Introducing all of your fear foods at once would be too overwhelming for many people. Bringing one into your house at a time, however, gives you a chance to slowly get used to having it around you.
Do your best not to worry if you eat too much food at first.
Having it around can be scary and may cause you to eat beyond comfortable fullness at first, but it’s often part of the process. « If you’re having trouble keeping food in your house, remember that scarcity and/or the rules you have around food make the problem worse, » Sutton says. By keeping it readily available and eating it repeatedly, however, you can practice « extinguisher “The fear associated with it,” she adds.
Give yourself permission to eat the food when you feel like it and allow yourself to eat as much as you need to feel full. At first, you might crave it very often, and perhaps in large quantities For example, you might find yourself eating ice cream after lunch And after dinner, and you may finish the container on the first day. It doesn’t matter, keep it stocked. The goal is to keep giving you access and permission to eat the food.
Change the way you talk to yourself about your forbidden foods.
« There’s power in language, so when you say something like, ‘I just can’t keep X foods at home because I’m going to eat it all at once,’ you make it almost true, » says -She. « Try changing your language to something like, ‘I’m learning to keep X foods in the house so I can react to them more calmly.' » This type of growth mindset can help you stay on track. because it reminds you that the goal is not to eat perfectly (whatever that means) but to feel more comfortable around food.
Slowly start practicing mindfulness while eating your trigger food.
During the first few days of this process, it may seem impossible to consciously eat a previously forbidden food. But once you’ve experienced it a few times and the initial panic, excitement, and/or uncertainty begins to subside, Sutton suggests trying to bring more awareness to the experience.
« You could start by trying to be aware of the first three bites, paying attention to how the food tastes, how it feels in your mouth, and how you feel while eating it, » she says. The goal is not to eat less, but rather to be present and curious, which is where « the real work begins », according to Tsui.
« When you’re able to observe what’s going on in your mind and body when you eat certain foods, you begin to understand your own internal cues, like hunger, fullness, cravings, and satisfaction, » she says. . Once you are used to having food within easy reach and no longer worry (consciously or unconsciously) about it being taken away from you, you are better able to relax and be present. Ultimately, it makes it so much easier to eat a feel-good amount.
If the process seems really scary to you, ask for help.
Even if you don’t have a full-fledged eating disorder, healing your relationship with food can be hard work. Often, it’s helpful to have the support of a therapist and/or dietitian who can help you unpack your feelings around food, Tsui says. This is especially true if you feel like you’re gorging yourself on a food for weeks after reintroducing it, or if you constantly worry about the impact the process might have on your body or health.
