Many people have been there, and a number of them have got stuck and are unable to think in any other way. It’s always been a case of either all or nothing whatsoever. Or plenty of forbidden items in terms of food and feelings of guilt if you’ve ‘sinned’ (that word is also a typical expression, by the way, if you ‘happened’ to eat something you actually like but forbid yourself to enjoy).
How is it possible to live in a slightly greyer zone? To have more freedom as regards what one eats or thinks? Here are my suggestions!
✅Stop making ever stricter rules.Feelings and thoughts such as ‘I don’t want this enough’ or ‘I must be healthier and stricter about what I eat’ come up every time you feel you’ve failed. You are stricter all the time about what you eat and have more and more rules governing the food you eat. And yet nothing gets any better. It’s when we try too hard that things fall apart. The more we chase particular results, the further away they feel. Starting from a position of desperation always leads to extreme methods. You have to work on easing up on the rules and simplifying things. ‘Good enough’ is what you should strive for.
✅ Every meal means a fresh start.There are no good days and bad days – there are just days. Everything we do depends on the choices we make. We make a choice about everything – absolutely everything. Maybe you’re used to thinking like this: ‘Today isn’t a good day – I may as well carry on eating rubbish, I’ve had it anyway’. You are making a choice to carry on eating rubbish. Or you can make sure that your next meal is exactly as normal. You can choose to break the chain of old patterns.
✅Overeating vs undereating. This is more common than many people think. The days consist of a lot of food or a little food. A little food to make up for a lot of food the day before. And so it goes on. Focus instead on a smoother food flow without having to make up for anything, whether it’s an exercise day or a non-exercise day, and whether or not you’re sick.
✅ Little things count. Focus on one meal at a time and one exercise session at a time!