FOOD RULES: What are they? Do I have them?

Let’s make it simple to start.

WHAT ARE FOOD RULES?
Food rules are habits that we create surrounding food to either help ease anxiety, or to improve our health. Food rules can be beneficial to improve our health by adding in attainable goals (drinking more water). However, food rules can also be very detrimental to our health if we create them out of control, or if they increase anxiety around food (no eating past 7pm, etc).

Normally food rules are focused around losing weight and are a part of a restrictive diet,
but can also be disguised as things that we don’t like, or because we think it makes us
feel better when in reality it’s anxiety that is making us feel so bad. The reason that
these are so hard to break is because these are habits and thought patterns/beliefs that
we have unconsciously created and now we are having to rewire our brain to believe
the opposite. Not the easiest of tasks but it can be done!

WHY DO WE CREATE FOOD RULES?
Food rules can be created for a variety of reasons; to help reduce anxiety around food, following patterns that were taught to us as a child, or even picking up ‘healthy eating’ tips from the latest diet trend. All in all food rules are seemingly harmless things that we do to try and do what's best for our health but can lead to greater distress and possibly lead to disordered eating.

ARE ALL FOOD RULES BAD?
No. There are some ‘rules’ that people may follow, such as having a source of protein, carbohydrate and fat with each of their meals or making sure that they eat at regular intervals. The difference between these and detrimental food rules is that these are more like suggestions. Ideally these are things that they would want to stick to as it makes them feel good but it is a choice that they make and feel little to no stress in regards to them.

EXAMPLES OF BETTER-FOR-YOU FOOD RULES:

• Drink 60oz+ of water a day.

• Fill your plate with a protein, carb and fat as often as you can.

• Eat a balanced breakfast.

• Don’t starve yourself.

• Make a grocery list when you go food shopping and try to stick to it.

• Plan out your meals in the beginning of the week.

EXAMPLES OF FOOD RULES TO IMPROVE ON:

• White foods are off-limits.

• I have to start over on Monday.

• “I can’t eat after 7pm.”

• No snacking between meals.

• Micromanaging every ingredient in your food.

• Only feeling like you can eat certain foods on certain days.

HOW DO I TACKLE FOOD RULES?
The best way to tackle food rules is to break them. Starting slowly and with the least anxiety inducing ones first, start to do the opposite of what the rule says. For example iF one of your rules is to not cook with oil or to only use a low calorie option then try cooking one meal with a good quality oil. Once you have broken the rule, sit with your feelings and try to see what thoughts come up and why you might think this may be. Maybe you challenge yourself to eat a food you deem a “weekend food” on a weeknight. The best way to beat a food rule is by continually trying to break it, understanding why or how the rule came about in the first place and reminding yourself that you are capable of beating them. Additionally, go into with a positive mindset! Think, “this food will not actually change me or my body, in any way, by eating it this time.” Most of the time, you won’t notice any difference in yourself.

To conclude:

4 THINGS TO REMEMBER WHEN UNLEARNING FOOD RULES
1. It will feel weird. You will be going against years worth of conditioning and habits! It is going to feel very uncomfortable and difficult but it will be worth it in the long run.
2. It’s okay if you have uncomfortable thoughts. Your brain will be telling you to do anything it can to get back to the status quo! This is completely normal, after all we are creatures of habits and changing them is hard work
3. Get support. Support will be the number one thing if you truly want to beat these food rules. You’ll need someone to talk them through. It’s not easy to do this on your own. Message me at any time when you are working through thoughts!
4. It will take longer than you think. You may feel the need to give up and to carry on the way you did before because it is so easy even if you feel stressed about food. The whole point is to make sure that we can make conscious decisions about what we want to eat and honor our bodies at the same
time!

Here are some resources you can use to learn more about food and food rules:

• What The Heck Should I Eat? by Dr. Mark Hyman

• Intuitive Eating, 4th Edition

If you feel like food rules consume your thoughts and your mind, and you are looking to break out of that mindset, sign up for my 1:1 health coaching waitlist!