How to Enjoy Food Guilt Free & Ditch the Diet Mentality

Do you have to avoid all the holiday food in order to stay on track & reach your goals?
There is no one-size-fits all answer here!
The holiday treats can be a trigger for many, myself included. Many people have a black or white mentality with holiday foods…

1. They completely abstain, being “really good” with their choices. But this can backfire, leading to overeating later or feeling stressed, deprived & feeling scared of certain foods.

2. They’ve said SCREW it back in October, and have been eating whatever, whenever…planning to “start fresh” come the New Year. They might have been able to “enjoy themselves” but they end up feeling guilty & frustrated with their lack of discipline.

It is hard to say no to something you REALLY enjoy. Do you decide to “be good” and not have any at all? Or is having a few acceptable?!

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Here are 2 options most people go for:

Option 1: if you know that eating cookies is going to send you down a rabbit hole of overindulging, then maybe the answer to that question is NO. 
At least for right now…but I’ll touch on this again later.
Option 2: If you can eat the cookie & enjoy it without guilt, then by all means this the obvious answer!
But it is not always as simple as that.
But let’s go back to Option 1, where some foods are triggers and a slippery slope to over-eating.

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What if you’re in that large percentage of people who find it hard to stop snacking or eating once you start? Especially if you’ve been dieting or eating “good” lately?

It makes any celebration that involves food or drink like a minefield. Then if you DO eat something you don’t think falls into the “good” category (which will happen at one point!) you can end up beating yourself up mentally. Then you say screw it & go wild, eating all kinds of foods that are in your “bad” category. 
It’s pretty common to think, “I’ve messed up! Darn it! I might as well eat everything I’ve been denying myself, and then start over again later.” 

So many people come to me saying that they’re tired of dieting, restriction, and that only leads to later over-eating on those “forbidden foods”.

What if there was nothing forbidden, no good or bad foods…rather they’re all just choices with different outcomes?

All choices have different outcomes. When you start to view these choices in a different light, you’ll stop associating emotions with them, & just acknowledge/accept responsibility for whatever you choose.

You’re not being bad for having that Christmas cookie.
You’re not “being good” if you choose not to either.

The healthiest decision is what is going to NOURISH and satisfy you both mentally & physically.

It’s all about being MINDFUL. Do something your future self will be proud of and what ultimately supports your health goals. Maybe that means having that 1 cookie, enjoying without guilt then moving on. Or it might be setting boundaries & not eating out of social obligation, stress or emotions. You define what success is!

The most important thing to remember is that your results come from the things you CONSISTENTLY do, day in and day out. If you’re used to the all-or-nothing approach, letting that mindset go can take some retraining and it might even feel a bit scary!

Here are some ways to get started DITCHING the all or nothing mentality:

• Create a vision and a game plan for the social event or situation where you tend to struggle with having balance
• Create a new definition of what healthy balance and success looks like to you, without using extremes
• Create healthier treats and swaps for the traditional “trigger foods” you might have
• Practice mindful eating and choosing only foods you TRULY want. Choose an appropriate portion, be present and savor each bite!
• Be honest with yourself and determine any root causes of why you’re over-eating or have created these food rules?
• Brainstorm other things and ways to enjoy yourself without using food for comfort or stress relief

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If you’re tired of chronic dieting, being afraid of foods or want to be more confident at the next holiday, then let’s chat. I’ve helped dozens of clients find a balanced sustainable approach to what healthy eating means to them! 

Contact me below and we can set up a time to chat!

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