Food guilt is one of the most common ailments we see people struggle with to develop a balanced relationship with food.
I'm willing to bet you've already experienced this. Especially if you have been on a diet for years. Research also shows that nearly a third of all the food Americans eat makes them feel guilty. Internally, feeling guilty is often considered productive. We fight and tell each other to do better for our own good. When in reality, the guilt we feel only hurts.
Over time, food guilt can lead to disordered eating habits, which are detrimental to physical and mental health. Ultimately, it prevents you from fully living your life, fully enjoying and appreciating your food and the many roles you have. Because food guilt is so common, it's important to understand why food guilt occurs and how to overcome it. Find out why food guilt isn't working for you and the first steps you can take to start overcoming food guilt.
BECAUSE THERE IS NO NEED TO FEEL GUILT FOR THE FOOD
It is important to understand, on a logical level, that there is no real need to feel guilty or ashamed of your food choices. It really doesn't work for you!
A balanced diet includes all types of foods. Food for nutrition as well as for fun. It also honors the many roles that food plays in our lives. From nourishing our body on a cellular level, to tradition and culture. We eat to thrive, not just to survive.
Food guilt is not only not productive in creating balanced eating habits, but it can also be very damaging to physical and mental health. A study was conducted in which people were asked whether they associated the chocolate cake more with guilt or celebration. The results of the study showed that people who said the chocolate cake was associated with guilt were no healthier or more motivated than those who associated it with the celebration. In fact, they felt they had less control over their food and said they were more likely to overeat.
Have you ever felt this way about foods you associate with guilt or shame?
THE FOOD FAILURE PERPETES A START AND STOP CYCLE
This mentality leads to the beginning and ending cycle that I teach within my free Masterclass. Shame and guilt intensify after overeating, so look for more rigid and restrictive behaviors to compensate for being "bad". So you feel out of control with food because you have become hyper-aware that you can't have it. Did the ending work? You overdo it and the cycle continues. Maybe instead of feeling out of control.
Have you ever been in one of these scenarios before? Whenever you are in this beginning and ending cycle, you are unable to form consistent and balanced eating habits that support your long-term health. Over time, this can also lead to more serious physical and mental health conditions. This guilt and shame lead to feelings of helplessness and lack of control, which can promote low self-esteem and low mood.
This is why it is so important that you dedicate some of your time and energy to overcoming food guilt.
HOW TO STOP FEELING GUILT ABOUT FOOD
It is important to keep in mind that overcoming food guilt is a journey and will take time. But it is absolutely possible to achieve it!
You can start by following these few steps to start eliminating the guilt and calling her when it happens. Over time, you will come to a place of calm and peace with your food choices.
1. Bring awareness of when and why you are experiencing food guilt
This first step is about raising awareness of the situation. Generally speaking, there are two common causes of guilt due to the consumption of certain foods. You may have made a meaningless decision and didn't realize it until after the fact.
First of all, guilt can arise if you choose a food that is not in line with what you really want or need. This usually happens when external factors influence our food choices without us realizing it. Emotions such as stress or boredom, our environment or distracted eating are some common factors.
You can also experience it if you make a decision on the spot that you didn't really want to make. This type of guilt tends to have less to do with the food itself, but more to do with whether or not you take a specific action.
You may have dietary rules
The second cause of food guilt we see is feeling guilty after eating internally labeled "bad" or "forbidden" foods. This can also happen when you consciously choose to eat something because you really enjoy it. The sense of shame creeps in anyway because we have trained ourselves to do so.
Ponder compassionately to inflict change
Either way, you can use the reflective journal to bring awareness to what's causing your food guilt and when you're experiencing it. You can find an example of a food diary in our free guide that you can download and follow!
With a thoughtful diary, the focus isn't on calories or the list of "good" and "bad" foods. Instead, the goal is to find out more about what you felt before, during and after eating. This way you can notice where and when those feelings of guilt arise. These insights into yourself can really help you learn how to better support you. When your attention is focused solely on feeling guilty, you never have a chance to participate in this discovery of yourself. You end up going through this cycle of guilt.
Two. Let go of the rules of food
Think about what would happen when you were a child and your parent, guardian or teacher told you that you are not allowed to do something. How would you react? I'm willing to bet you wanted to do exactly what they said not to do and you wanted to do a lot more. This is exactly the same series of events that occur with dietary rules. It's just human nature.
When we tell ourselves that we cannot have food, it hurts us, we cannot have it, without realizing it we are putting food on a pedestal. A pedestal that makes us idealize food and love it much more than if we allowed ourselves to eat something in the first place.
Once we have food, either because we finally allow it, reward ourselves, or just put it in front of us and no longer have self-control, we are much more likely to overeat and subsequently experience that extreme guilt that we try to avoid. . . When we completely remove these food rules, when we remove food from the pedestal, the food no longer has power over us. We no longer feel out of control around him and so that cycle of guilt is broken. Let go of the food rules and the guilt will go with them.
3. Slow down before meals
Practice slowing down before meals. As mentioned above, guilt over food can sometimes come from a brainless eating. This happens when you are simply distracted by something in your environment, or the situation you are in has prompted you to eat when you weren't really hungry.
Taking a moment to take a break before eating and checking yourself is such a powerful tool. You can see what your body needs and what it wants. This way you can understand which external sources are influencing your food choices. When you stop, ask yourself why you are eating: is it boredom, stress, situation or are you experiencing physical hunger? Do you eat with intention and awareness? Or is it involuntary and meaningless?
Then ask yourself if what you choose to eat is something you really want or if you want it only for external factors. If your food guilt stems from eating specific foods, this break can allow you to give yourself full permission to intentionally choose and enjoy that food.
Four. Give yourself permission to reduce food guilt
Create an experience around food that allows you to fully enjoy and appreciate what you are eating.
For example, let's say you have decided to eat dessert. Ideally, you should sit down at the table with minimal distractions and slowly savor and savor each bite. Indulge in that joy and pleasure from your food, whether it's what we call "soul food" or a nutrient-rich meal, it brings a lot of positivity to your experience. Then you will be able to feel more satisfied and move on, instead of succumbing to that guilt.
5. Practice compassionate curiosity
The older we get, the more we learn that things don't always go as planned. It is inevitable that from time to time things take a sharp left turn without our intention. When this happens, practicing compassionate curiosity can allow us to break the cycle of guilt.
Instead of negative talk, when you find yourself in a situation where things could have gone one way but unfortunately they have gone another, stop and think. "Was it also under my control?" "If possible, how could I do things differently next time to prevent this same situation from happening again?"
By reflecting with compassion and curiosity, you can look to the future and plan for success instead of dwelling on the past.