Intuitive Eating Challenge Day 4: Challenge the Food Police
If you have ever practiced meditation, you know that our brains are constantly producing streams of thought. The goal of meditation is not to be completely void of thought, but rather to learn how to observe our thoughts.
A lot of time, we are running on autopilot; having thoughts - including unhelpful thoughts - without even realizing it. This includes unhelpful thoughts around food, body, and weight.
In Intuitive Eating, Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch identified the following unhelpful ways of thinking:
The Food Police - Developed through diets and diet culture; most likely judgmental, and decides if foods are ‘good’ or ‘bad’; and strengthened through each food rule and diet practiced. For example, the Food Police might say, “Don’t eat past 7 PM” or “You can’t still be hungry, you just ate”.
The Nutrition Informant - Focused on nutrition information of foods, and uses that information as a reason to keep you on a specific diet. It can look like a sneaky way to practice intuitive eating, but it is obsessed with health. For example, the Nutrition Informant might say, “You better count your macros today, or you will eat too many carbs.”
The Diet Rebel - Determined to say “f*ck you” to diet culture, and is often done through anger and disconnecting from hunger/fullness cues. For example, the Diet Rebel might say, “Your mom told you to stop eating the cookies, so now you better eat all the cookies just to show her!”
Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch also identified the following helpful ways of thinking:
The Food Anthropologist - Focused on being the neutral observer; doesn’t make judgments about food and body; and can help you notice how your emotions impact your eating habits. For example, “I ate 10 cookies (No judgment here, just the facts).”
The Nurturer - Prioritizes being compassionate and gentle; non-judgmental and loving; and how you might talk to your child or best friend. For example, “I am so proud of myself for working on learning my hunger/fullness cues every day.”
The Nutrition Ally - It is like the Nutrition Informant, but with no hidden agenda. It is not about diet and losing weight, but rather about overall health, regardless of body size. For example, choosing 2% over whole milk, because you genuinely like the taste of 2% better, not because it has less calories.
The Rebel Ally - “Use your mouth for words instead of acting out with food.” For example, asking your family to not make any comments about food and body at holiday gatherings.
I have a personal example of these thoughts that I would love to share:
About a year ago, I was in my third trimester with my second daughter. If you are a parent, you might resonate with how ravenous a person can get when growing another human being.
My mother was visiting, and we all went out to eat at one of our favorite local restaurants. The restaurant had a special chocolate cake they were making that week, and cake just happened to be one of my cravings at that time.
Since we had just eaten a great meal, I asked for the cake to be boxed up to take home. When the waiter brought the box, I opened it to take a little peek at how delicious the cake looked. My mother, who also has a difficult history with food and body, said “Wow, that should take you three servings to eat!”
I immediately felt so angry. Not only because she said this, in general, but also because she said this in front of my daughter. I noticed the following inner dialogue:
The Diet Rebel - “Even though you are full, you should eat it all right now, just to show her!”
The Food Anthropologist - “Your stomach is feeling full from dinner. If you eat this now, you won’t be able to truly enjoy it.”
The Nurturer - “It is really painful when your mother makes unhelpful comments about food.”
The Diet Ally - “Use your mouth for words instead of acting out with food.”
I then communicated to my mother how upset I was with her comment, and explained to her why it was hurtful and unhelpful. She had no idea what she said upset me, and now she knows to no longer make comments like that.
I want to give a gentle reminder that this information is simply an introduction to the skill created by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch. If you want to learn more, please check out their wonderful book, Intuitive Eating!
Please be gentle with yourself today as you try this principle of Intuitive Eating, and if you are interested in getting my emails filled with reflective questions and ideas for practicing today’s principle, click here and sign up for my newsletter!
