, I would encourage that person to see if they can find a middle ground instead, where they can maintain or make slow progress. Because ‘maximum rigidity’ is daunting, and many people do look back after an ‘all in’ period and think, ‘how the hell was I doing that before?’, and then become stuck in inaction out of fear that they will not be able to match their previous efforts.

A very rigid, intense plan isn’t always bad, and can yield amazing results, but it is so important to be familiar with the middle ground.

Because life does happen, and we need to be prepared for it. We also need to be prepared to not be dieting for our entire lives and become better listeners to our body. It’s all about dialling in and out of rigidity depending on what is appropriate right now.