Food guilt… super common… and super annoying to live with.
I could write a novel about the topic as it was once upon a time, not only a daily occurrence for me, but a continuous every-single-time-I-ate battle.
I’d feel guilty if I ate a bit of extra food and, of course, feel like a complete loser if I over ate.
I’d feel damned to huge weight gain if I splurged on a holiday, at a party, or just for the hell of it.
I’d wrestle with my body image if I made any decision that deferred from what I deemed acceptable which, when it came down to it, was damn near on the verge of absolute daily perfection.
Self loathing is rough on the soul.
Hate or just plain ‘ol dislike takes a whole lot of energy!!!
I was drained emotionally but when my baby girl caught me pinching my belly fat and cruelly evaluating my body, the possible consequences of my actions shook me to my very core.
But despite the fact that I knew I couldn’t continue to scrutinize every morsel of food, that I had to change for myself and for my daughter, I was still HORRIFIED at first at what that would look like and mean.
Honestly… Guilty was THE ONLY WAY I knew how to REACT to my food… it was my default reflex emotion.
So, if not guilt, then what?
I’d be a total liar if I told you I never over eat and don’t occasionally still have one of those awful binge in the pantry evenings, but what I can tell you with CERTAINTY is that despite those events food guilt is not something I wrestle with any longer…
And that’s b/c I’ve reprogrammed my default reflex from guilt… to this…
Reflect, Detect, and put to the Test.
- 1. I no longer REACT to a binge but REFLECT.
Yeah… I really and truly take time out to wonder what happened or didn’t happen in my day to put me on #bingemode… to set off my inner cookie monster.
Did I under eat a meal?
Was my training crazy intense and I didn’t eat enough after wards?
Did I fast for too long between meals?
How close am I to my period?
Did I sleep enough this week?
- 2. It is only THROUGH that reflection that I can DETECT the problem.
You see, what I am not after is to “rewind” the calories.
I’m not going to prescribe myself extra exercise, more cardio, or treat exercise as a time machine back to pre-binge hours. Cause it ain’t!!!
Fat gain or loss is more than just calories and while I could “burn” off those calories, the hormonal side of overeating has happened. It’s done. And since one meal “don’t mean a thang” my goal is not to REPEAT the binge or the overeating and create a pattern.
I’m also not going to reduce my calories the next day to “make up” for the calories overeaten the day before.
That is a tried and true way of creating a binge eating cycle.
I want to just own the hell out of that binge as a thing that happened and has very little meaning in the grand scope of things. I want my all of my energy turned towards pointing me to the root of the binge. That means I am all set to…
- 3. TEST out the solution!!!
If I believe I binged after leg day because I needed a bigger post workout meal, then bam… next leg day I may add some chocolate milk to my post workout and see what happens. If I believe my binge happened b/c I’ve been losing sleep, I’m clocking out of #mommymode or #trainermode a bit earlier and going nighty night.
It may work or may not work but that’s just cause for more reflection, detection, and testing. No biggie. Eventually I hone in on the problem and end up w/ a solution. Food guilt never solved a damn thing for me.
The bonus is that in approaching missteps, mishaps, or mistakes by reflecting, detecting, and testing I ended up losing weight! I set out for food freedom and ended up NOT CONSUMING thousands of calories through over eating spells and ended up smaller than before.
So yeah… no magic super foods to shove down your throat.
No new meal plan for you to follow.
Just a MAJOR shift in mindset that makes this fitness journey thing a pretty damn fun thing to figure out.
Gah!!! I am already looking forward to January’s Diet Rebellion where I get to do my most hands-on nutritional coaching and help folks create their food freedom their own damn way. #ShredMode begins January 9th!! Details coming soon!
Probably one of the most helpful things I’ve ever read….Thank you!
Gah! That means the world. So good to hear!!