In this informative Tedx Talk, Gillian Riley talks about the mindset for healthy eating. She opens up talking about how when people want to eat healthier, they are often denying their freedom of choice. An example of this is restrictive diets, although it is not limited to this. People give themselves rules with food all the time.

Gillian talks about “The Minnesota Starvation Experiment” which put men on low calorie diets. These men became obsessed with food among other psychological issues. After this experiment, the men ate a lot more food and ended up gaining more weight. Gillian compares this to modern diets by stating this is due to the lack of freedom to choose. Prohibiting food makes it more attractive.

Gillian suggests instead of prohibiting food, give yourself permission without necessarily eating the things you give yourself permission to eat. Instead of thinking of restrictions, is to choose to eat less. Gillian talks about studies that show brain activities reflecting the habitual mindset, and this can be changed. The way to get around this is to embrace freedom completely. We are all free to eat whatever we want, however, we can make choices to consider our options.

“The more freedom you include, the more self-control you can develop” is a quote stated by Gillian that I really love. What I love about this statement is that it sets eating into a more positive light rather than a negative one. This is because when we decide what to eat without feeling guilty, we are allowing ourselves to be in more control of our choices. For example, I can tell myself that I can eat a tub of ice cream if I want to. That is giving me freedom. Now, say instead of eating the full tub of ice cream I decide to eat a small bowl. I do not feel as guilty about eating the ice cream because I realize that I have freedom to eat what I want, and my choice is to make a healthier decision.