Can’t stop thinking about ‘bad’ food?
There are of course foods that are helpful and those that are less helpful in preventing cravings, stabilising the waistline and keeping us nourished. But labelling certain foods as ‘bad’ helps to create an unhappy relationship with food driven by a cycle of restriction and overeating.
With many of my clients who struggle with emotional eating, the ‘bad food’ thoughts create a mindset that says ‘I must not eat any bad foods’. Often this comes with an ‘all or nothing’ mindset leading to attempts at restricting ‘bad’ foods. For most people this is not sustainable and almost always leads to binging or overeating these very same forbidden foods.
So the cycle goes like this; Eat the perceived ‘bad’ food, automatic thoughts that follow are If I eat bad food then I’m a bad person, I’m greedy, I’ve blown it again and so they go on.
If this is something you recognise with the way you approach your food, try relabelling your foods as helpful and not so helpful. Its ok to have some less helpful foods some of the time.
Instead of giving your complete attention to these foods, focus instead on quality, nourishing foods you can add in to your diet. These will help you to feel better, lift your mood and stop punishing yourself.
Are you a slave to food, your weight or appearance? Perhaps you worry about every calorie that enters your mouth or give yourself a hard time for having no will power.
Have you spent years trying every new fad diet? Perhaps you’re unable to break free from the endless cycle of yo-yo dieting, binge eating or constantly overeating. Maybe you numb your emotions with food - feeling more of a failure every time that happens.