Week 4-Challenge the Food Police
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mommamuscles
Posts: 584 Member
Hows everyone doing? There have definitely been some ups and downs (as usual) with me! I will think I am doing great and then BAM! I seem to struggle all over again. Im not calling this a failure, though...its all part of the journey.
I don't know if you all are on there, but I stumbled across Go Kaleo's facebook page, Eating the Food, this week and it really is a great community of people who are putting restriction behind them and many of them follow the principles of Intuitive Eating.
Anyway, this week we are addressing the ways in which we tend to label foods as "good" or "bad". Usually these labels come from years of dieting or following "Eating plans" (HA! Just another word for diet) which eliminate certain food groups. There really is absolutely no reason to eliminate sugar, grains, dairy, gluten, etc. unless you have a true food allergy or intolerance. Yet more and more it seems that sometimes people claim they cannot have these foods without any real reason to avoid them.
All these diets make us feel guilty when we break any of the rigid rules that we have about food.
"The thought of stealing or lying would instill a sense of guilt in most people. Yet, most dieters are able to create an equivalent level of guilt when they've eaten french freies or a hot fudge sundae. The quantity of any of these "bad foods" has almost nothing to do with the level of despair that is felt wehn they are eaten. The first bite often evokes a sense of having failed, or being bad. Eating a "bad" or "iillegal dfood then becomes a morality issue. The subsequent guilt that builds is enough to initiate a period of overeating that can destroy any successful weight loss. "
This pretty much sums things up for me. Most of my binges have been related to eating something that is off plan or because I felt I had eaten too much by a certain time in the day to be able to come in under my calorie goal for that day. I have pretty much abandoned the idea of "clean eating" for several months now, and I've slowly been allowing foods back into my diet that I would have previously not allowed,. Interesting that as I've done this, the frequency of my binges has gone down quite a bit as well. I still catch myself labeling foods, but I am making some progress.
Its really interesting to think about certain foods being "healthier" than others. Most of these labels have been placed there because someone, at some point in our life imposed certain food rules on us. It may have been our parents, or just a diet we did at some point. Important to remember there is typically research on both sides!
"The Food Police is a strong voice that's developed through dieting,. Its your Inner Judge and jury that determines if you are doing "good" or "bad".
Here are some of the messages the food police may have imposed upon us.
-Sweets are bad for you
-I shouldn't eat anything after 6 pm
-You shouldn't take in any fat
-Walking 3 times a week won't do me any good
-If I eat breakfast, it will just make me eat more throughout the day
-Dairy products/grains/carbs are bad for you
-I shouldn't have any sodium
-Beans are fattening
-Bread is fattening
-EVERYTHING IS FATTENING!!!!
The authors talk about 5 "voices" that we listen to when making choices about food and eating:
1. The Food Police scrutinize every eating action, keeping food and your body at war.This generally leads us to label days as "good" or "bad", and it is almost impossible to adhere to enough standards to have a "good day".
2.The Nutrition Informant provides nutritional information to keep you in line with dieting. It's this voice that tells you that you NEED to count calories, or grams of protein, or whatever.
The nutrition informant can become your ally, once you've silenced the food police. This allows you to make decisions solely based on health without any alterior motive (i,e. weight/fat loss).
"One distinguishing factor between the Nutrition Ally and the Nutrition Informant is how you feel when you respond. If you make or reject a food choice in the name of health but feel acquiescent or guilty, then you know the Food Police still have a stronghold on your Nutrition Informant who's guiding your decision."
3.The Diet Rebel secretly (or openly) wants to rebel against the diet, usually in a self destructive way. Usually this results in extreme overeating.
"You can turn the Diet Rebel into the Rebel Ally. Use the Rebel Ally to help you protect your boundaries against anyone who invades your eating space. Use your mouth for words instead of food in a direct but polite matter-its suprising how powerful it can make you feel, while giving you a tremendous release."
4. The Food Anthropologist is the neutral observer, able to evaluate eating situations objectively without judging them as "good" or "bad". The food anthropologist might say, "I just ate 10 cookies," as opposed to saying, "I just ate 10 cookies, failed my diet and need to go hit the elliptical for an hour". A good way to be able to look at your eating more through the eyes of the Food Anthropologist is by keeping a food journal in which you just write down times and emotions at meal times (not with the intention of calorie counting, etc.)
5. The Nurturer is compared to the voice of a loving grandparent or friend, reminding you that you're okay and everything will turn out fine. The Nurturer might tell you that its okay to have that cookie (it really is!!!) or that you feel best when you take care of yourself
.
The Intuitive Eater is able to listen to these voices and make logical and rational choices about eating, listen to your hunger and fullness signals and trust yourself to make wise decisions over the long run about your eating.
This week I'm hoping to continue to make some progress in these areas. I am no longer feeling like there are foods I can't have in the house because I can't control them. I am no longer labeling foods as good or bad, but I also know that I feel better when I am reguarly including protein and veggies with my meals. I'm still technically logging my food, but I feel like my accuracy is slipping day by day...then again maybe that's a good thing!
No more food police! I challenge you to evaluate how many times a day you catch yourself labeling foods!
I don't know if you all are on there, but I stumbled across Go Kaleo's facebook page, Eating the Food, this week and it really is a great community of people who are putting restriction behind them and many of them follow the principles of Intuitive Eating.
Anyway, this week we are addressing the ways in which we tend to label foods as "good" or "bad". Usually these labels come from years of dieting or following "Eating plans" (HA! Just another word for diet) which eliminate certain food groups. There really is absolutely no reason to eliminate sugar, grains, dairy, gluten, etc. unless you have a true food allergy or intolerance. Yet more and more it seems that sometimes people claim they cannot have these foods without any real reason to avoid them.
All these diets make us feel guilty when we break any of the rigid rules that we have about food.
"The thought of stealing or lying would instill a sense of guilt in most people. Yet, most dieters are able to create an equivalent level of guilt when they've eaten french freies or a hot fudge sundae. The quantity of any of these "bad foods" has almost nothing to do with the level of despair that is felt wehn they are eaten. The first bite often evokes a sense of having failed, or being bad. Eating a "bad" or "iillegal dfood then becomes a morality issue. The subsequent guilt that builds is enough to initiate a period of overeating that can destroy any successful weight loss. "
This pretty much sums things up for me. Most of my binges have been related to eating something that is off plan or because I felt I had eaten too much by a certain time in the day to be able to come in under my calorie goal for that day. I have pretty much abandoned the idea of "clean eating" for several months now, and I've slowly been allowing foods back into my diet that I would have previously not allowed,. Interesting that as I've done this, the frequency of my binges has gone down quite a bit as well. I still catch myself labeling foods, but I am making some progress.
Its really interesting to think about certain foods being "healthier" than others. Most of these labels have been placed there because someone, at some point in our life imposed certain food rules on us. It may have been our parents, or just a diet we did at some point. Important to remember there is typically research on both sides!
"The Food Police is a strong voice that's developed through dieting,. Its your Inner Judge and jury that determines if you are doing "good" or "bad".
Here are some of the messages the food police may have imposed upon us.
-Sweets are bad for you
-I shouldn't eat anything after 6 pm
-You shouldn't take in any fat
-Walking 3 times a week won't do me any good
-If I eat breakfast, it will just make me eat more throughout the day
-Dairy products/grains/carbs are bad for you
-I shouldn't have any sodium
-Beans are fattening
-Bread is fattening
-EVERYTHING IS FATTENING!!!!
The authors talk about 5 "voices" that we listen to when making choices about food and eating:
1. The Food Police scrutinize every eating action, keeping food and your body at war.This generally leads us to label days as "good" or "bad", and it is almost impossible to adhere to enough standards to have a "good day".
2.The Nutrition Informant provides nutritional information to keep you in line with dieting. It's this voice that tells you that you NEED to count calories, or grams of protein, or whatever.
The nutrition informant can become your ally, once you've silenced the food police. This allows you to make decisions solely based on health without any alterior motive (i,e. weight/fat loss).
"One distinguishing factor between the Nutrition Ally and the Nutrition Informant is how you feel when you respond. If you make or reject a food choice in the name of health but feel acquiescent or guilty, then you know the Food Police still have a stronghold on your Nutrition Informant who's guiding your decision."
3.The Diet Rebel secretly (or openly) wants to rebel against the diet, usually in a self destructive way. Usually this results in extreme overeating.
"You can turn the Diet Rebel into the Rebel Ally. Use the Rebel Ally to help you protect your boundaries against anyone who invades your eating space. Use your mouth for words instead of food in a direct but polite matter-its suprising how powerful it can make you feel, while giving you a tremendous release."
4. The Food Anthropologist is the neutral observer, able to evaluate eating situations objectively without judging them as "good" or "bad". The food anthropologist might say, "I just ate 10 cookies," as opposed to saying, "I just ate 10 cookies, failed my diet and need to go hit the elliptical for an hour". A good way to be able to look at your eating more through the eyes of the Food Anthropologist is by keeping a food journal in which you just write down times and emotions at meal times (not with the intention of calorie counting, etc.)
5. The Nurturer is compared to the voice of a loving grandparent or friend, reminding you that you're okay and everything will turn out fine. The Nurturer might tell you that its okay to have that cookie (it really is!!!) or that you feel best when you take care of yourself
.
The Intuitive Eater is able to listen to these voices and make logical and rational choices about eating, listen to your hunger and fullness signals and trust yourself to make wise decisions over the long run about your eating.
This week I'm hoping to continue to make some progress in these areas. I am no longer feeling like there are foods I can't have in the house because I can't control them. I am no longer labeling foods as good or bad, but I also know that I feel better when I am reguarly including protein and veggies with my meals. I'm still technically logging my food, but I feel like my accuracy is slipping day by day...then again maybe that's a good thing!
No more food police! I challenge you to evaluate how many times a day you catch yourself labeling foods!
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