Let’s talk about challenging the Food Police which is principle Four of Intuitive Eating.
The food police are the unrealistic rules an individual may have towards certain foods… something that dieting has created.1 Your mind is influenced by negative thoughts, hopeless phrases, and guilt regarding food. Chasing away the food police is an imperative step in intuitive eating.
It is not easy to chase away the food police. It can be due to a variety of factors. You will soon recognize and learn how you might silence these thoughts.
Individuals may have been surrounded by food guilt growing up. This may look like parents making comments about their own weight, what they ate, making comments about their children’s eating, their weight etc. Beliefs about people, religion, culture, education may have an influence as well. In general, many of what you might be exposed to growing up can formulate the beliefs and thoughts of what you believe today.1
We want to take a deep dive into your beliefs. This can include those clouds of self-doubt and negative thinking. We want to bring awareness to these beliefs in a non judgemental manner. We want to take a deep dive into these beliefs to find their origin and impact on you so we can learn how it affects your thoughts and behavior.1
As mentioned in the Intuitive Eating Workbook, some of these thoughts/beliefs may include:
· Protein is the best food group1
· This food has too much fat (or) it is a fattening food, it will make me fat
· Carbohydrates will make me fat and are not needed – keto diet is the way
· Gluten is bad for you; white flour is unhealthy
· Diets are the most efficient way to lose weight1
· Eating after 6 at night will cause me to gain weight1
Think about if any of these beliefs relate to you or think of other beliefs you may have (recognize what you believe).
At this moment, I am going to run down why the food police are wrong for each of those points above.
· Protein is the best food group.
Let’s change that to protein as an essential, satiating, food group. While protein is extremely important in our diet, it is not the best. The function of protein – building and repairing, specifically providing our body with essential amino acids – is just as important as carbohydrates are in providing our body with the necessary energy for our body and brain (it is the #1 source of energy that our body thrives on!). Same exact importance for fats… and I will get to that more in the next points.
· This food has too much fat (or) it is a fattening food, it will make me fat
Yes, some foods can be considered fattening. But will that food/meal make you fat alone? It will not. Our body gains fat when we are in a consistent surplus of calories (past our maintenance calories), and sedentary. Many of our calories are dedicated to keeping our body alive and supporting our body’s function. Things such as our heart beating, breathing, growing, etc. This use of energy, plus movement, needs energy/calories to make up for these activities. There are 3,500 calories in one pound of fat, so when thinking about your body’s natural use of energy and movement you do throughout the day, that takes A LOT of effort to gain a pound of fat. I promise you will not gain weight/fat if you eat that restaurant burger and fries! The beauty of this is you are getting protein, carbohydrates, and fats that will help you feel full and satiated, as well as vitamins and minerals! This is why intuitive eating is so important and life changing… you can create a balance with the foods you love, the foods that make you feel good, and treat your body right!
· Carbohydrates will make me fat and are not needed.
Carbohydrates, as mentioned, are very well needed. Unless told by your doctor, physician, or health specialist that carbohydrates are limited in some way for a particular condition, it is not needed. Our body relies on us to provide it with carbohydrates. Carbs may sound like chips, pizza, cake, etc in one’s mind; but carbohydrates are in just about all foods. Carbohydrates are in whole grains, white-flour pasta, beans, legumes, oatmeal, vegetables, fruits, etc. Many of these grains provide us with fiber that is essential for our gut, as well as some protein (and energy!).
· Gluten is bad for me, and I need to avoid white flour
Gluten is just a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley. These are grains that provide us with a variety of benefits – most importantly that fiber content. Gluten is restricted in those with celiacs disease but is completely unnecessary to avoid/restrict when there are no intolerances and allergies against it. Gluten itself is not harmful for the general population, but not necessarily a nutrient – it is just in foods that are nutrient dense (along with vitamins and minerals!).
White flour lacks fiber because it is stripped during the processing. Although, white flour does have added vitamins and minerals that are key to our bodies. These are added because some of those are stripped. With that, there is nothing wrong with consuming food products that are made with white flour. Key tip: think about what you can add to a meal, such as pasta, to increase the fiber/nutrients! With pasta, maybe you do this by adding some vegetables! We aren’t always going to have a balanced, colorful meal… and that is okay!
· Diets are the most efficient way to lose weight
Losing weight can be a complex, frustrating stage in one’s life. Something society does is push diets that are not necessary! We spend a lot of time in society worrying about dieting, but do not get taught how to eat. Dieting likely traps people in a cycle (starting a diet à restrict certain foods à deprivation, hunger & cravings à eat the foods – “break” the rules à guilt/shame à trying again). With that, dieting likely leads to unhealthy relationships with foods. When you don’t have the inner food police telling you what is “good” or “bad,” you tend to not over consume, are happy, and eat a balanced meal. You can lose weight with intuitive eating (that is not to say intuitive eating is a diet or that you will be guaranteed to lose weight if you aren’t looking to). For example, say you work with a dietician to help you with your binge eating habits. Simply reducing the amount of fast food consumed (say it was everyday) and replacing that with home-cooked meals that are balanced and include foods you love, can be a goal for you to work on. This can potentially result in weight loss given you are used to eating high-calorie meals (fast food) each day. Everyone has different goals to suit their needs, but intuitive eating is there to kick out the food police in your head and allows you to eat the foods you love – even if that is ice cream, cookies, and more.
· Eating after 6pm will cause me to gain weight
It does not matter what time of the day it is, if your body is hungry, it is hungry! Your body does not process food any differently if it was seven pm versus five pm. Gaining weight overtime involving nightly eating may be due to food restrictions (that inner food police) that occurs during the day, as well as maybe a very light dinner that did not satiate. Then, later, you may become ravenous, making it a continuous cycle – likely grabbing foods that are higher in calories, fat, etc. Of course, one night of this occurring does not make you gain weight. Though, when you put off food for so long, it can likely lead to those cyclic binge-eating episodes. In general, eating after six pm at night does not cause you to gain weight. Again, when you continuously eat in a surplus and are sedentary, you may face weight gain.
Cue into how you feel at night before bed. Some of us need a snack before bed, but if you find that you are ravenous at night before bed, examine what your dinners look like (did you eat enough? Did you feel satiated?). Some people might get an upset stomach if they eat a lot of food before bed.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can be used to challenge your food police. It includes evaluating your thoughts/beliefs and reframing them, which can affect your behavior. Doing so, you can question yourself whether that thought is reasonable.1 Is there scientific evidence to support that thought? Or does it sound unreasonable, unjustifiable, and faulty?1
A wonderful example of an unreasonable thought that was mentioned in the Intuitive Eating Workbook is: I should never eat carbohydrates during the day, even if I crave them.1
What you might ask yourself:
· Should I really never eat carbohydrates?1
– Question to ask yourself: How do I feel when I don’t eat any carbohydrates during the day?1 Are there times during the day where I do eat a lot of carbs?1
– Reflection on thought: I noticed that when I barely eat any carbohydrates during the day, I had little energy and binge eat at night because of it.1
· Another similar example of an unreasonable thought: It would be okay to eat fruits and vegetables – that’s good. But it is bad to eat bread or pasta.1
– Question to ask yourself: Has pasta actually ever harmed me?1 How do I feel when I only eat fruits and vegetables as my carbs?1
– Based on past experiences: In the past, if I only ate fruits and vegetables as my carbs, I did not have sustained energy throughout the day.1
– Reflection: Now that I have included toast with my eggs and a sandwich for lunch, I have more energy and can think more clearly. Just fruits and vegetables did not work for me!
Family influence
Even growing up, you may have been exposed to family making negative comments about food and weight regarding themselves, or even you. These are things you cannot control but examine the things that are being told to you and think about if these are relevant, true, and how they make you feel.
Overall, we formulate thoughts and beliefs that are dictated by the food police in our head. We can challenge these thoughts and beliefs through questioning ourselves, questioning its truth and relevance, and thinking about how we feel because of these thoughts. Our thoughts and beliefs can drive our behavior, so do not underestimate the negative impact the food police has on yourself.
Reference
1. Tribole E, Resch E. The Intuitive Eating Workbook – 10 Principles for Nourishing a Healthy Relationship with Food.
