Food Rules to Unlearn

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* Trigger warning: This episode touches on disordered or restricted eating

We Grow Up With Food Rules

- Things we’re taught at a young age stick with us. Some food rules I heard were “Rolls make Rolls” and that rice and corn were for pigs.

- When we go against these engrained “rules’ it leads to guilt, shame, and even actions if you ever feel full. 

- If you’re struggling with these things and taking action, please seek professional help.

- Other rules we’ve heard:

- “You’re not supposed to feel full, you’re always supposed to feel a little hungry”.

- Quick fixes exist

- All fat is bad

-  Restrict calories extremely

- Food as a reward, treat it as a treat

- If you ‘eat bad’ you need to punish your body (cardio, disordered eating, guilt)

- Carbs are bad

- If you want to lose weight don’t eat

- Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels. 

- Food as Fuel: no cheat days and no snacks. If you approach food that way, you’re missing out on life. You focus on what you cannot eat. 

- Things we’re being taught because our worth was tied to fitting into a smaller size. 

- IF you center weight loss around the ideas society tells us, that’s BS. You’ll be unsatisfied if you lose weight for someone else. 

- You can’t say ‘no’ to every experience that revolves around food. 

 

Knowledge is your Power

- If you know the truth around these “rules”, you can break up with the “good” and “bad” foods, and break up with the rules.

- When you have knowledge, you can become an active particpant in your choices.

- Understanding macro nutrients gives you the way to find balance within your body.

 

The Truth About Diets and Programs

- All these fad diets are designed for you to fail. 

- Many are old diets that are repackaged with ‘hot phrases’. Weight watchers, adkins, south beach, keto, etc. 

- They want you to fail, becuase then you’ll come back and spend more money. The finger is turned on you for not being ‘disciplined’ enough. That’s BS.

- All these diets are a short term solution. 

- The long term solution lies in solving the underlying issues of mindset and habit. 

- The answer is NOT cutting everything out of your diet. When you do that, you’re unhappy and frustrated. 

- Companies profit off of your insecurities. 

 

The Diet Cycle

- Fad diets and programs cause a cycle of miserable-ness.

- You feel shame, restrict yourself, binge, feel guilty and shame, and restrict yourself again. You feel out of control and trapped in this cycle. 

 

How to Break the Cycle

- Rules don’t work. They keep you in the “restrict, binge, guilt” cycle.

- Break up with the Rules and Mindless Eating

- The rules say “Food and Fuel” and “Stop Emotional Eating”. I call BS again. 

-  Having emotion attached to food is not bad. Feel thankful that your body is getting food and you’re creating energy. You can show yourself love, and others love, through the food you’re eating. 

- Let’s focus on what matters to you when it comes to food. What makes you happy? Incorporate those into your diet.

- Once you know what you want, you can find a balance that works for you. I do 80/20. I focus on whole foods and high protein and fiber. My 20 percent is the food that’s more than just fuel. I call this “soul food”. 

 

Personal Example: Ice Cream

- I used to struggle with eating an entire pint of Ben and Jerry’s by myself. I felt guilty and ashamed, I sometimes made myself get sick afterwards. 

- My solution was to get ice cream out of the house.

- This did not work. I found ways to justify it, like “I NEVER have this.” 

- New Solution: I found a new option. Instead of feeling guilty, I found Halo Top ice cream. Eating a whole pint was more doable.

- Next step: Intentionally choosing how much I’d eat in one sitting. Putting it in a bowl, adding fruit, and enjoying it. I was no longer shame eating. 

- The Result: I developed a better relationship with ice cream. I got used to having it in the freezer and not eating it all the time just because it was there. I could switch back to Ben and Jerry’s again. 

- By taking the time to step back and get intentional, I recognized something about myself. Later at night, I don’t make good choices. Now, I try to have dessert earlier in the evening so I am actively eating it and breaking up with ‘mindless eating’. I gained more knowledge about myself, and therefore more power. 

 

-  Knowledge is power. It’s very helpful to know what you’re putting in and understand macros before you can switch to intuitive eating.