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How can I have a better relationship with food?


abur0418

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Currently on day 18 and everything seems to be going fine as far as eating and I love the food I'm cooking and eating- I feel great.

However I am starting to think that it's impossible for me to have a healthy psychological relationship with food. Some things I'm struggling with are this feeling that I need to stuff myself at every meal because (since there's no snacking) I won't be allowed to eat for several hours. It's not that I even get cravings/hungry to eat in those several hours, but I honestly have this psychological feeling that I need to snack and grab something from the kitchen. When I try to repair this relationship with food by intuitive eating and not restricting myself, I gain weight and feel terrible from sugar addiction symptoms. That's why I am trying whole 30. I need rules. I love eating the whole 30 way and honestly feel great physically. However I am having trouble actually having hunger cues and being able to stop eating when I am full. Even when I am full and bloated I still have this I impulse to eat more.

Is it all mental? At this point I am definitely following the template and there's no way I'm not eating enough. What should I do if I really want to have a more intuitive relationship with food and stop impulsive eating?

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Day 18 is early to achieve resolution of what you are describing. You may need to stay with eating according to the meal template strictly for several months before you find your relationship with food shifting to a more natural place. 

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I really identify with your post.

What should I do if I really want to have a more intuitive relationship with food and stop impulsive eating?

Ease up on yourself. Give yourself time to work through the feelings that come up when you eat according to the meal template. 

 

Breaking the cycle of impulsive eating takes a lot of time, even after you've identified it! You're not going to get there in 18 days, and you probably won't get there in 30. But that doesn't mean you're not making progress. Also—and I know this is REALLY hard—don't worry about gaining weight. In fact, see if you can make peace with the idea of gaining some weight while you work on the psychological piece of this food puzzle. As your relationship with food heals, your body will reach its natural weight, even if you gain some weight in the beginning.

 

I completed my first Whole30 a year ago, and I'm just now getting to a healthier (mental) place with food. And it's taken a lot of work to get here—and by that I mean a lot of reminding myself that I can hang out in my head with my thoughts and not feel crazy.

 

The next time you have that urge to reach for a snack—and you've checked in with your body and you're truly not hungry—ask yourself what you're hoping that snack will do. Is it comfort you want? Do you feel like you deserve a "treat"? Are you feeling sad or anxious? See if you can come up with a way to get that emotional need met without grabbing something from the kitchen.

 

(Confession: I logged onto the forums just now because I had a REALLY stressful day, and I was starting to think a snack was in order.) 

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Thanks for the help. I know it will take longer than 30 days..... Last year with my wedding it really messed me up because i was so stressed trying to stay under a certain weight, now that losing weight isn't my goal maybe it will be easier to repair my relationship with food.

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I totally identify with you both on this topic. Nothing to add, I think NewAgeGirl's answer is fantastic. Just wanted to say you're not alone in that. I've been thinking I was going to need more time than 30 days all along.

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