Stop Beating Yourself Up About Food
Have you ever experienced those inner thoughts that go something like… “It’s 7pm, I shouldn’t be eating this late”, “carbs are fattening”, or “I shouldn’t be eating anything with added sugar”. These thoughts are called cognitive distortions, and that internal voice you hear in your head is referred to as the food police.
The food police will judge your eating choices to declare if you’ve been “good” or “bad”. This judgment scrutinizes every eating action, which keeps food and your body at war.
The food police monitors your unreasonable food rules and makes you feel guilty for breaking them. This can be harmful, because this guilty feeling from violating inner food rules can cause self-sabotaging behavior, such as bingeing.
For example, your new low-carb diet has been going so well. However, when you get to work that morning, you realize someone has brought in freshly baked bagels to share. You begin to crave the bagels after smelling the warm bread and seeing everyone else enjoying them. You think to yourself, “Oh why not, I’ve been so good… I deserve it!”. As you are enjoying the bagel, your inner food police begins to tell you how bad you are for cheating on your diet. You feel guilty and defeated. You think to yourself, “Well, I already broke one of my food rules. The day is ruined. I might as well break all my rules.” You find comfort in bingeing on all the carbs you can find that day.
If this sounds like you, know you are not alone. You are not born with these food rules– they are learned, and they can be unlearned.
Challenging the inner food police
When it comes to confronting the inner food police it is important to recognize the negative beliefs you uphold. It can be helpful to acknowledge where these negative food beliefs developed. Most food rules are learned from society, such as social media or family and friends. Start by keeping a journal with you and take note of each negative thought or food rule you justify. You may have more than you think. By writing these rules down, next time you have the corresponding thought that supports this rule - you will be able to recognize it. Your experiences in journaling from the past may have been from a place of judgement and criticism around what and how much you ate. Consider this an awareness journal that focuses on curiosity NOT judgement. As you become aware of your food rules choose one to begin challenging. Ask yourself what you would say to a friend and then mirror that to yourself.
