Guilting over that last piece of cookie? Get over it and move on! Guilt eating is common and, it happens to everyone. We aim to get fit and healthy, but the pursuit of indulging in a healthy diet and following it is quite hard, which leads to binge eating and a continuous cycle of overeating and guilt.
Foods aren’t unhealthy. Stressing and obsessing over that food is UNHEALTHY!
Food Guilt & Food Shame
Before we learn the ways to stop guilt eating, we should know its true meaning. It is a NEGATIVE emotion where you feel guilty over eating something unhealthy.
Food guilt is beating yourself for cheating on your diet and thinking that you might gain weight. When we break the “rules” of a diet or other eating advice, we feel guilty and, in turn, criticize ourselves.
The diet culture has categorized food into healthy and unhealthy. It’s okay to eat pizza, burgers, or cheesecake. But why do we feel so guilty and beat ourselves by overthinking and stressing over the simple act of eating food and enjoying it?
Food shame comes with body issues and psychological issues as well.
Apart from body issues, people with low self-esteem and personal and professional problems can also find themselves trapped in this cycle of binge eating. It happens to everyone.
How To Overcome Guilt Eating?
We should not stop eating burgers, pizza, chocolates, etc. Treating our body and making it feel happy is worth it! But restricting oneself and going on a strict diet might bring grave disorders and body issues such as anorexia, depression, bulimia, and many more.
The key is to find out how to end this guilt and apology cycle. So here is the key to all your problems.
7 Ways To Avoid Guilt Eating In
1. Eat With Pleasure
Eat the food with pleasure. Every food pleasures the body. Relax and eat by savoring every bite. One snack or meal is a small part of your overall diet.
Instead of labeling food as unhealthy, start considering them as treat food or everyday food. Calling it unhealthy food and restricting it gives you a sudden urge to eat it, and you end up consuming it and overeating it.
You should know that all foods can be part of a healthy diet. The thing is to control the portions and balance them out.
2. Follow Mindful Eating
Mindful eating is a powerful weapon that helps you enjoy your food. It helps in building a healthy relationship between you and your food, thereby decreasing stress and guilt. Studies show that mindful eating helps in lowering the urge to overeat and relaxes the body.
3. Take Everything In Moderate Amounts
Adding these meals in small quantities to your regular diet will help you overcome this guilt. Be an intuitive eater and follow your body signals. Intuitive eating helps a lot and, it works. It is the opposite of traditional eating. It doesn’t come with a rule book; instead, it says that you are the only person who can make the best choices for yourself. Guilt eating bases itself on physical hunger rather than following diet books and experts. Eating should satisfy physical cravings without causing guilt.
4. Respect Your Fullness
When your body is full, it sends signals. Follow it and respect your body. When your body is full, enjoy the fullness and accept it. Do not eat anything after getting full.
5. Respect Yourself
Instead of criticizing your body for how it looks and what you see is wrong with it, recognize it as capable and beautiful just as it is. Your body is your temple and be thankful for it. Accept yourself the way you are, as you are. It is all about accepting yourself the way you are. If you want to work towards a better you in whatever regards, do it. But you are okay the way you are today.
6. Control Your Portions
The ways by which you can control your portions are:
- Do not starve yourself.
- Stay hydrated
- Eat slowly. Take your time chewing every bite.
- Eat small meals every 3-4 hours.
- Figure out the appropriate quantities for yourself. Set that as a benchmark.
- If you want to eat more, first add vegetables to your plate.
7. Exercise
Exercise is very important for everyone. It will help in reducing stress and provide relaxation to the body. It will help in balancing out the food intake.
The food you consume should taste good and make you feel delighted. Remember that it’s your overall food patterns that shape your health. One meal or snack isn’t going to make or break your health.
