During these unique times in our country, in our world, I’ve heard many comments and jokes about “eating too much” and weight gain while being quarantined at home. I wanted to write this quick little post for you if you are in distress about your own eating habits.
First of all, can I just say this? We are in survival mode right now. Our priorities are meeting our personal and family needs, staying safe, and operating in different and possibly difficult circumstances. When it comes to “surviving,” we do what it takes. Don’t beat yourself up if you haven’t started eating “healthy” or finished all those projects in your house. If you have been able to find toilet paper, food staples, and cleaning products, consider it success! Condemnation is never from God.
BUT, if you are in distress because you feel out of control around food, the answer is not in having more “willpower.” Willpower usually involves setting strict rules and depriving ourselves. Willpower does not work. The end of Colossians 2 addresses restrictive human-made rules and how they “have an appearance of wisdom” but “lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.” Willpower is not the answer.
Worrying about not gaining weight/weight loss usually leads to relying on self-imposed willpower, food restrictions, disconnection from your body, stress around eating, and food preoccupation–the exact opposite of your intention. The answer is not making more food rules, or increasing your “willpower,” but in creating a more peaceful relationship with food, and seeking support in dealing with difficult emotions if you use food to numb.
The process of Intuitive Eating promotes having a peaceful relationship with food and your body, tuning in, relying on how God made our bodies, and removing the control food has over you. For those who embrace the process, food just becomes food.
Learning to eat more intuitively and creating peace with food does not happen overnight, and is part of the work I do with clients in my practice. It took me a year or 2 to really embrace the process, and every day I step into new levels of food peace/freedom. Because my mind is not bombarded with food and body worries like it used to be, it has more room to embrace what really matters in life. This drives me to help others achieve this same freedom.
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