Let’s be honest. If you ask most anti-diet dietitians what’s the number one way to stop binge eating we’d tell you, “stop restricting the food.”
But how do you stop restricting if you aren’t even aware that you’re doing it?
Food restriction for one reason or another is all too popular in our diet-wellness-focused culture.
Your friends, family members, and co-workers are doing it. Some for health reasons. Others for weight loss disguised as health reasons.
Seriously, what else are you going to talk about with your bestie, your sis, or your Mom if not what you AREN’T eating?
When everyone around you is restricting one food or another for one reason or another, it’s normal. That’s just life, relating to food.
What you don’t hear people talking about is the guilt, shame, and discomfort they experience from backlash, fuckit eating that always follows the restriction. They don’t talk about it because it’s painful. It’s isolating. And they think they’re the only ones who can’t control their cravings. The guilt, shame, and discomfort get bottled up with the promise to get back on track tomorrow.
Interesting. If the restriction is normal, yet you feel isolated and un-normal when you binge later, how do you get out of that cycle? In a word.
Mindfulness.
It might sound woo-woo and guru-ish, but mindfulness really is the one tool that can stop backlash, fuckit, or binge eating before it even starts.
I recently sat down with Jared Leverson, a fellow Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor, to talk about his experience using mindfulness to heal his own relationship with food and recover from binge eating.
Jared talks about how living in a Zen Monastery, eating consistent meals in the company of others allowed him to be more present with food and life in general. Today, he incorporates mindfulness into his work with clients through the Food Awareness Journal concept he developed.
Let’s be crystal clear! These are not your typical food journals. There’s no tracking calories or macros or quantity of food. It’s simply about being aware of what you’re thinking and feeling before and during your eating experience.
Get all the juicy details in the video below…
Becoming more aware and mindful of your experiences with eating is the cornerstone to healing your relationship with food and your body. I hope our conversation was helpful!
Learn more about Jared’s work and get access to the Food Awareness Journal we talked about here.
If you’re wondering how mindfulness can help you develop a more peaceful relationship with food and your body, consider joining our upcoming 6-week online Body Image & Intuitive Eating Group starting February 3rd, 2021.
You’ll receive practical, action-packed tools, resources, and 90 minutes of professional coaching each week. You’ll also have access to an amazing community of women who are all about supporting each other’s Savor Food & Body practice. Get more details HERE.
