How To Overcome Food Guilt
A few weeks ago I hosted an Intuitive Eating potluck here in Colorado and the theme was, how to get rid of guilt, shame and self-deprecation near food. Before we start eating, I have everyone do a very powerful belly meditation to tune in to their bodies near food. So anyways after it was over, I asked a few women to raise their hands and share what came up for them and the most common answer was that it’s truly hard for people to tune in because there was this repetitive inner voice that kept on letting them know about their belly rolls and how yuck it was. You’ve been there right?!
Wo! So you’re telling me, that because of diet culture and all of the messages we receive about how wrong our tummies are for not being flat. You’re telling me that this influence actually has a direct affect on us being more intuitive near food? YES! Because if you don’t like your belly how in the world will be able to listen to your hunger and fullness when that is the part of your body where you feel it the most.
It makes me want to help bring more awareness to how powerful our thoughts are when we are eating or near food. I’d like to say that food aside, if you can work on changing your inner language in relation to food I promise you will notice a massive shift in the way you that eat. And this brings me to talk about the importance of getting rid of the guilt associated with eating certain foods.
You might say.. What’s in it for me? If I don’t feel guilty, than I’m just going to keep eating till I get sick. Or, how will I ever change if I don’t feel guilty? The thing I want to firmly remind you of is that guilt actually perpetuates the exact habits with food that you are desperately trying to get rid of. WHY? Because it’s so stressful to think about guilty thoughts before during or after eating that oftentimes two things happen.
You’re not present for the actual taste of the food and you need sooo much more.
Feeling guilty after eating will only make you want to cover it up with more food. NOOOO. Yes it’s true. I have enough professional coaching experience where I can tell you that supporting women in getting rid of guilt has been the game changer in changing unwanted habits near food.
Below are my best tips working on eliminating all guilt associated with food.
Become aware of your inner narrative with guilt and when it shows up for you. What does it sound like you? Write it down on a piece of paper. Example; I used to say to myself all of the time (right as I was popping a donut in my mouth) if you eat this sugar you’re bad, lazy, stupid and you’re going to gain weight. Typically, it would show up whenever I got a craving for sugar or carbs.
Give yourself full permission to actually have the food you’re craving or feeling a pull towards. Never try to ignore or push down your cravings because that will only enhance them and then there is the possibility of overdoing it or Binge Eating on the exact food you’re trying to avoid. When it comes to food, there is no such thing as long-term willpower.
While you’re eating the food, check in with your body. Place your hand on your belly and take a few breaths. Try to remind yourself that no one ever died from eating a cookie and that part of having a normal relationship with food is making sure to eat foods that are not only healthy but also extremely pleasurable.
After you are done if you notice you start to feel guilty, take a pause on your thoughts and give your body time to digest the food. Remind yourself that you cannot afford to feel guilty because it only makes you want to eat more food to cover up the guilt.
One more thing:) In order for you to make peace with food you MUST separate your body image and weight loss from the way that you eat. You have to put it in a box and deal with the two separately because as soon as you start to manipulate food for a smaller body you’ll experience a lot of confusion around how to eat. And if you’re curious to know more I currently have four spots open for 1x1 coaching in the month of February. You can schedule a FREE consult anytime! Do the work now and by the time summer comes around, I think you’ll feel so much better about food and your body.
X,
Soshy