How to Overcome Food Guilt with This 1 Diet Strategy
How to Overcome Food Guilt with 1 This Diet Strategy
Hey Momma!
Today, we’re going to talk about the very real, and emotionally draining issue of food guilt.
How many of you have gone on vacation or date night and woken up the next day feeling so guilty about your food choices? Do you feel like you just sabotaged all of your weight loss progress because you took one night off?
First, let’s remember that the goal of dieting and weight loss is to live a freer life, not to be more stressed out by potential failure. So, let’s find a way to overcome that food guilt, and help you feel empowered when you make food choices.
One thing I know for sure is that we are humans and we make mistakes. We set diet goals, we intend to achieve them, but sometimes life happens and we don’t follow our meal plans exactly. Sometimes you drop off for a day or two. Other times, you might want to give up entirely because you feel like you failed.
I want to tell you that you have NOT failed. Far from it. Questioning why you feel guilty actually shows that you are starting to recognize different situations involving food and your diet, and looking for a way to manage it all.
And to help you do that, I have developed a diet strategy that you can use with any diet plan. Life is not always within our control, and the most important part of making lasting, long-term changes is finding ways to factor in the times we need to give up control. Then, when you go back to your normal routine, you do not feel like you’re starting over.
Because the fact is, you deserve to go on vacation. You deserve to eat out at that new, highly reviewed restaurant. You deserve to go out and just have fun without feeling wracked by guilt the next morning.
So, how can you factor these completely real and acceptable events into your diet, so you aren’t left with overwhelming guilt or dread when you step on the scale?
How to Overcome Food Guilt with this 1 Diet Strategy:
1. Journal Your Food Choices When You Feel Food Guilt:
The first step to taking back your power in any area of your life is to become aware of what you think when you make certain choices.
Ask yourself these questions:
What kind of food are you eating?
Were they foods you were craving?
What environment are you in when you make these choices?
Do you feel certain emotions right before you make these choices?
How do you feel afterward?
It’s important to step back from the emotional spiral you might be feeling, and try to locate any patterns that might be occurring. When you are able to separate the facts from the emotions, you will be able to start seeing the situation around your food guilt much more clearly.
If they were foods you were craving, there is probably a good explanation as to why. There is no reason to feel guilty for food cravings because they are a normal, physical, and psychological part of being human. There are factors all around you that contribute to your food cravings, and once you learn about them, you can build this into your new diet strategy.
This will be the beginning of your learning to merge your new diet and weight loss choices with the world around you. You cannot control every situation, so it is important to establish what is going on when you feel a loss of control. This will be the foundation to creating the diet strategy to overcome your food guilt.
2. Determine Where These Choices are Coming from that Lead to Your Food Guilt:
This step is important in determining which path you need to take before adding the diet strategy that will help you overcome your food guilt. Once you journal about your choices, you will be able to uncover what might have led to them.
I always say that it is important to take a holistic approach to your weight loss, and addressing food guilt is no exception. There are many reasons why you might have made the choices that resulted in your feeling guilty, but there are two main categories they likely fall into:
Was it self-sabotage?
If it was self-sabotage, you might need to look at the deeper reasons, and find ways to get back on track. Until you work on uncovering the underlying issues that stand in the way of your long-term success, you might find yourself constantly repeating the same patterns.
Check out the articles linked above to learn more about how to break down what might be happening, and how to work through the deep-set beliefs that are holding you back. If you feel like you need to work with someone to help you dig into this, I am here for you! Check out my programs, or schedule a call today so we can get you back on a path to success.
Were you just simply enjoying yourself, without thinking about the day after?
If you were just having fun, or enjoying your family’s holiday meal or an indulgent vacation, that’s great! First of all, congratulations on letting yourself have some fun. It’s perfectly acceptable to go on a date and have an extra dessert or have new food adventures when you’re on vacation. It is also 100% ok to enjoy your favorite holiday meals.
So, now that we know there is no reason to feel guilty about our food choices, let’s create a diet strategy for you to build those parts of your life into your diet plan.
3. Create a Diet Strategy to Overcome Your Food Guilt, Once and For All:
Congrats! You have made it to the step where you can finally create a diet strategy that will help you overcome your food guilt for good.
By this point, you know some empowering facts:
It is great to enjoy an indulgent meal every so often.
Food cravings are real, and you don’t need to feel guilty for having them.
You can step back and locate patterns in your indulgent eating to know where they are coming from.
Food guilt should not be a normal part of your diet plan
The diet strategy to overcome food guilt is all about understanding that there is no reason to feel guilty about your choices. It’s all about making choices ON PURPOSE!
Whether it was because you were craving a specific food, indulging in some well-deserved time off, or spending quality time with family and friends, there are always ways to account for it in your overall diet plan.
Any good, successful, long-term diet plan will consider the overall data. Weight loss is not a day-to-day measurement, but a lifestyle adjustment that leads to your feeling happier, healthier, and more fulfilled.
Here are some ideas to account for changes to your regular diet plan:
Integrate some Intermittent Fasting on days or weeks surrounding the time you know you will be indulging more. (I don’t recommend this for women still having a menstrual cycle).
Choose smaller portions of your favorite food.
Adjust your caloric intake before or after you expect to eat a large meal.
Look at the weekly calorie count, not the daily.
You can use the strategy anytime your normal schedule is interrupted. You might be going on a vacation, a long-awaited date night, a well-deserved night out with your friends, or a holiday dinner.
This does not mean to switch constantly back and forth between your regular diet plan and the strategy you set here. It is important to have a healthy standard diet plan that will help you long term. This strategy will be a part of that plan and keep you on track for times when you used to think you fell off the rails completely.
When you begin to know that it is ok to engage in activities that are a regular part of life, you will feel less stress when it comes to maintaining your weight loss goals. There are going to be a lot of tough personal truths you have to face on this journey, so let’s take the food guilt off the table. It is important to empower yourself, not be hard on yourself.
If you would like more help determining what are the best ways for you to get rid of food guilt for your diet plan, let’s chat! Every diet plan and weight loss journey is unique, so let’s make sure that yours is working the best possible way, for you.
Let me know in the comments what kind of food guilt you’ve experienced lately. Where are the places you’ve felt the least in control of your food choices? Have you been able to overcome that feeling?