Make Peace
Intuitive Eating Principle #3. Make Peace with Food.
You might have noticed by now that I haven’t always had the best relationship with food. If you’re reading this, it may be that you can also relate to this struggle that so many of us have with food.
Diet culture has certainly shaped our experience and enforced this struggle we have with food.
In society we often attach moral value with eating and exercising in a certain way and put those practicing these habits on a moral high ground for it. “Oh you’re so good going to the gym”, “Oh I wish I could eat salad for lunch”, “You’re being so good not eating the work treats”. (More on my pet peeve of workplace diet culture chat to come I think…)
Through this, we have created the concept of ‘Forbidden food’. Foods in society we commonly accept and label as ‘Naughty’ “Treat’ or ‘Dirty’.
We will have our own unique and personally curated list of foods we believe ‘Can’t’ or ‘Shouldn’t’ eat.
This often leads to more intense cravings for these ‘Forbidden foods’. Then a guilt and shame process if we do have these foods. Which unfortunately, turns into a rinse and repeat situation. Can’t eat the food->crave the food->eat the food->feel guilty->can’t eat the food.
“In reality, there are no “good” or “bad” foods. Foods are just foods. In order to make peace with food, we need to remove the morality around them.” Sammy Previte (Registered Dietitian)
How to Make Peace with Food:
-Drop the struggle. You don’t have to struggle with the concept of ‘good’ or ‘bad’ foods any longer. Remove the time, energy and resources you are putting into this struggle to be ‘good’.
-Give yourself permission to eat!
-Brainstorm your list of ‘forbidden foods’. These are the foods you may consider to be ‘unhealthy’, ‘bad’, or ‘dirty’.
-Experiment with eating a ‘forbidden food’. Apply a curious, non-judgmental enquiry to this practice. Be kind to yourself. There can be discomfort here in eating a ‘forbidden food’. Keep it simple and take small steps in this practice.
-Mindful eating. Connect with your intuition, what do you really want to eat? Strip away your food rules, the mean girl and food police to discover what you really want without all of the noise of what you ‘should’ eat.
Making peace with food is linked in with breaking the binge-restriction cycle. Through the process of “Food Habituation: a form of neurobiological learning, in which repeated eating of the same food causes a decrease in behavioral and physiologic responses.”
In more simple terms, we take the luster out of these foods. Having ‘x’ food in the house means if you want it, you can have it. In time this takes the luster out of ‘x’ food, creating a healthier and more balanced relationship with all food.
M x
References:
Intuitive Eating Principle #3: Make Peace with Food - Find Food Freedom (find-foodfreedom.com)
