A Food Experiment

My daughter is my inspiration. I want her to see me trust myself around all different foods, so that she feels she can trust herself too.

I’d like to invite you try out an experiment with yourself if there are certain foods you do not trust yourself around because you tend to feel out of control around them.

1. Do you have a particular food that you feel like you need to make peace with? (this would be a food you feel you need to hide from yourself, avoid, can’t control yourself around, etc.) You might want to brainstorm a whole list and then narrow it down.

2. Choose just one food from that list and write it down.

3. Write down a plan to eat that food.

   1. Where will you eat the food?

   2. How will you eat the food? ( do you need to buy it/make it)

   3. When will you eat the food?

   4. What circumstances do you want to eat the food in? ( less stress, plenty of time, not tired)

4. Before: Right before eating the food write down how you feel. Are you excited, nervous, curious, scared?

5. During: While you are eating explore how the food tastes, feels, smells, the different textures, aromas, flavors, and if it is meeting your expectations. Write it down.

6. After: Did the food meet your expectations? what might you do differently next time you eat this food? Does this feel different from past experiences with this food?

Why should you try out this experiment?

I started doing this with foods about 3 years ago. There were certain foods I would dread having in my house. Usually, for me, they were sweets. One in particular I could never stop eating were Reese’s Cups. I committed to letting myself purchase a LOT of Reese Cups, so that I would never run out. I made the food accessible to me at all times. I kept giving myself permission to eat them over and over again. I tried my best to create an environment where I could eat them with full permission, following these steps. I still like Reese’s Cups and will have one or two from time to time. But they have lost their magic. I had been the one to make them magical in the first place by assigning so much guilt to myself for eating them. The guiltier I felt the more power they had! Now they are a yummy candy, but that’s about it. When I restricted food endlessly it made it more interesting than it actually was.

That is one of a million issues with not letting yourself eat certain foods!

Now go pick out what food you want to make peace with this week!