Do you think that your food fears are so bad that you'll never be able to eat normally again?
I have good news for you.. You're wrong.
You absolutely can eat those foods, even though you may think that your food obsession is so bad that it's virtually impossible.
I thought the same thing about many foods: Chocolate, cake, nuts, cheese… Sure, there are foods that are very easily palatable and we want to eat more of, but that doesn't mean that we're unable to eat them in reasonable amounts. It also doesn't mean that we should avoid them. No we don't! All these foods can be a totally healthy part of a totally healthy diet.
How to Start Eating Fear Foods: Step By Step Guide
Here's how to start eating fear foods, stop the food misery and be a normal eater again:
✅BELIEVE. Let's start believing that there's nothing wrong with us. Nothing about us is broken. WE are not broken. We're also not “addicted to food” – food is not cocaine, okay? We have to have this trust in ourselves than we can do it.
✅NORMALIZE FOOD. Let's actually start believing that food freedom is a thing, and that we can literally eat what we want (allergies etc aside, of course). Let's stop putting any foods on a pedestal. Yes, one food may be more valuable nutritionally but the other food is exactly what we need emotionally right now. I'm not thinking about apple pie's nutritional value on Thanksgiving!
✅WORST CASE SCENARIO. Let's go to that scary place — what's the worst thing that we think might happen if we eat that fear food? Overnight weight gain? Heart disease? Literally never stop eating this?
And then let's ask: Is it *really* realistic that this fear will come true?
✅EAT THAT FOOD. Hardest but most important step: Buy that food, sit down with it, eat it.
Maybe we eat some of this food and realize: It's just okay, so we've been afraid of it for nothing! Or, it is absolutely delicious, we actually may want to finish the whole thing, and maybe another one, but that too doesn't last forever. We’re building the confidence that we can actually do it because we saw – nothing terrible happened.
✅REPEAT. Choose the next fear food and repeat.
Again, by doing this, we get evidence over and over again that the worst case scenario never happened, we didn't get addicted to that food, and that having *some* of this food is healthier than *never* having it.
We Were Born As Normal Eaters
We all were born as normal eaters and able to choose what we want and as much as we want. We just lost this ability by doing crazy weight loss and dieting. But it’s possible to find it again!
It's true for fear foods too. Also those can be eaten normally, and they can be a part of a healthy diet.
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