Hello love,
Today I wanted to share about food freedom and how it doesn’t work for emotional eating.
A lot of my clients have tried some form of food freedom or intuitive eating program thinking if only they could release their restriction around food that it will resolve their emotional eating.
But it doesn’t.
Because it’s missing the deeper layer of this pattern.
It’s missing that when you’re going towards “those” foods as an emotional eater it’s like having an addiction. You’re in an addictive cycle with these foods because it’s a coping mechanism.
So just learning a new way to be free around food doesn’t mean you’ve done the deeper work to clear up that confusion to truly intuitively choose foods.
We need to understand that Emotional Eating is a coping mechanism. It would have started when you were younger. A coping mechanism is something you develop to deal with distress, discomfort and uncomfortable emotions.
And as a child you wouldn’t have had parents or caregivers who were able to help you navigate this discomfort. They weren’t able to help you regulate your nervous system, validate what you were experiencing and to help you find a solution so you could thrive.
When you’re left with this discomfort and uncomfortable emotions you have no choice but to cope with them.
Food numbs the pain and gives you a dopamine hit so you don’t feel the pain and distress (temporarily).
But it doesn’t solve the issue. You’re just putting food on top of it.
And so every time distress comes up you turn to food.
Check out the video below at the timestamps to dive deeper:
- 2:25 How food freedom/restriction is not the deeper root cause of this pattern
- 3:25 Why we distract and obsess with food + when you’re doing all the things and still there’s no change
- 5:36 From food freedom to true choice and sovereignty
- 6:46 Creating a healthy relationship to food
- 8:43 Creating a healthy relationship to the body to reduce emotional eating triggers
- 9:36 When triggered getting to the root and resolving it in the body
- 10:16 Creating structure to flow from – what you needed and some examples of food sovereignty
- 12:00 Food freedom lacks this
Next Steps
1. If you are ready to start your journey to resolving your Emotional Eating you can download my free guide “What Are You Truly Hungry For?” to start discerning true from emotional hunger and catching your triggers HERE.
2. If you are ready to transform your emotional eating so that you can get to ease, peace and confidence around food and in your body with a step by step process and guidance then find out more about The Emotional Eating Evolution Program HERE.
To sovereignty and choice,
~Michelle
Certified Holistic Nutritionist Specializing in Emotional Eating
