Ep 5: How to stop fighting with yourself when you think of food

Today we're going to talk about how to stop fighting with yourself every time you think of (0:07) food. Because I know that there are times like weekends or events when there's an enormous amount (0:13) of food and you can't stop munching or going back to the table or thinking about raiding the pantry (0:17) or anything else you come across. Sometimes we think it's boredom or literally a mindless habit (0:25) where you've eaten the snack and maybe you notice on the last bite.

Someone shared with me that (0:30) she was on the couch and noticed a box of cookies in her hand and she doesn't even remember getting (0:36) up to get the cookies and she was basically like done with that box, right? Sometimes it's literally (0:42) a mindless habit. Sometimes it's emotion, emotional or stress eating and there's an internal void or (0:48) feeling that feels like it needs to be filled. Honestly that needs to be filled with love not (0:55) food.

Sometimes it looks like obsessively counting calories or counting calories for permission to (1:02) eat or tracking macros or tweaking macros or points or whatever, right? Any kind of control like that. (1:10) It can feel like a constant battle or fight. Like if you watched Fred Flintstone back in the day (1:18) and that those episodes where he had one angel and one devil on each shoulder, right? It can feel (1:23) like a constant battle if I can feel like that devil on your shoulder saying like you really (1:28) need to have another piece of that banana bread you just made.

It's delicious, right? Go have another (1:31) piece. Today is just going to be a few concepts, a few thoughts for you guys to toss around and then (1:39) let me know if they resonate with you, if they land with you. So first of all, generally, super generally (1:47) shifting from basically reacting to yourself as something that's broken (1:52) to I am whole.

You're not broken. It doesn't matter what you know health issues are currently (2:01) running. It doesn't matter what your knee looks like or your heart looks like or you're not broken.

 (2:08) You're already whole. You are whole. Shift from denial and restriction and punishment into what (2:14) can I eat? Meaning learning, trying, finding all the things you can eat and then getting to look (2:23) forward and discover more and more things that you actually love to eat that are also beneficial for (2:29) your system, right? This is huge.

This is everything. Second point is mindfully allowing yourself (2:38) indulgences and splurges and making it a fun thing to fill your body up first, right? And (2:44) surrounding the indulgences and splurges, filling your body up with 80 to 90 percent incredibly (2:51) beneficial, real, beautiful foods so that you can truly enjoy in joy, I-N-J-O-Y, that ice cream cone (3:00) guilt-free if you choose to go out and have an ice cream cone with friends who are in town, right? (3:04) That is balance for your system. That is also balance for your heart and your inner child (3:10) and balance for your mind who has his or her own agenda, right? Because when we eat 80 to 90 percent (3:20) incredibly beneficial, whole, real foods, chemically that balances our minds with actual (3:28) balancing food that then allows us to make more aligned choices with foods and in life, (3:36) right? And then you can eat that ice cream cone and know that you're balancing yourself.

The third (3:42) point today, again, these are just little points, little concepts for the day because we could, (3:47) I could wax on in any direction of these. The third one I want to hit today is shifting what (3:53) the words cheat and treat mean to you. Hopping off of the wagon of the cheat and treat stuff, (4:02) feeling and knowing that you're empowered to cruise in your sustainable physical race car, (4:09) sports car body.

You are in this body right now, this earth suit, this meat suit. You're (4:16) in this carbon-based body. This is your one permanent home for real in this lifetime.

This is (4:22) it. Do you have other lifetimes? I can talk on that later, what I believe might be different than (4:28) you. In this lifetime, this is your one body, right? So hop off the wagon with cheat and treat (4:39) and shift out of cheat days, cheat weekends, cheat weeks into balance, balance, balance.

The word (4:45) cheat, like the word should, they both imply that you've done something wrong even before you've (4:51) done it. There's absolutely zero reason to ever have or need cheat times. When you're in balance, (4:59) you can eat your favorite indulgent splurges and know you're still in balance and also know how to (5:06) work with your body to come into balance if you're feeling wonky.

Because if you're feeling wonky, (5:12) the last thing we need to do is then, you know, make ourselves feel worse by using the word (5:19) cheat and then, you know, go emotionally eat and or say, you know what, I had an ice cream (5:26) cone so the day is screwed so I'm just gonna finish this bag of chips and let's just go to (5:29) the fast food down the block because I don't feel like cooking, right? Soften, very intentionally, (5:37) mindfully know that you're having that ice cream cone. Be present with yourself having that ice (5:40) cream cone. Enjoy the 12-year-old you're having the ice cream cone with, right? Have a good time.

 (5:45) Eat it, taste it, sense it, feel the sun on your face while the ice cream cone's dripping a little (5:50) bit on your hands and then know that what your actual body needs that evening, it can be an (5:57) easy dinner, it needs real food. The snowball, you know, that's where the cheats and the wagons (6:07) meet, exist, right? In the snowball. Also, number four, shifting away from treats, (6:15) always meaning some sort of sugary food.

I was messaging with someone who was saying how (6:21) she was trained, you know, like good job Ruthie, here's some sugar, right? It was always a reward (6:27) with sugar. I know people who potty train their kids with M&Ms, right? You put your pee in the (6:34) toilet and then they get an M&M. I mean, I don't know, you could give them a raspberry or something, (6:40) there's nothing wrong with rewards, right? But I mean, I don't know, M&Ms.

And a client shared (6:48) yesterday that for such a long time, the way of celebrating anything in her family was to go eat (6:56) something or to eat something special or something that way. It was always food. Celebrating anything (7:02) was food.

Food is celebratory. Food is wonderful. Food is first and foremost fuel.

And so just (7:09) knowing that an intentional way of eating and an intentional way of living can let food be (7:15) celebratory and can let food be a reward. It's not necessarily though synonymous and it's not (7:23) mindless per se, right? We're trained that sugar is a reward and celebratory, refined sugar, (7:30) right? What about playing with I'll treat myself to a massage that's long overdue or those awesome (7:36) shoes I've wanted or a huge bouquet of flowers or a pedicure or splurge on a fun non-edible treat (7:43) reward, right? Seeing your body and you as I am whole instead of I am broken shifts so much (7:54) immediately. And seeing how our approach to ourselves, to food, to delicious indulgences, (7:59) or splurges, whether it's shoes or pies, can be a part of your healthy lifestyle where you're not (8:05) fighting yourself every time you think of food.

So if this lands with you, if this resonates, (8:13) and you're wondering how you'd actually step into those shifts to stop fighting yourself (8:18) and start feeling confident in your eating and your food, message me, email me. I love talking (8:23) with you guys and we'll keep talking in the next podcast episode.