Diet culture has led us to believe that there are “good” foods and there are “bad” foods. That is just not the truth.
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.
You have unconditional permission to eat!
How you ask?!
- Get rid of “good” vs “bad” foods
- Eat what you really want
- Eat without obligatory penance
Get rid of “good” vs “bad” foods
- Remember that foods hold NO morality! No one food has the power to make you healthy, or unhealthy.
Eat what you really want
- This step might seem super foreign. The thought of eating whatever you want whenever you want might seem really scary. That’s okay and normal!
Eat without obligatory penance
- Allowing yourself to eat foods but then thinking to yourself “it’s okay that I am eating this now, but the diet starts tomorrow” is NOT unconditional permission to eat! Yes, you are allowing yourself to eat that food but there is still that diet culture voice in the back of your head telling you to restrict. The diet doesn’t start tomorrow!
It can be really scary to give yourself permission to eat all the food. Some common fears are:
“I won’t stop eating”
- This is a normal fear!
- Think back to the binge-restrict cycle – you are used to restricting and thus used to binging
- When you give yourself permission to eat, foods will lose their luster!
“I’ve tried it before”
- Allow yourself to fully commit to this mindset
- Don’t let mental blocks get in your way like…
- “I allowed myself to eat all the foods before and it didn’t work!”
“I won’t eat healthfully”
- You might worry that you will only eat fun foods if you give yourself permission
- Don’t worry!- you will start to crave more nutrient-dense foods
Five Steps to Make Peace with Food
- Pay attention to the foods that are appealing to you, and make a list.
- Put a check by the foods you actually do eat, and circle the ones you restrict.
- Give yourself permission to eat the forbidden foods from your list.
- Check in with yourself.
- Keep enough of the food in your kitchen.
Step One: Pay attention to the foods that are appealing to you, and make a list.
- What foods come to mind?
Step Two: Put a check by the foods that you allow yourself to eat, and circle the ones you restrict.
- Use your list from step one!
Step Three: Give yourself permission to eat one forbidden food from your list.
- Start slow…pick one food!
Step Four: Check in with yourself and see if the food tastes as good as you imagined.
- Do you like it? Continue to eat it and buy it!
Step Five: Make sure you keep enough food in. your kitchen so you know it’s there when you want it.
- DISCLAIMER: We recognize that this might not be financially feasible and that food insecurity is prevalent in our society. Do what you can, and if you cannot complete all of these steps… you can still be an Intuitive Eater!
Food Habituation: a form of neurobiological learning, in which repeated eating of the same food causes a decrease in behavioral and physiologic responses.
This is how food loses it’s luster!
Following The 5 Steps to Make Peace with Food will help you reach food habituation. If you give yourself permission to eat all the foods, eventually you are going to realize that you don’t want all of them anymore.
“I CAN EAT WHATEVER I WANT, AS MUCH AS I WANT, WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT. . .”
While also remembering that eating is supposed to be pleasant. We don’t want to eat to a point of discomfort but it is OKAY to eat for comfort. The most important thing is to stay attuned to your body and its cues.
If you enjoyed this blog post make sure you check out our post “Intuitive Eating Principle #2: Honor Your Hunger” here!
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