Let’s Change The Way We Talk About Food

Gosh have I had my fair share of negative thoughts about food. So much so that they have ruined many moments, days, or even months at a time. Re-framing thoughts is part of a lot of therapies, and it’s true that what we think becomes the filter with which we see the world. I’m not here to preach positive thoughts or minimize the pain or struggles we’re experiencing — I’m offering a few different ways to think and talk about the food we eat. Working to reframe negative (often gut reaction) thoughts about food can be very freeing as you progress through learning how to trust your body.

Here’s a few examples:

Lots of diets try to tell us not to eat past a certain time. I can’t say for sure why each diet preaches this (some say it’s because our bodies store food as fat when eaten at night, which is not substantiated by science but my guess is their main idea is if we stop eating past a certain time, we’ll naturally eat less. Some people tend to overeat or binge late at night — this isn’t because nighttime somehow causes us to indulge. What’s more likely is we’ve been undereating all day so by the time it’s late we’re genuinely really hungry. Let me emphasize: this is quite normal and smart of our bodies to do. This is how we stay alive. If you’re struggling with the idea of eating late at night, perhaps reframing that thought into something more productive would help. Understand that our bodies do not turn off at night when we go to sleep. They are working 24/7 so if you are hungry at an odd hour of the night, you might not have eaten enough earlier that day. We usually don’t use the bathroom the same amount of times each day; likewise, sometimes our bodies just want more food on a certain day.

Another big diet myth is that we can wash away our hunger with a glass of water. I don’t know where this originated but it can be really problematic. Hunger and thirst are two different sensations, and one usually won’t satisfy the other. I would also get curious here and ask yourself why drinking water instead of eating is on your mind. Are you nervous about eating too much? Are you concerned about gaining weight? I certainly understand how stressful it can be to make food choices and would encouraged you to get curious about what typically happens when we try to stave off hunger with beverages. Practicing honoring our hunger in these moments can build trust that our bodies can tell us when we’re hungry and for how much.

There are some foods (typically higher in carbohydrates, fat or sugar) that feel scary to us, often because we’ve restricted them in the past. Our bodies and brains are really complex, and lots of research demonstrates the more we restrict a food, the more desirable it becomes. This could be for a few reasons: if we’re restricting our intake in general (i.e. we just aren’t eating enough overall), any food can become more desirable because we’re hungry. But often, we restrict certain types of foods while allowing others, and this just makes those “off-limit” foods more enticing. When we allow ourselves to eat said “off-limit” foods, they become less desirable. Note: this can take time and practice and if you’re feeling really overwhelmed or chaotic around food, it might be helpful to work through with a non-diet dietitian.

There’s a lot to unpack in this re-frame, but essentially it asks you to stop and consider how your past experiences with strict diets have turned out. How many times have you tried a diet that didn’t end well for you? At some point, we realize it’s not our fault. Diets don’t work and they create really messy relationships with food. There is another way to improve our health — it just might look different than we expected.

How unfortunate would it be if every time we ate a cookie, an alarm in our head went off that said “Ok! That’s it for the week! No more!” In this instance, we’re practicing quasi-food freedom. Sure, we’re letting ourselves eat the food, but there’s lots of rules around it. Instead, practicing food neutrality can remove the judgment when it comes to certain foods and allow us to eat what feels truly nourishing and satisfying in a given moment.

85 Responses

  1. Hello, i think that i saw you visited my site so i came to
    “return the favor”.I am trying to find things to enhance my website!I suppose its ok to use some of your ideas!!

  2. I’ve been surfing on-line more than three hours these days, but I never discovered any fascinating article like yours.
    It is lovely price sufficient for me. Personally, if
    all webmasters and bloggers made excellent content
    material as you did, the internet will probably be a lot more useful than ever before.

  3. Hello there! I could have sworn I’ve been to this site before but after reading
    through some of the post I realized it’s new to me.

    Anyways, I’m definitely happy I found it and I’ll be bookmarking
    and checking back frequently!

  4. Hi there very nice blog!! Man .. Excellent .. Superb .. I will bookmark your website and take the feeds additionally…I’m happy to search out numerous helpful info right here in the publish, we need work out extra techniques in this regard, thanks for sharing.

  5. Hey there would you mind stating which blog platform you’re working with? I’m looking to start my own blog soon but I’m having a difficult time choosing between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and Drupal. The reason I ask is because your layout seems different then most blogs and I’m looking for something completely unique. P.S My apologies for getting off-topic but I had to ask!

  6. Wonderful blog! I found it while searching
    on Yahoo News. Do you have any suggestions on how to get listed in Yahoo News?
    I’ve been trying for a while but I never seem to get there!
    Cheers

  7. After examine a number of of the weblog posts on your website now, and I actually like your approach of blogging. I bookmarked it to my bookmark web site checklist and will be checking again soon. Pls take a look at my website as well and let me know what you think.

  8. Link exchange is nothing else but it is just placing the other person’s
    weblog link on your page at suitable place and other person will also do same for you.

  9. I’m still learning from you, while I’m trying to reach my goals. I definitely love reading all that is posted on your blog.Keep the tips coming. I enjoyed it!

  10. Thank you for the sensible critique. Me & my neighbor were just preparing to do a little research on this. We got a grab a book from our area library but I think I learned more clear from this post. I am very glad to see such excellent information being shared freely out there.

  11. Great beat ! I wish to apprentice whilst you amend your site, how can i subscribe for a weblog site? The account aided me a acceptable deal. I have been a little bit acquainted of this your broadcast provided bright clear idea

  12. When I initially commented I clicked the “Notify me when new comments are added” checkbox and now each time a comment is added I get four emails with the same comment. Is there any way you can remove people from that service? Many thanks!

  13. You are my intake, I have few web logs and infrequently run out from brand :). “Follow your inclinations with due regard to the policeman round the corner.” by W. Somerset Maugham.

  14. Good day! I simply wish to give you a huge thumbs up for your excellent information you’ve got right here on this post. I am returning to your blog for more soon.

  15. What i do not realize is in reality how you’re no longer actually much more neatly-favored than you might be right now. You are very intelligent. You understand thus significantly in terms of this topic, made me for my part imagine it from numerous numerous angles. Its like women and men are not interested unless it’s one thing to accomplish with Woman gaga! Your own stuffs excellent. At all times care for it up!

  16. I want to express my appreciation to this writer just for rescuing me from this particular circumstance. Right after searching through the the web and meeting opinions which are not productive, I assumed my entire life was done. Existing without the approaches to the difficulties you have resolved through your entire post is a critical case, and those which could have adversely damaged my entire career if I had not noticed your blog post. Your own personal competence and kindness in maneuvering all the details was excellent. I am not sure what I would have done if I had not discovered such a point like this. I’m able to at this point relish my future. Thanks very much for your impressive and amazing help. I won’t hesitate to suggest the sites to anybody who should get assistance on this topic.

  17. You really make it appear so easy along with your presentation however I find this matter to be really something that I believe I might never understand. It sort of feels too complex and very wide for me. I’m taking a look ahead in your subsequent put up, I will attempt to get the hold of it!

  18. Good website! I truly love how it is easy on my eyes and the data are well written. I am wondering how I could be notified whenever a new post has been made. I have subscribed to your feed which must do the trick! Have a great day!

  19. Aw, this was an exceptionally nice post. Taking the time and actual effort to generate a good articleÖ but what can I sayÖ I hesitate a whole lot and never manage to get nearly anything done.

  20. Great – I should certainly pronounce, impressed with your website. I had no trouble navigating through all tabs and related info ended up being truly simple to do to access. I recently found what I hoped for before you know it at all. Reasonably unusual. Is likely to appreciate it for those who add forums or anything, web site theme . a tones way for your customer to communicate. Nice task.

  21. I think other web site proprietors should take this site as an model, very clean and great user friendly style and design, let alone the content. You are an expert in this topic!

  22. I have observed that in video cameras, unique receptors help to {focus|concentrate|maintain focus|target|a**** automatically. Those sensors with some cams change in in the area of contrast, while others employ a beam with infra-red (IR) light, specially in low light. Higher standards cameras occasionally use a mixture of both models and will often have Face Priority AF where the digicam can ‘See’ the face while focusing only in that. Many thanks for sharing your opinions on this web site.

  23. Nice post. I be taught something more difficult on different blogs everyday. It can at all times be stimulating to read content from other writers and apply somewhat one thing from their store. I’d favor to use some with the content material on my blog whether you don’t mind. Natually I’ll give you a hyperlink on your web blog. Thanks for sharing.

  24. My brother recommended I might like this blog. He was totally right. This post actually made my day. You cann’t imagine just how much time I had spent for this info! Thanks!

  25. Those are yours alright! . We at least need to get these people stealing images to start blogging! They probably just did a image search and grabbed them. They look good though!

  26. You have mentioned very interesting details! ps nice web site. “Great opportunities to help others seldom come, but small ones surround us every day.” by Sally Koch.

  27. Hi, I think your website might be having browser compatibility issues.
    When I look at your website in Chrome, it looks fine but when opening in Internet
    Explorer, it has some overlapping. I just wanted
    to give you a quick heads up! Other then that, great
    blog!

  28. Today, I went to the beach front with my kids. I found a sea shell and gave it to my 4 year old daughter and said “You can hear the ocean if you put this to your ear.” She put the shell to her ear and screamed. There was a hermit crab inside and it pinched her ear. She never wants to go back! LoL I know this is entirely off topic but I had to tell someone!

  29. Woah! I’m really enjoying the template/theme of this blog. It’s simple, yet effective. A lot of times it’s hard to get that “perfect balance” between user friendliness and appearance. I must say you have done a excellent job with this. Also, the blog loads very fast for me on Firefox. Exceptional Blog!

  30. I’ve been exploring for a little for any high quality articles
    or weblog posts on this kind of house . Exploring in Yahoo I ultimately stumbled upon this web
    site. Studying this information So i am happy to show that I’ve a very excellent uncanny feeling
    I came upon just what I needed. I so much surely will make certain to do not disregard this web site and give it a glance regularly.

  31. An impressive share, I simply given this onto a colleague who was doing a bit of analysis on this. And he in truth bought me breakfast because I discovered it for him.. smile. So let me reword that: Thnx for the deal with! However yeah Thnkx for spending the time to discuss this, I really feel strongly about it and love reading more on this topic. If doable, as you grow to be expertise, would you thoughts updating your weblog with extra details? It’s extremely useful for me. Big thumb up for this blog put up!

  32. I have been absent for some time, but now I remember why I used to love this website. Thank you, I’ll try and check back more frequently. How frequently you update your website?

  33. I loved as much as you’ll receive carried out right here. The sketch is tasteful, your authored subject matter stylish. nonetheless, you command get got an nervousness over that you wish be delivering the following. unwell unquestionably come more formerly again since exactly the same nearly a lot often inside case you shield this hike.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *