So the first question that usually comes out of people’s mouths when I say the phrase “normal eating,” is something along the lines of “what does ‘normal’ eating even mean?” Like, most of us “get” that there are people in the world who don’t really think about food, and just eat what they want, and naturally end up eating an “appropriate” amount food without really trying, because they don’t really care about food that much to begin with. but we don’t understand how. “What are they doing that I’m not?!” “I don’t understand people like that!” It took me a really long time to understand and emulate “normal eaters,” and that’s because I was approaching “trying to be normal” in all the…
body/self image
Posted on:
The Most Common “Emotional Eating” Mistake
Emotional eating, at the end of the day, is just a coping mechanism. I’m all about “feeling your feelings,” and there is no doubt that getting in touch with your emotions is incredibly important for reasons that have nothing to do with whether or not you eat over them, but unless we practice new coping mechanisms, we will continue to eat when emotionally uncomfortable. Thinking we can live a life without coping mechanisms is totally unrealistic — it goes against our biological instincts to seek pleasure and avoid pain. Not to mention that coping mechanisms are what allow us to function during times of emotional duress. We need breaks from crying when trauma occurs. Feelings can’t be processed every moment of every day. We have to …
body/self image
Posted on:
Before You Eliminate Foods for Health Reasons…
Dear Isabel, I’ve tried to start weaning myself off of certain foods that I’ve learned may be negatively impacting my digestion—not for weight loss, but for my digestive health. That being said, I’m having a hard time, and fear I may be falling back into restrict-binge-type cycling. Am I just biting myself in the foot for doing this? Honestly, it really depends. I absolutely believe that people who are recovering from diet-binge cycling (or restrict/binge cycling) can learn to eliminate certain foods for health reasons (e.g. allergies, etc.) BUT doing so effectively without falling into old patterns or diet-mentality requires an enormous amount of honesty with yourself about what’s motivating your choices. Here are some important questions/comments to consider …