Heal your relationship with food. It sounds easier said than done but it is an important part of stepping away from restrictive diets.
Why do we eat?
In an old blog post What are you Hungry for? I talked about how eating is a Primal instinct.
The answer to the question “Why do we eat?” seems an obvious one—to obtain the energy we need to support our everyday activities and, ultimately, promote our survival. However, many of our modern-day food choices suggest another answer—one that actually stands to threaten our health and well-being.
Psychology Today
We should eat for:
- Energy
- Nourishment
- Growth & repair
- Satisfaction
- Joy
- Celebration
In order to heal our relationship with food we need to stop putting food on a pedestal and attaching feelings to it, such as BAD or DIRTY, it can make us start to have cravings as we make certain foods unavailable to us.
This is where the concept of UNCONDITIONAL PERMISSION to eat comes in.
There is no good or bad, clean or dirty food.
There is energy and nourishment.
Whether you call it Mindful Eating or Intuitive Eating, listening to our body teaches us to understand what our body wants in order to fulfil all that is needed to keep us optimally healthy and satisfied.
A difficult principle to learn
Experiencing this concept for the first time can be scary.
You are used to having rules to follow, what and when you can and can’t eat.
You might think that rules help you and that without them you will eat uncontrollably.
Let me ask you this…
How many times have you experienced ‘last supper eating’?
You know you are starting a diet the next day or Monday and you spend the weekend enjoying ALL of the foods you love as it will be the last time that you eat them, you are saying goodbye, at least until you have finished the ‘diet’ and reached your goal.
The trouble is, once you have finished that diet, the foods you have said ‘goodbye’ to are probably the first thing you are going to eat.
You are going to be craving them, therefore, in all honesty, you will probably binge on them, overeat them, and you may not be able to stop yourself.
Stepping off the ‘diet’ merry-go-round gives us another way.
How to heal your relationship with food
What is your story?
Did you grow up with ‘empty cupboard syndrome’? Or did you have a big family and need to make sure you got your share?
Did you have to clear your plate? Were you only allowed to eat certain special foods on special occasions or has restrained eating to lose weight or eat carefully caused triggers that lead you to eat past comfortable fullness?
Chronic dieting and restricting food keep foods exciting.
You can learn to eat with your body’s needs in mind by asking yourself:
- Am I hungry right now?
- Do I really want this food now?
- How does this food make me feel after I have eaten it?
What is the Goal of Unconditional Eating?
The goal is to make food emotionally neutral.
You can have any food at any time and eat without restriction.
The previously forbidden food still tastes good but you have removed the emotional charge, therefore, making peace with it.
This is a phase that chronic dieters can feel some resistance to.
You may find yourself eating more during this phase of your recovery from restrictive dieting but fear not, there is something known as the Habituation Response.
Habituation is a decrease in response to a stimulus after repeated presentations. For example, a new sound in your environment, such as a new ringtone, may initially draw your attention or even become distracting. … This diminished response is habituation.
Very Well Mind
For instance, if you made dinner on Sunday to eat throughout the next week, on Monday it may taste great but as the week goes on the pleasure will decrease. When we are dieting or restricting foods we aren’t practising habituation, we are being ‘good’ and waiting for the cheat day or falling off the wagon.
Repeated exposure to all food without restriction will put you in control of the choices you make and this will give you the FREEDOM to enjoy all the foods.
From there you can continue your journey by focusing on NOURISHING your body.
When we nourish rather than punish we can create OPTIMAL health and well-being, creating hormone balance and harmony.
Getting started
I have numerous FREE resources to support you in navigating life without restrictive diets.
Come and join my Facebook group community the Holistic Health Hub or take a look at my new membership the Holistic Health Hub Inner Circle where you will have access to even more resources which will enable you to tailor your actions to suit your lifestyle along with group coaching with me.
The membership is currently available at the legacy price of £9.99 until 31st July, no contract, cancel at any time.