Tag Archive for: food police

Intuitive Eating on Vacation

Have I mentioned yet that summer is my favorite season? Yes, it is!

 

The hot weather, spending time outdoors, longer days, time off…I can on and on. I just love it.

 

Whether you’re planning a weekend away, a visit to a tropical island, or a staycation, food and eating challenges might come up, especially for those who are in the process of recovering from dieting. If this is you, then keep reading!

 

If you feel the urge to say, “I’m on vacation, I’ll enjoy myself and start over when I get home”, then please know that you’re not alone. This is what’s called the “vacation mindset.” When you’re on vacation, the sneaky diet mentality and food police might join you.

 

This never pans out well. So, let’s discuss how you can continue your intuitive eating practice while you’re soaking up the sun!

 

  1. Avoid the All or Nothing Mindset

If you go into vacation thinking “I won’t eat anything I shouldn’t, or “I’m just going to eat and deal with it when I get home”, you’re thinking in extremes. Instead, commit to staying fully present while on vacation, and continue to make purposeful food choices, just like you’re doing at home.

 

  1. Pay Attention to Your Fullness Signals

Go ahead and explore new foods and enjoy familiar ones. Remind yourself to check in mid-meal to see how you are feeling. As you become more satisfied, remind yourself that you can come back and order this food again. You don’t need to eat it all, to a point of being overfull and uncomfortable. That just takes away from the whole experience.

 

  1. Listen for Hunger

When you’re out and busy trying to jam all the activities you would like to do into a short time frame, you may forget to stop and eat lunch and then feel overhungry by dinner. Throughout the day check-in with your body and listen for those hunger cues. Make sure you carry snacks with you so you can answer the hunger when it calls.

 

  1. Make Movement Fun

Going to the hotel gym on vacation may not be your cup of tea, and that’s okay. However, there are many movements you may enjoy doing, that you can do while vacationing. Or you may want to try something new, such a hiking as local trail, or kayaking in the clear waters. Find an activity that is appealing to you, and remove all expectations. Just have fun!

 

We all need a break, and the summer is a great time to take a vacation! Tell the food police they are not welcome and enjoy yourself while making memories!

Shutting Down the Food Police

Do you have a set of unreasonable rules that dieting has created? Is your head constantly filled with chanting words that promote or demote you from eating food that you love?

 

This is the “food police” voice that is constantly telling you what you should and shouldn’t eat. It’s sort of like the angel and the devil sitting on your shoulders, one telling you it’s okay to eat the chocolate cake, but the other yelling “NO” don’t do it.

 

Let’s say you decided to have that chocolate cake and the “devil” is sitting on your shoulder beaming with pride because you followed her advice. But, as soon as you eat that cake you feel guilty about the amount of calories and fat that you just consumed. Even though you enjoyed the chocolate cake, you still feel guilty.

 

Most chronic dieters have this sense of guilt each and every time they eat something that the “food police’ is saying they shouldn’t.

 

This is the voice that can make it hard to choose foods your body is really asking for.

 

The media and various companies place thoughts in your head related to nutrition and ways to “cheat” and make yourself feel guiltless because of the way these food items are advertised. The slogans and jingles are created to convince you that this cookie will prevent you from being “bad” on your diet, and will keep you on track.

 

These are the advertisements that cause you to have negative food thoughts and judgments towards food.

 

You are not born with these food judgments; you develop them over the years of dieting and being influenced by the media (or friends/family) penetrating these images of good vs. bad in your head.

 

The next time you pick up a food item that you enjoy and you contemplate “should I or shouldn’t I”, take a moment to listen to your body and the food talk going on in your head.

 

Push away the negative thoughts and change the tape that plays in your head. If this is a food that you truly desire, go ahead and enjoy it without guilt in a very mindful way. Eat the food slowly, truly savoring each bite. Put your fork down between each bite and let the food settle in your body. Describe the texture of the food? How does it taste? Are you enjoying each bite?

 

When you start to eat food mindfully, you’ll learn your true food preferences and be able to identify fullness more easily because you are giving your body the time to talk to you.

 

It is important to realize that this one food eaten in this one moment will not make you gain weight. You may actually find that you don’t love the chocolate cake as much as you thought you did.

 

Are you stuck in a dieter’s mindset due to your “food police” and negative self-talk? I can help you reframe that negative talk and turn it into something powerful. You can change your thoughts and get rid of the guilt around food!

 

Head over to TalkWithBonnie.com and answer a few questions – we’ll pick a time to talk that works best for you.

 

The Guilt of Food Talk

Woman eating choc guilty lookDo you have a set of unreasonable rules that dieting has created? Is your head constantly filled with chanting words that promote or demote you from eating food that you love? This is the food police voice that is constantly telling you what you should and shouldn’t eat. It’s sort of like the angel and the devil sitting on your shoulders, one telling you it’s okay to eat the chocolate cake, but the other yelling “NO” don’t do it.

 

You decide to have that chocolate cake, while the devil sitting on your shoulder is beaming with pride because you followed his advice. As soon as you eat that cake you feel guilty about the amount of calories and fat that you just consumed. Even though you enjoyed the chocolate cake, you still feel guilty. Most chronic dieters have this sense of guilt each and every time they eat something that the food police is saying they shouldn’t.

 

The media and various companies place thoughts in your head related to nutrition and ways to “cheat” and make yourself feel guiltless because of the way these food items are advertised. The slogans and jingles are created to convince you that this cookie will prevent you from being “bad” on your diet, and will keep you on track. These are the advertisements that cause you to have negative food thoughts and judgments towards food.

 

You are not born with these food judgments, you develop them over the years of dieting and being influenced by the media penetrating these images of good versus. bad in your head.

 

The next time you pick up a food item that you enjoy and you contemplate “should I or shouldn’t I”, take a moment to listen to your body and the food talk going on in your head. Push away the negative thoughts and change the tape that plays in your head. If this is a food that you truly desire, go ahead and enjoy it without guilt in a very mindful way. Realize that this one food eaten in this one moment will not make you gain weight or have a nutritional deficiency. You may actually find that you don’t love the chocolate cake as much as you thought you did.

 

 

Your turn to take action: How will you replace the negative self-talk that plays in your head? Post your comments below!