The psychological & emotional side of dealing with food restrictions & allergies
There are “seasons” to our diets.
Sometimes we crave variety. Sometimes we long for the same foods every day. You may eat less or more if you have a cold than if you have a fever. The types of foods and amount of food you eat may change if you’re training for a 5K or if you’re going through a stressful life transition.
Sometimes we might need to bring in more of a certain food to manage a condition (more plants for constipation for instance). Sometimes we may need to remove one or more foods from our diets due to allergies, sensitivities or to manage medical conditions like proinflammatory oils and simple carbs for high cholesterol or prediabetes, respectively.
If you’re recovering from diet culture and looking to adopt a mindful & intuitive way of eating, having to purposely make changes in your diet may bring back uncomfortable feelings of being deprived, or hungry or unsatisfied with your meals. You may resist making these changes or you might feel a sense of loss or FOMO.
A few of my clients are going through this currently. One, is experimenting with a low-histamine diet as she tries to figure out what is causing her rashes and stomach issues. Another just got blood work back indicating high cholesterol and needs to make some slight adjustments in her diet. These changes necessitate some planning and intentional changes which can trigger past anxieties and memories of willing yourself not to eat something and generally feeling really guarded and worried about food choices.
Here are some of the tips, strategies and tools I'm working on currently with these clients and can support any changes you are making as well.
Continue mindful & intuitive eating.
You can bring more intention and structure to your diet and still be flexible and mindful. It's important to not think of this process as binary. Think of it more as an experiment where the end goal is having a long, rich life filled with fun, joy and health. Focus less on any one tangible outcome (although celebrate the positive outcomes you do experience) and more on the process of making the changes, with an emphasis on it being fun, intrinsically motivated and delicious. One way to deal with food FOMO is to build in mindfulness and mindful eating practices. When you can slow down, invite gratitude for your food, appreciate where it came from and intellectually process the fact that this food fortunately will always be available to you, you can begin to have a more relaxed approach towards food.
End Black & White thinking
In the spirit of not being black and white and not viewing food from a “good” or “bad” perspective, think about certain foods as nutritionally dense and others that are less so. Simple carbs, for instance, are not evil, they just don’t nourish your body the way that others do. Instead of banning them completely from your diet and/or feeling guilty or that you’re “failing” if you have some, try putting some clothing on them. This means, let’s say that you’re really craving a baguette with butter, you also clothe it with fiber, fat and protein. So that baguette becomes a baguette with turkey, kale and avocado. Or your pasta with butter becomes a pasta fagioli with beans, greens and olive oil. (this method doesn’t apply to all eating protocols)
Take a to-do approach rather than a not-to-do approach.
Start to envision and plan for eating all the delicious and amazing foods you can have right now. Flood your food environments with all those “yes” foods so you can focus on motivating yourself rather than focusing on what you currently cannot consume.
If you don’t already, please do one stress-reduction activity per day
like: a sound bath, breath work, meditation, forest bathing etc. These types of activities help activate the parasympathetic nervous system and therefore aids in overall health, balance and immunity which can support many common ailments.
Use this venn diagram to help you meal plan with purpose and pleasure.
Use the Fig app to make grocery shopping easier with food restrictions
Grab my 500+ recipe database and weekly meal planning template with filters to sort recipes by health benefit, season, flavors and much more so that you find the best meals that you need for right now.
Remember, having to make changes in your diet for a health condition or sensitivity or allergy doesn’t have to feel restrictive, punishing and you don’t have to conjure up your will power in order to move through it with ease. Having a coach guide and support you and remind you of your wins while gently pushing you and helping to accomplish your goals can be incredibly supportive. To book a get to know you call, click here.