Tag Archive for: chocolate

Food Deprivation Leads to Rebound Eating

Overindulging in a food item that you restrict is common if you are a chronic dieter. It actually makes a ton of sense that you’d have intense cravings for a food you won’t allow yourself to have.

 

When you restrict a food(s) that you really want to eat, at some point the deprivation becomes so great that the backlash is what we call rebound eating.

 

Rebound Eating in Action

You start your diet on Monday and promise yourself you will not eat any chocolate. After all, you’ve been enjoying chocolate almost nightly and find it difficult to stop at just a few squares.

 

Your friend from out of town comes to visit and brings you a box of chocolates. You thank her and think to yourself “I’m not going to eat this; I’m being really good on my diet”. So, you put the box of chocolates away in the cabinet, high up on a shelf.

 

The next day, your partner spots the chocolate, opens the box and enjoys a piece. He puts the box away, but now you know it’s open. You are feeling a little anxious, you want a piece but at the same time you don’t want because you’ve been “so good”.

 

As it turns out, because you’ve been “so good”, you decide you deserve to have a piece of chocolate, almost like a reward for being good on your diet. You take the box down, open it up and pop one into your mouth.

 

You realize you didn’t really taste it; you ate it too quickly. You decide “I’ll just have one more”.

 

And then, the inner critic voice starts to show up. “Oh darn, I blew it. Why can’t I just keep to my diet. I’m just going to finish what’s there, there are only 4 left, and then I promise I won’t have chocolate again! My diet starts tomorrow!!”

 

Once you finish the chocolate, you plop down on the couch and feel miserable. You feel so guilty for eating the chocolate, so disappointed in yourself and decide as a punishment, you will skip dinner. The only problem is, you then find yourself bingeing into the evening.

 

The above example is one way the backlash can happen when you deprive yourself of a food you love.

 

It’s important to know that eating doesn’t have to be this difficult. Learning to eat to honor your body and your health while enjoying all foods (including chocolate) is part of being an intuitive eater.

 

It’s time to make peace with food.

 

Are you ready?

 

Click here to schedule a time to chat about how you can change your relationship with food.

 

Being Mindful With Godiva Chocolate

Chocolate bar chunks with almonds 2One of the beautiful things about being an intuitive eater is being able to eat what I love! I don’t have to worry anymore about whether eating a particular food will cause me to gain weight or not.

 

One of the doubts I often hear from my clients is whether or not they will actually choose nutritious foods once they give themselves permission to eat what they love and desire when they are hungry. And I tell them YES, you will. Once you give yourself that unconditional permission to eat, you will find that you will gravitate towards lighter healthier foods, and your meals will be well-balanced nutritionally. It’s just something that happens when you begin to experience how great you feel eating these foods.

 

You will also find that the heavy, less healthy foods don’t seem so desirable after a while. The physical and/or emotional discomfort from eating those foods becomes burned in your memory, and you won’t want to repeat.

 

This doesn’t mean there is no place in your eating for what I call “play foods”. Of course there is.  Let me share a recent story.

 

My husband and I were on vacation in Las Vegas two weeks ago. As we were walking through one of the casino hotel’s shopping areas, we stopped at the Godiva Chocolate store to watch them make chocolate dipped strawberries. We walked inside and an employee was giving out small samples of chocolate covered caramels. These were very small, similar to the size of a small paper clip. The employee put one in my palm; I picked it up and took a bite. I savored it, allowing it to melt in my mouth so I could taste the chocolate and the caramel. I then took a second bite. It was delicious. It hit the spot.

 

I took notice of how other people were eating these chocolate samples. Some took one to two bites as I did, but others popped it into their mouths. I overheard a man saying to his wife that he could eat a few more. His wife said one was just enough for her. What was the difference, why did he need more and why didn’t she? I noticed he was one of those people who popped it into his mouth without even tasting it. It was down before he could even think about what he just ate. His wife, on the other hand, took two bites and savored each one.

 

My point is…eating healthy doesn’t mean depriving yourself of your favorite foods or treats. Part of learning to become an intuitive eater is learning to be a mindful eater. Enjoy every bite you take, with purpose, and you will have great pleasure in your foods, those that are nutrient dense and those that are “play foods”.  Tune into your belly as you are eating, and let your stomach be your guide. You will know when you have had just enough.

 

The more you practice these techniques, the more intuitive you will become, and you will see, weight loss will start happening, without you worrying about the scale and about the effects foods will have on your weight.

 

Do you want to discuss how you can become a mindful eater?  Just click here and we will set up a time.

Food Deprivation Leading to Rebound Eating

Overindulging in a food item that you restrict is common if you are a chronic dieter. This is called deprivation backlash-rebound eating.

 

Here’s a common scenario: you deprive yourself of a certain food, such as your beloved chocolate because you are on a diet and you are not allowed to have chocolate, right? Well an old time friend comes to visit and brings you a box of chocolates. You put it away vowing you will not open it. A family member spots the chocolate, opens the box and now what do you do? Hmmm, I’ll just have one, really only one. But before you turn around, you have more than one, and at this point you might as well finish the box because you promise yourself you won’t have chocolate again. You truly believe that you won’t. Yet, you now feel guilty and as a punishment you skip dinner only to find yourself bingeing into the evening.

The above scenario is one example of the backlash that happens when you deprive yourself of a food you love. You rebound by eating, and overeating.

 

There are many different forms of rebound eating.

 

Have you ever engaged in The Last Supper eating? I have had many clients tell me that they knew they were coming to see me on Monday (or whatever day their appointment was on) and so the day before they overindulged on all the foods they thought they would no longer be allowed to eat….the foods that they thought would be off limits.

 

Listen, eating shouldn’t be this difficult. It’s time for you to make peace with food so you can once and for all stop the dieting cycle.

 

Need help? Click here to schedule a time to chat.

 

 

Your turn to take action: Tell me about a time that you engaged in rebound eating or The Last Supper. Share your stories in the comments section below.

It’s No Trick—Have a Treat!

Candy 1Halloween—it’s probably one of the least likely times of the year that you want to interact with a nutrition professional.  But if you’ve been traveling down the mindful eating road with me, I can guarantee you that you can handle this holiday AND enjoy some candy too!

Halloween can be tricky because let’s be honest, it isn’t always about this one day.  You buy candy for “trick or treaters” and it’s in the house for days leading up to the day of Halloween.  Then the day comes, you bring out the candy you bought and, if you have kids, they bring in a whole new batch of the sweet stuff!  It is a sweet cycle that can be not so sweet for someone trying to be healthy.

But as you have been learning with intuitive eating, it is not about deprivation and restriction.  If you tell yourself that you are forbidden to eat any of the candy because it is not part of the “plan,” the likelihood that you will go on a candy crusade when nobody is looking greatly increases.  If you do go candy crazy, you aren’t left with sweet satisfaction, but rather a sick stomach and perhaps a cavity or two.

But YOU know how to handle this—YOU know how to be mindful!

It’s all about enjoying and knowing that it’s okay to have it, and then you will be able to stop.  I’m sure you have your favorite type of candy, and by all means if you would like to have a piece, then you should.  Make a conscious effort to savor it, really taste it in your mouth, the taste, texture and aroma.  This will be a very different experience than if you just pop a few pieces into your mouth as you are dashing in and out without really even tasting it.

By giving yourself permission to enjoy the day with your family and enjoy a sweet treat, you don’t miss out on the fun because you are “on a diet.”  And, by being mindful while eating your favorite piece of candy, you will see that you will be satisfied with just one or two pieces.

So treat yourself to a treat!  Enjoy that piece or two of candy, and recognize that it is enough.  Mindful eating gives you the ability to do this and provides you with more enjoyment than you’ve likely experienced on this holiday in the past.

Happy Halloween!

Your turn to take action: What is your favorite candy that you will eat and savor this Halloween?