(If you’re new here, episodes are split into three sections: appetizer, main dish, and dessert. Since this is more of an informative episode, I’m going to write out the content of the appetizer and main dish like a blog post!)
Appetizer: Friends judging your eating
I received a question over on Instagram asking me, “what do I do about friends who are judgmental about your eating habits, healthy or unhealthy?”
My first reaction is that anybody qualified to comment on your eating habits won’t do so while you’re eating, so remember to take a friend’s judgments with a grain of salt. The best course of action here is to explain why it makes you uncomfortable, politely ask the friend to stop making comments, and then wait to see if they respect that boundary. It’s likely that your friend is only making comments because they are struggling with their relationship with food. You may have to ask this person a few times to respect your boundaries because it can be hard for people to break subconscious habits, but if they continue to violate your boundaries, then you need to reassess their role in your life. Maybe you don’t eat with this friend until you have a more confident guard against other people’s comments.
Main Dish: 5 Ways to Start Trusting Your Body
What does it mean to trust your body?
Dieting teaches us to trust diets more than our body and to question hunger if it doesn’t fit within the diet. Even if you find a diet easy at the beginning, you will eventually get to a point where you have to choose between what you want and what the diet wants. The more we choose the diet over our own cravings, the more we erode that sense of trust within our bodies.
When the diet eventually fails, we automatically assume that something is wrong with us because we don’t have the “willpower” to stop eating, when in reality, it’s the diet that doesn’t work. It’s important to note here that there is nothing wrong with you for not being able to keep up with diets.
Most of the things we do are the result of our conditioning or biology. The body rejects dieting because it doesn’t want to lose weight. That puts us at risk for dying, which is never helpful. Conditioning comes into play here because when we are taught that we aren’t acceptable unless we shrink our bodies, then wanting to diet to lose weight is your ego trying to keep you safe from rejection. These two things work against each other because the body isn’t designed to lose weight even if the mind wants it.
Part of the reason why the food freedom process works is that it teaches you to start trusting your body again. You learn how to reconnect with your body’s physical cues AND offer yourself that acceptance and love that you were looking for from dieting. To learn more about this, check out my free webinar below.
5 ways to start trusting your body
1
When you’re hungry, eat.
I know this sounds basic, but it’s necessary. Dieting teaches us that we need to avoid hunger at all costs. Most diets are marketed in a way that promises “reduced cravings” and “feeling full longer.” We’re taught that hunger is bad for us, so many dieters get in the habit of waiting until they are ravenously hungry to eat.
What happens when we wait until we’re ravenously hungry? Overeating and binge eating. Dieting also mutes our hunger and fullness signals when we stop responding to them. So really the best way to start trusting your body is to start responding to your hunger signals as soon as they come up.
If you are struggling to connect with your hunger/fullness signals, check out my hunger/fullness handout over on Patreon.
1. When you’re hungry, eat.
I know this sounds basic, but it’s necessary. Dieting teaches us that we need to avoid hunger at all costs. Most diets are marketed in a way that promises “reduced cravings” and “feeling full longer.” We’re taught that hunger is bad for us, so many dieters get in the habit of waiting until they are ravenously hungry to eat.
What happens when we wait until we’re ravenously hungry? Overeating and binge eating. Dieting also mutes our hunger and fullness signals when we stop responding to them. So really the best way to start trusting your body is to start responding to your hunger signals as soon as they come up.
If you are struggling to connect with your hunger/fullness signals, check out my hunger/fullness handout over on Patreon.
2
Stop talking shit about your body.
Again, this is another very basic tip but is very necessary. You can’t expect to make peace with your body if you are also your biggest bully. We all struggle with nagging thoughts that try to tear us
Way too often, I hear people make casual comments about their bodies in conversations (unprovoked) that are some of the meanest comments I’ve ever heard. We are truly our own biggest critics. Start paying attention to your own habits around shit-talking your body, and make an effort to stop yourself. You don’t have to love your body to do this, you just have to catch yourself before you gossip about it.
2. Stop talking shit about your body.
Again, this is another very basic tip but is very necessary. You can’t expect to make peace with your body if you are also your biggest bully. We all struggle with nagging thoughts that try to tear us
Way too often, I hear people make casual comments about their bodies in conversations (unprovoked) that are some of the meanest comments I’ve ever heard. We are truly our own biggest critics. Start paying attention to your own habits around shit-talking your body, and make an effort to stop yourself. You don’t have to love your body to do this, you just have to catch yourself before you gossip about it.
3
Recognize your tendencies to seek outside information when you’re panicking.
It’s perfectly normal to want to gain information on things you don’t know. When you start a business, you’ll probably want to hire a business coach or read some business books to help you figure things out. If you don’t know a lot about health, you might find yourself doing the same. This isn’t a problem.
What I’m talking about here is this tendency to believe that all of the answers we need are outside ourselves. You know what I’m talking about… that desperate midnight search for a new diet to fix whatever binge you just went on. Hours upon hours of reading complicated nutrition info because you don’t trust yourself to eat in a way that is both satisfying and nourishing.
With too much information coming in, we tend to feel overcrowded and confused. The mind can only handle so much at one time, and all that excess information will make it difficult to hear what your body is trying to tell you. Take a deep breath in these moments and ask yourself what you really need. You have more answers than you think.
3. Recognize your tendencies to seek outside information when you’re panicking.
It’s perfectly normal to want to gain information on things you don’t know. When you start a business, you’ll probably want to hire a business coach or read some business books to help you figure things out. If you don’t know a lot about health, you might find yourself doing the same. This isn’t a problem.
What I’m talking about here is this tendency to believe that all of the answers we need are outside ourselves. You know what I’m talking about… that desperate midnight search for a new diet to fix whatever binge you just went on. Hours upon hours of reading complicated nutrition info because you don’t trust yourself to eat in a way that is both satisfying and nourishing.
With too much information coming in, we tend to feel overcrowded and confused. The mind can only handle so much at one time, and all that excess information will make it difficult to hear what your body is trying to tell you. Take a deep breath in these moments and ask yourself what you really need. You have more answers than you think.
4
Practice tuning into your body.
Ask yourself questions like – How do I feel right now? What could have caused me to start feeling that? What is my initial reaction? How can I respond in a way that feels healthy for me?
These questions don’t have a ton to do with eating unless of course, you find yourself treating your emotions solely with food, but they will help you start listening to and honoring your body. Do your best to ask these questions without judgment. Your body is always communicating with you, so you just have to learn how to hear it.
4. Practice tuning into your body.
Ask yourself questions like – How do I feel right now? What could have caused me to start feeling that? What is my initial reaction? How can I respond in a way that feels healthy for me?
These questions don’t have a ton to do with eating unless of course, you find yourself treating your emotions solely with food, but they will help you start listening to and honoring your body. Do your best to ask these questions without judgment. Your body is always communicating with you, so you just have to learn how to hear it.
5
Eat what you want as soon as you want it.
How many times have you craved a really specific dessert, only to eat EVERYTHING else except that dessert and then STILL CRAVE IT?! This is why it’s important to just eat what you want when you want it.
When we try to deny our cravings or replace our cravings with “healthy” alternatives, we end up feeling even more obsessive about the food we’re avoiding. You’ll end up eating so much more than you would if you just ate the food you want and enjoyed it. So do yourself a favor and listen to your cravings, satisfy it, and then move on!
5. Eat what you want as soon as you want it.
How many times have you craved a really specific dessert, only to eat EVERYTHING else except that dessert and then STILL CRAVE IT?! This is why it’s important to just eat what you want when you want it.
When we try to deny our cravings or replace our cravings with “healthy” alternatives, we end up feeling even more obsessive about the food we’re avoiding. You’ll end up eating so much more than you would if you just ate the food you want and enjoyed it. So do yourself a favor and listen to your cravings, satisfy it, and then move on!
What steps do you take to trust your body more every day? Let me know over on Instagram
Mentioned in the Episode:
- Come As You Are by Emily Nagoski
- This podcast is brought to you by my Patreon. To join the Patreon-only Facebook group and get exclusive content from me, visit whitneycatalano.com/podcast to learn more.
- Learn more about my Jumpstart to Food Freedom Program
at: www.whitneycatalano.com/food-freedom - For a chance to have your listener question answered on the pod, or if I said something that needs correcting, you can email me at podcast@whitneycatalano.com
Related articles: 5 Weight Loss Tips Debunked. 5 Ways to Reject Diet Culture & Love Your Body.
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