While this is easier said than done, it’s also really freeing…

As scary as it is, it’s essential.  The way you behave around food is due to your beliefs about the food.  If you believe food to be good or bad, you’ll behave that way around it.  If you wish to make peace with food and overcome dysfunctional habits around it, it’s super important to see food as just that…FOOD.  Not something that will heal you or kill you, make you good or bad or something that is good or bad.

I know that sounds really counterintuitive.  It’s easy to assume that lack of control needs more control.  But restriction breeds rebellion and as soon as you quit restricting, you’ll quit rebelling.  You’ll also give yourself a fighting chance to find some sort of balance for how to best fuel your body and your mind – no perfection, no all-or-nothing, just eating for the intent to feel satisfied and energized.  

So your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to practice letting food just be food.  I would love to hear where that takes you.

Emily Fonnesbeck RD, CD