But I do have templates of food that I love and follow strictly. I know that nutrition has a deliberate impact on how I feel and think (moreso than most people because I am highly sensitive), so I have a zone of foods that eat 95% of the time.  But even within that zone, if I eat something I don’t want or am not in the mood for, I will end up eating the thing I had initially wanted later and thinking about it for some time. I also will feel unsatisfied and munchy and exhibit a whole bunch of mindless eating behaviors later.

 

So how do we deal with this? The dissatisfaction and DEPRIVATION that we can feel after eating something we think we “must” or “need” to. (Chances are, if you’re depriving yourself in your food, you’re depriving yourself in other areas of your life, too. But that’s a different blog post.) First, just pause for a second. Ask yourself what you really want in this moment. Not what anyone says you want or is telling you to eat. Is it hot, is it cold? Is it crunchy, soft? Think of texture. Think of your mood. Is it spicy? Is it bland, sweet? Do you ONLY want vegetables? ONLY want fruits? Sometimes I only want those things, but I know that will only leave me hungry in an hour. I want to not think of food and accomplish stuff during the day like a productive human. Be cognizant of the effect of food has on you and try your best to eat accordingly. 

 

For me, this looks like adding some sort of crazy delicious decadence to my meals. Like bacon, steak, burgers with all the toppings, chicken thighs, spice blends, avocado, or a homemade dressing. These will keep me satisfied and sometimes, I won’t end up eating as much of it. Often, when we don’t want to eat something but think we SHOULD or MUST because some stupid person we’ve never even met says so, we end up eating it all in a frenzied state because we KNOW we are denying ourselves and we don’t even like it so we don’t pay attention to it. Mindful eating fail.

 

Eating what you want might require more thought, planning, time, and honestly, some annoyance. But I think it’s always worth my effort and time. It’s pre-emptive in not sabotaging myself.

 

This might seem like a really first-world problem. But the point is, I think a large part of self-care when trying to heal your relationship with food is being honest with yourself and eating things up-front that you know you desire. Deprivation (and denying the fact that you are a human that gets pleasure from food) ALWAYS ends up in some sort of overeating later. I want to feel satisfied, sane, and not spend much time thinking about what I’m going to eat. A lot of people don’t have this problem, but a lot of us do, so this is just some solace in a world that doesn’t offer many tools on how to navigate this.