Food is Not the Enemy!

Food is not the enemy!

Restricting certain foods can lead to overwhelming urges and overeating. Have you ever said, “I’m not gonna eat sugar all week” and then soon after binged on more sugary food than you would have eaten had you just honored your craving? Typical dieting restriction scenario: Wants cookie. Eats rice cake. Then eats diet approved low calorie cardboard “cookie.” Then eats whole box of cookies they were trying to avoid in the first place. Then restricts again because of shame and guilt. It’s a sucky diet-binge cycle.

Try to make peace with food by giving yourself unconditional permission to eat without guilt. Studies have shown that people who diet often end up gaining back weight they’re trying to lose in the long term, but intuitive eating can lead to your stable, natural weight range. Also the mental health effects of dieting include obsession fixation and high risk of developing an eating disorder.

It can sound really scary, but permission is incredibly powerful & a critical part of healing your relationship with food. Here are some benefits of unconditional permission to eat:
1) Permission creates mental space to really figure out what you want and need.

2) When you feel restricted with foods, you automatically want the things you tell yourself you can’t have. If you give yourself permission, you often find that you don’t always want those things anymore, because now they aren’t forbidden.

3) Permission takes away the pressure of feeling like you have to be perfect, and by doing that, you’re now more focused on figuring out what’s right for you.

When we make peace with food, we take the power back.⭐️

My intro to intuitive eating course is an easy place to start your journey —> tiffanyroeschool.com

My Therapy Thoughts are for educational purposes only and are not a replacement for a therapeutic relationship or individualized mental health or medical care.