Take Away the Power from Food

Do you feel like food controls your life?

If so, there’s good news: it doesn’t have to!

Our perceptions of certain foods give them power. Did you know that when you restrict yourself from eating a certain food, you actually make that food look more appealing? The more you tell yourself to not eat the cake, pizza, pasta, or any other food, the more and more you want it! When you do finally eat that “bad” food, the feel-good reward in your brain increases, which can result in overeating or bingeing. The guilt that follows after “giving in” to the food causes you to restrict again, only later to binge or overeat again, and then repeating this cycle. Sound familiar?

To take away the power you feel that food has over your life requires thinking differently about all foods. Instead of labelling your favorite foods are “bad”, label them as simply food. Instead of labelling snack foods, fatty foods, and sugary foods as “bad”, label them as simply food. Instead of labelling fruits, vegetables, and protein foods as “good”, label them as just food.

Removing the “good” or “bad” label from foods is called food neutrality, because you recognize all foods as what they are- nourishment for your body. Removing the stigma from certain foods dissolves their power!

If you have been struggling with food choice and restriction, try this:

1. Think about the foods you label as “bad”. Why do you think they are bad?

2. Reframe your thoughts around that food. Remember, it is neutral- just food.

3. Expose yourself to the food more often. The more you have the option to choose or decline the food, the more practice you will have deciding if that is the food your body wants right now.

4. Remind yourself that you are always allowed to choose that food, no matter the time, place, or situation. If you want it, eat it! If not, eat it when you do.

This process of neutralizing foods will take time! Always remember that all foods give us nutrients we need to live. If you feel like you are struggling emotionally with food so much that it impacts your daily life, seek help from a licensed professional counselor.

Blog post by Amelia Stone, Dietetics Intern

https://jandonline.org/article/S0002-8223(96)00161-7/fulltext