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In a world obsessed with diets, food rules and restrictions, it’s common to experience food guilt and shame and it usually goes something like this…

You’ve decided to change your eating habits once and for all. You have a list of do and don’t foods on your refrigerator door and you’re doing so well. Until you get stressed or bored and start craving the forbidden foods. You resist for a few days, then finally given in to your cravings and eat all the cookies, chips, cake (insert other forbidden food item here). Then you start feeling all kinds of guilt and shame about “ruining” all the progress you’ve made an vow to never let it happen again…until it does.

Why do we experience guilt and shame when it comes to food?

Simply put, diet culture and the wellness industry have done a great job at categorizing food so that we see them as good, bad, clean, toxic, natural, etc…

We’re taught that in order to eat healthy we have to live with a set of food rules and restrictions, and the so called natural, good and clean foods, which drives us to control our food choices to the point of obsession and is the ultimate reason we feel guilt and shame when we eat the foods we think we shouldn’t eat.

This frame of thinking about food inevitably causes us to get caught in the all in / all out cycle when it comes to our eating habits and prevents us from finding balance and consistency in the way we nourish ourselves.

How to stop feeling guilt & shame about the foods you eat

Reframing the way we think about food is the first step to reducing food guilt and shame. It’s seemingly simple to do, but challenging on many levels as our thoughts about food have been ingrained in us from an early age and doesn’t happen at the flick of a switch. It take daily effort, practice, commitment and acceptance.

Here are 3 tips to help you on your way to ditching food guilt once and for all:

1 - Get to the root cause of your guilt

The first step to changing something is to acknowledge and accept that it is happening. Knowing when and why you’re experiencing food guilt and shame can help you work through it and move past it.

A helpful tool that you can use to get to the root cause of your guilt is a food & mood journal. Reflecting on what you ate and how you felt before, during and after, you’ll have more clarity about where the feelings of guilt are coming from.

Here are a few journal prompts to get you started:

How did I feel before I sat down to eat? Stressed? Hungry? Angry? Emotional?
What did I eat?
What are my beliefs and feelings about these foods?
Why do I believe/feel these things?
How do I feel when I eat these foods? Physically and/or emotionally?
How does my body feel when I eat these foods?
How did I feel after I ate? Satiated or Still hungry? Tired or energized? Bloated or comfortably full? Satisied or Unsatisfied?

2 - Ditch the diets, food rules and restrictions

All diets have one thing in common. A long list of forbidden foods that you shouldn’t eat. This inadvertently puts these foods up on a pedestal and gives them power and control over you; especially if it’s a food that you usually enjoy and/or is a part of your culture, heritage or family tradition.

Once you stop depriving yourself of "forbidden" foods, you’ll crave them less often and you’ll be less likely to binge on them when you do.

3 - Enjoy the foods you love with mindful awareness

Remember that all foods fit in a healthy and well balanced diet, as long as you’re chosing your foods mindfully.

Being mindful about what and how much you eat isn’t about depriving yourself of the foods you love, but rather, listening to and giving your body what it needs and wants in that moment.

When a food craving arises, challenge the diet culture narrative that says you can’t eat it. Remove the good/bad food associations from your mind, give yourself permission to eat the foods you love and when you do, tune into your body’s hunger and satiety cues to guide you.

The best way to do that is to be mindful by avoiding distractions, engaging your senses and slowing down when you eat so that you’re able to listen to your body’s cues fully, and allow yourself to enjoy your food in the right amount.

The bottom line: Focus on nourishing yourself from a place of love & respect

Choosing to eat healthy, mindfully and intuitively, without food rules, diets and restrictive meal plans is one of the best things you can do for your mind, body and soul.

How we nourish our physical body has a ripple effect on our emotional and mental wellbeing and vice versa. Making healthier choices is just one way to show your body how much you respect, love and appreciate it. Remember though, healthy eating is not all or nothing. It's not about achieving perfection in the way you eat, shrinking your body or changing your shape and all foods fit.

Nourishment is a powerful tool for self-care, self-respect, self-love and feeling good in your body.

The more you focus on nourishing yourself from a place of love and respect, the less you’ll struggle with food related guilt and shame because you’ll know that you’re making an informed choice to eat what your body needs in that moment.