GIVING YOURSELF FULL PERMISSION TO EAT!

There is a movement going on in the nutrition world that is battling to conquer the harmful effects of “Diet Culture”. Where you are expected to look a certain way, be a certain size, be a certain weight, and follow restrictive and sometimes harmful diets.

This culture can lead to eating disorders (anorexia, bulimia, etc.), disordered eating (being preoccupied with foods, weight, and body image to the point where it affects your quality of life), and mental health issues.

But on the less severe side of that is the effect of not feeling good about yourself because you’re not eating according to certain “rules”. Whether it’s cutting out carbs, cutting out fats, only eating vegan food, etc., there are a lot of “rules” that we place around food.

Some of these restrictions are medically necessary (ex. Cutting out sugar because of diabetes, cutting out gluten because of allergies, etc.); some restrictions are for personal or moral reasons (ex. Eating vegetarian or vegan to avoid animal products); and some restrictions are societal/cultural/religious (ex. Kosher, no pork products, no beef products, etc.).

But what I’m talking about today is letting yourself eat the foods you want or enjoy without feeling guilty or beating yourself up because you “shouldn’t” be eating it.

If there are no medical, moral, or cultural restraints concerning your eating habits, why aren’t you eating?

I asked this question to some of my friends, just to get an idea of what they thought about it, and the NUMBER ONE answer from them was, “Because it’s bad for me.”

Probing deeper revealed that it’s not the ONE cookie they felt bad about – it’s eating a bunch of cookies. It wasn’t having chips and queso with their dinner at a restaurant – it’s eating the entire basket of chips and container of queso before the meal even arrived. Then they felt terrible and GUILTY for eating their meal, too.

So, now I ask a new question – What if you DIDN’T feel guilty? What if you gave yourself permission to enjoy the chips and queso? To let go of the idea that you’re not supposed to eat them because they’re “bad”?

Because most likely, somewhere, sometime, probably a LONG time ago, you saw an article in a magazine. You read a blog post (like this one). You talked with a friend or family member who just started a “new diet”. You saw a snippet on the news….about how corn chips are “bad” for you – the new diet doesn’t allow chips or queso – the cheese used in most Mexican restaurants to make their queso has a high fat content – or whatever it was that put the thought into your head….chips and queso are “bad foods” and I shouldn’t eat them.

The concept of giving yourself permission to eat isn’t exactly groundbreaking or revolutionary.

It’s actually pretty simple.

Stop beating yourself up because you want a cookie. You’re in the office and someone brings in homemade brownies. They’re REALLY good and you like brownies.

Is it worth it to torture yourself all afternoon long because you FEEL like a terrible person for wanting a brownie?

If you eat the brownie, or half of a brownie, is it going to completely derail your entire day? Is it going to cause you to spiral into an eating frenzy (and I’m not joking about that, some people it will actually trigger an eating binge)?

This is the time to ask yourself the most important question – WHY aren’t you eating something you want?

Act like a 5-year-old and keep asking WHY? Why aren’t you eating it? Why shouldn’t you have it? Why is it bad for you? Who told you it was bad for you? Why is it bad for you to eat this particular food? What would happen if you ate one and stopped? CAN you eat one and stop?

Etcetera.

Now, I realize you don’t want to be the crazy lady standing in front of a tray of brownies mumbling to herself as she debates whether to have a brownie or not, but by forcing yourself to stop and think about it, and to ask yourself some questions you probably never thought to ask before, you will discover that your pre-conceived notions about food may not be as black and white as you thought.

If you are working on eating in a balanced way, if you eat healthy foods most of the time and “junk” food occasionally, what is stopping you from having small amounts of something you really enjoy eating?

Giving yourself full permission to eat isn’t about going buck wild at the buffet table or sitting down with an entire cake and getting to work.

It’s about letting go of “Food Rules” that you don’t even understand WHY you’re trying to follow them.

There is a way to find a balance. I can eat a muffin and tea for breakfast, and then eat leftover veggie stir-fry for lunch and not throw my entire day into a tailspin. Was the muffin healthy? Probably not. But if I eat the stir-fry and then have veggies or fruit and string cheese as a snack later, I’m keeping my day pretty balanced.

Working on finding the BALANCE and not arbitrarily following “rules” that make you feel guilty when you “break” them is a great way to start.

Another good way to overcome the guilt associated with eating “forbidden foods” is to SLOW DOWN and really SAVOR the food. This also probably sounds counterintuitive, but the willful act of SLOWLY eating the brownie and not gobbling it down in a few bites can make all the difference in how you PERCEIVE it.

What does that mean?

By using all your senses, slowing down, and appreciating each bite you give your brain the SATISFACTION of experiencing the brownie. This, in turn, allows all the satiety chemicals and hormones to flood your brain with a feeling of fullness, decadence, and contentment.

You are able to be MINDFUL of the joys associated with the brownie (and are less likely to overeat), and avoid the guilt of eating it in two bites and wishing you could eat more but feeling terrible for eating it in the first place.

It’s okay to work on allowing yourself to enjoy foods you love while still maintaining a healthy diet. Finding the right balance will bring greater satisfaction from your meals and less guilt around food “rules”.

And if you would like to learn more about how to balance your health and nutrition goals, Book a FREE Consultation with me.