Do you ever feel controlled by food? Maybe you’ve tried every diet under the sun – from low-fat to low-cal – to break your food addiction, but nothing works?
You’re not alone. Research shows that 98 per cent of people who diet gain back any weight they lost within five years. And 90 per cent of people will actually gain back more weight. The cycle of restriction, reward and relapse is tough to break.
It’s something that psychologist and food addiction expert Kellee Waters knows a lot about. After years of suffering eating disorders, Kellee sought to heal herself – and others – by uncovering the emotional reasons behind our struggles with eating.
Food: a moral code.
When you look at food, chances are it’s not just the nutritional values you’re thinking about. At least subconsciously, you’re moralising that meal – categorising it as good or bad, healthy or unhealthy, clean or dirty.
It’s the food equivalent of the angel and devil on your shoulder. Studies have found that up to three-quarters of women feel ashamed about the amount of food they eat. A quarter of people also associate chocolate cake with guilt instead of celebration.
“Food is no longer just nourishment!” says Kellee. “The true meaning and enjoyment of food is taken away, and eating becomes a constant struggle and conflict. This generally leads to feelings of guilt, self-loathing, frustration, anger and disappointment.”
A quarter of people associate chocolate cake with guilt instead of celebration.
The danger of dieting.
Dieting capitalises on this “good/bad” thinking. With promises of instant weight loss and flat bellies, diets often require restricting food groups or maintaining an unrealistic regime (lemon detox, we’re looking at you). Unsurprisingly, they can also make us crave the “banned” foods more.
“These rigid rules lead to an increased preoccupation with food, particularly forbidden foods, and this can lead to bingeing behaviours,” says Kellee. “Your self-worth becomes entwined with food and your body. Every time you can’t maintain the rules, you pull yourself down, creating a cycle of disordered eating behaviours, depression and anxiety.”
This destructive cycle of binge-restrict is familiar to so many of us. One study found that up to 75 per cent of women could have disordered eating behaviours. More than half, however, were found to be a healthy weight – proving that it is often emotion, not health, that governs what we eat.
75 per cent of women could have disordered eating behaviours.
Breaking the rules.
So, how do you loosen the grips of emotional eating? This isn’t the part where we tell you to sign up to a juice cleanse. Kellee only has one diet rule – to disregard all diet rules.
“Stop dieting. It’s causing confusion, disordered eating and attachments which make foods more enticing. It also interferes with natural fullness and hunger signals in the brain and stomach, and makes you gain more weight over time!”
Has this article struck a chord? We’ll be checking back in with Kellee soon to learn more practical tips about healing our relationships with food and our bodies.
If this has brought up any issues for you, contact the Butterfly Foundation‘s National Support line and online service on 1800 ED HOPE (1800 33 4673) or at support@thebutterflyfoundation.org.au.
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