164. How to Break Out of Diet Mentality and Think About Food Neutrally (9 Outlooks to Change)

Is food your source of pleasure or stress? Breaking the diet mentality is all about enjoying the process of your health and fitness journey without feeling guilty about your choices. If you want to achieve food freedom, you have to stop labeling food as good or bad or allowing what you eat to define who you are.

In this episode of the Live Your Personal Best podcast, I talk about breaking the diet mentality to achieve a certain level of food freedom and to start thinking of food neutrally. Listen in to learn how to start enjoying your life by shifting your mind from thinking of food and health as the only part of your life.

Read the blog post here: https://medium.com/@_emilycoffman/how-to-break-out-of-diet-mentality-and-think-about-food-neutrally-129d3e18f19

Key Takeaways:

· Focus on how you feel after eating rather than what you’re eating.

· You’re allowed to have food preferences and can toss them out if they don’t serve you.

· Use food rules as tools that you can let go of at any moment without feeling bound to them.

· Start allowing yourself to enjoy a diverse diet without feeling guilty for not eating healthy foods only.

· How to avoid negative thoughts and inner turmoil by being flexible with what you eat on different days.

· Enjoy and have pleasure around food by letting go of the guilt around your choices and labeling food as good or bad.

· Feel free to explore different eating patterns without thinking you’ll fall back into the diet mentality.

· Don’t think that your health is the only thing to focus on in your life, it’s just a tiny aspect.

Episode Timeline:

· [2:06] There’s no one right way of eating for everyone; it’s about finding what works for you and your lifestyle.

· [4:05] You can choose to hold on to certain preferences or rules around food when they serve you.

· [5:58] You don’t have to make a statement by eating or not eating what’s in your diet.

· [7:21] It’s okay to not eat as wholesome food as you’d prefer even if you think of yourself as health-conscious.

· [8:30] You’re not backsliding if you don’t eat exactly how you want to every single day.

· [10:06] Understanding that overeating and getting sick afterward is not your fault.

· [10:46] The reasons why you can eat food include enjoying and having pleasure around food.

· [11:49] Try different eating patterns without saying anything about you as a person.

· [13:27] There are other parts of your life you can enjoy other than making it all about food.

Quotes:

· “The whole idea of food freedom and neutrality means no rules, but we’re still allowed to have preferences.”- Emily [4:20]

· “If you’re a health-conscious person, you don’t have to feel guilty for not eating as “clean” as you would prefer, think of it as just another thing that you ate.”- Emily [7:32]

· “One of the biggest traps that people fall into when wanting to improve their relationship with food, is they really get hung up on eating exactly how they want every single day.”- Emily [8:38]

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