This is my last part of my Food Noise series. I would love to read your thoughts. Email me at julie@juliedillonrd.com.
Back to Paul’s pro/con list. Ultimately, Paul decided to wait on starting the injections. He decided to first give a different plan a try yet reserved the right to change his mind.
He told me he felt like a loser because he felt like he kept losing control of his eating–such a basic part of our self-care. Paul didn’t want to experience these exhausting binges anymore. If you too are not up for extreme binges, we have a plan.
I told Paul we can continue working through his complicated history with food using a concept I call guardrails.
The diet industry and the diets they tell us to do promote food noise. Guardrails help your body practice having more space in your thoughts not on food.
Paul wasn’t a loser and you are not either. His “out of control” behaviors were predictable. If you too relate to the term food noise or food addiction or have ever felt out of control with your eating, I bet you experience something I mentioned in part 1: food preoccupation.
What can you do?
Big picture–you need to eat enough and need permission to eat enough. Note: this is probably a lot more than you think. If you have food noise and think you are eating enough and permission to eat enough–you need more time to repair and heal.
Zooming in on the how–let’s talk guardrails
- Eat at least one meal a day sitting down that is the appropriate temperature. This is not meant to help you eat less (see below for more) rather to give yourself a chance to connect with rest and pleasure in eating.
- Eat 3 or 4 different food groups at meals and at least 2 at snacks. Your body wants and needs to be fed.
- Set up check in times every 2 to 3 hours to pause and do a mini mindful check in: ask yourself what you need. Are you hot or cold? Need to pee? Any feelings? Are you hungry physically or emotionally. Then if you are hungry physically or emotionally, give yourself permission to eat.
Will all these make you eat more? Maybe. But that is the point. Food noise is there for a reason. If you are looking for ways to eat less then get used to the food noise. If you want less food noise, ask your body what it needs to feel truly fed.
If you would rather listen to this post, I put them up on my podcast here and my YouTube channel here.
Take care,
Julie
