Episode 172. How To Be Awesome At Eating Without Guilt
Today we are talking about removing the feelings of guilt and shame when it comes to food.
We live in a diet culture - with a new fad or restrictive diet or skinny tea every time we turn around.
We see messages about getting your body back after baby and pictures of super airbrushed bodies in our feed all day.
Of course we’re going to compare ourselves and feel less than.
If you listen to the podcast on the regular you know Lindsay talks a lot about picturing yourself at 90 years old and looking back on what was important. Do you think there’s any chance you’ll think to yourself… “god I’m just so glad I spent my whole life obsessing about food and my body?” No way!
Another thing Lindsay talks about all the time is bandwidth. We only have so much bandwidth in a day. And any minutes you spend regretting what you ate or talking negatively about your body, are minutes you aren’t spending doing things you love.
Today our conversation is going to be based around the concept of intuitive eating and listening to your body. No diets, no negative talk, just a really healthy way to approach food and our bodies.
Things that work for Lindsay:
-Intermittent fasting.
-Find balance between foods that taste good, foods we enjoy and foods that make you feel good and give you energy.
-Never deprive myself.
-Make a conscious choice about what it is and be decisive about it - don’t over think it or second guess it. Decide, enjoy and don’t negative talk or think during or after.
TIPS from experts:
--Nutritionalists and eating counselors
--Intuitive eating - listen to your body. Allowing yourself to eat the chocolate that you want to.
-It sounds so simple - but I can’t believe I didn’t realize this sooner. Here’s my tip ready- eat when you are hungry. Listen to your body.
-A baby cries when it’s hungry - we loose that along the way because of “diet culture”
-Listen and trust yourself
-Skinny tea culture - which is really a laxative
-What happens after you eat something? Write it down!
-Put aside weight loss for a minute - diets generally don’t work - or you gain the weight back. Remove the intentional weight loss for a minute and think about it with the intention of improving our relationship with food and our body image.
-Listen to your bodies cues in a loving way - not in a harsh way - like I cant eat that because I didn’t work out today.
-It’s not worth sacrificing your mental health to be thin!!
-What can you get out of intuitive eating?
Physical and mental - dieting is so hard on our body.
You yo yo and your weight is changing and working out even if you are sick - it’s just not good for you.
Emotionally - its a mess. Dieting can start out nice because there is a plan and structure - and as humans we like that. Then it ends up chaos, we break it, we stop trusting ourselves. You can feel like you are losing your mind and lead to negative self talk.
-Once we start working with our bodies, we usually hit a stable weight that our bodies are happy at and we have more energy (we are eating the calories we need) and we are happier because we have more BANDWIDTH and headspace for other things because you aren’t obsessing about eating and dieting and then feeling bad about it after. It’s a lot of mental energy.
-If you have this food fixation - you are taking up a lot of your brain power - and you can handle more in your day and in your brain. If you are over burdened in your cognitive world - maybe it’s time to listen to your body and work with it, not against.
-How do we start? To connect with our bodies again?
We are so hard on moms and our bodies. It’s insane when you think about it - we made a human. Then we tell the moms they need to bounce back and get your body back and get a “mommy makeover.”
-A lot of women say their eating habits came from their parents
-Unfollow someone on social media if they make you feel crappy
-Work on your self talk- when you feel those negative thoughts - be aware of them first. Don’t go down the spiral! “I look like I have a muffin top in these jeans” then think about that cake you had 2 weeks ago. Stop yourself - we are actual humans with emotions and complicated lives. You a
-Emotional eating - ask yourself - are you hungry? If no, ask yourself what is going on. If you are hungry, go eat. You won’t always have the answer. THEN- ask yourself - what is it that I really need right now? A hug, fresh air, to be alone, to have a big bowl of ice cream. Maybe that’s what you needed
-It’s how we buffer sometimes… sometimes it’s ok. When you think it will make you feel better, not worse.
-Our eating behaviors and patterns has been there since childhood. Our relationship to food is built in childhood.
Now we are living it.
I don’t want to give my kids things they will need to undo.
-How to be awesome at shifting your relationship with food for your kids.
We teach kids that they have to clear their plate - isn’t really healthy messaging.
And we sometimes use food as a reward or something that has to be earned.
This could be a whole podcast on it’s own- Lindsay will do research and report back!!
-pay attention to how you feel!! If you feel crappy after you eat pizza- have one slice with a salad because I feel better and have more energy after.
--Same with exercise- you can’t do it as a reward or a punishment! Find what is fun for you.
-Get rid of anyone who’s talking about your body or food negatively - sometimes there are pushers - want you to eat more or make a comment if you make another plate.
It is your body- you get to choose. It’s hard not to internalize those comments- just say
“We aren’t having this conversation”
-If you let yourself have the foods you want - you’re less likely to feel like you’ve gone crazy.
-You might not even love some foods that you make forbidden - like you put it off limits then
-RECLAIM your power! Don’t let a relative
When you stop resisting and start accepting - it all gets easier.
-You can give certain foods power over you - if you resist it so hard. You have a choice about how you react to your thoughts and cravings
-Don’t label foods as good or bad - this sets you up for guilt
-Studies show that some people can just brush off messages about body image easier than others. People who tend to be perfectionists are going to have a harder time if someone says something about their body or eating.
-Eating disorder type behavior is serious - restricting, purging.
-Talk to your own self about your body like you would your child or best friend.
-Talk to a professional if you think that would be helpful.
TIPS from social media comments:
-Being consistent with exercise, fasting and diet
-Cheat day on the weekend - healthy for 6 days
-I plan for it. Impulse cravings leave me feeling guilty and disappointed in myself
-We are different animals - I can eat whatever I want - I could use a dose of guilt
-Workout the day of and the day after and keep the indulgence to just one meal/thing
The older I get the less I care, life is short, enjoy!
-“never skip two” have whatever you want at one meal but the next meal be back on track
-mandatory hard workout before hand
-balance! Enjoy in moderation and crush a good workout the next day or before.
-Find food freedom is great!
-Only splurge when it’s something you love!
Let’s go out and LIVE and LOVE and EAT and be kind to our bodies and to ourselves!