Changing My Mindset Around Food
Pizza used to be one of my biggest fear foods. I would repress any craving I got for it for as long as possible, and finally “cave” once I had restricted or worked out hard enough to “earn it”. I labeled it as a “bad” food in my mind which allowed my binge-restrict cycle to prevail.
One of the biggest mindset shifts that’s helped me in my recovery journey is to not label any foods as “good” or “bad”. No placing any foods on a pedestal or reserving them for cheat meals or special occasions. I told myself, you can eat any food you want at any time you want.
And I’m sure you’re thinking, that’s crazy. Why would I give up control around food and let my body take the reins? Well I encourage you to ask yourself, why would you want to continue living with a mindset around food that is constantly making you feel anxious and shameful?
The funny thing about this restrictive mindset diet culture has indoctrinated so many of us with is that you don’t actually have any control over food, it’s the food that’s controlling you. Our society preaches having “restraint” and “willpower” around food, but I think that is a load of B.S.
After seeing how this mindset was making me absolutely miserable, I finally said, “Fck it. Fck you diet culture. I’m so done with constantly feeling like shit around food.”
After giving up “control”, I thought I’d only ever eat “unhealthy” foods. Which I did in the beginning because I had restricted these foods (physically and mentally) for so long. But eventually my body told me I needed to mix in some more “nutrient-dense” foods to fuel my daily activities. We were all born as intuitive eaters and it’s what our body craves. And while letting go of control around food can feel scary, it truly unlocks a whole new level of freedom, happiness, and flexibility in your relationship with food.
You deserve to have an uncomplicated, intuitive, and gentle relationship with food. One where respecting your body’s hunger cues and cravings becomes second nature. And rather than thinking you need to “earn” or “burn off” something you ate, you are allowed to simply eat it & enjoy it in peace :)
x Emma