Food Habituation: How to Feel At Peace With Food

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I want to delve into a topic that's close to my heart - the concept of food habituation and how it can help us feel at peace with food. Restricting ourselves from certain foods can intensify our desire for them and can create a loss of control when they are reintroduced. This loss of control doesn’t last forever- so long as you work through the mentality and mindset that caused you to restrict them in the first place.

Let's challenge the idea of forbidden foods and gradually reintroduce them into our lives so we can find peace with food and balance in eating. It's time to break free from the cycle of restriction and embrace abundance!

Time stamps

[00:01:53] Food habituation as a learned behaviour - what food habituation is and how it is an innate behaviour that can be unlearned. The cycle of restrict and binge and emphasizes that this is not a natural way of relating to food.

[00:03:48] Making peace with food and unconditional permission to eat, common concerns and exploring what making peace with food means for you.

[00:08:44] How listening to your body and not restricting yourself can lead to a healthier relationship with food and how it can help normalize certain foods and remove the power they have over us.

[00:10:36] How diets prevent food habituation, leading to a cycle of guilt and binge-eating.

[00:16:51] How restricting certain foods can lead to intense cravings and overconsumption when reintroduced.

[00:17:40] Discusses the process of making once forbidden foods a regular part of one's diet and building trust that they will always be available.

[00:19:26] Action steps for developing a healthier relationship with food - practical tips on giving oneself permission to eat, reminding that food is always accessible, and gradually reintroducing previously restricted foods.

Understanding Food Habituation

Food habituation, or feeling peaceful with food (and I mean ALL foods!), is a concept that might seem daunting at first. It's about allowing ourselves to eat what we want without fear of losing control. This fear is a learned behaviour, not our natural state, and it's something we can unlearn. The goal of food habituation is to break the cycle of restriction and bingeing, and find balance and peace with food. Think about apples- you’ve likely never binged on apples. It’s not because apples are inherently a binge-free foods, but you likely haven’t really restricted apples in the past. You haven’t created rules or restrictions around them, you’ve just always allowed them. This is what we want to do with all foods- make peace with them.

Making peace with food is a principle of intuitive eating, which involves giving ourselves unconditional permission to eat. This concept may be alarming for those with a history of dieting, but trust in oneself is key. It's about exploring what making peace with food looks like for you and creating an abundance mindset rather than a scarcity mindset. Normalizing food and taking it off the pedestal helps us be more relaxed and satisfied with our choices.

The Impact of Diets on Food Habituation

Food habituation is the process of exposing ourselves to a food, especially if it was previously off-limits, in order to reduce its power and normalize it in our lives. Diets, on the other hand, prevent food habituation by placing restrictions and moralizing language around food. This leads to a feeling of lack of control and potential bingeing. I encourage you to reflect on your past or current dieting experiences- how they may have hindered the process of food habituation?

My Personal Journey Towards Food Freedom

I've had my own struggles with demonizing certain foods and counting calories, which only fuelled a restrictive mindset and led to feelings of guilt and shame. However, once I started giving myself unconditional permission to eat and stopped demonizing food, I was able to develop a healthier and more relaxed relationship with food. It took time and patience, but this can happen for you too.

The Path to a Healthy Relationship with Food

In order to develop a healthy relationship with food, we must be willing to:

  • Let go of restrictions

  • Give ourselves compassion

  • And allow a variety of foods in our diet.

When we restrict ourselves from eating certain foods, it can create a sense of deprivation and intensify our desire for those foods. However, by gradually reintroducing and normalizing these once forbidden foods in our lives, we can reduce their power over us.'

Practical Steps Towards Food Freedom

To move forward in this process of food habituation so you can make peace with food, start by giving yourself more permission to eat and enjoy food, reminding yourself that it will always be available. Try bringing one food at a time into your home that you feel you can't keep in the house, and intentionally incorporate it into your meals or snacks until it becomes a normal part of your eating routine.

Taking Action Towards a Healthier Relationship with Food

For those who need additional support, my group coaching program, Food Freedom University gets started again September 18 & 20. This small-group coaching program designed to not only break you out of binge eating, overeating, poor body image and emotional eating patterns, but to also kickstart your journey to food freedom so you can cultivate a healthful life with balance and ease with food and exercise. If you are feeling alone in your struggle, if you thrive hearing from others and want to form a community around healing and empowering yourself to break free from these patterns for good, group coaching is for you. We get started on September 18th or 20th - finish off your summer right and feel supported during the holidays with food and body image. Head to brittanyallisonrd.com/group-coaching to learn more and book a free consult to see if it’s a good fit and enrol.

Until next time,

Britt

Meet the gal behind the post

Hey! I’m Brittany (but you can call me Britt) and I’m a food-loving Intuitive Eating Registered Dietitian here to free you from diet culture once and for all! Because you deserve peace with food, eating, and your body (yes, you, beautiful)!


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Overcoming Obsessive Thoughts About Food & Weight