I let myself feel that "food guilt" when I overindulge, but only briefly. (Here's why...)

Happy Belated Mother’s Day to all the mommas! If you feel like you overindulged yesterday & are beating yourself up...here's a sorta unconventional perspective:

I let myself feel that "food guilt"...but only briefly.

Like my body sends me physical signals when I occasionally overdo gluten-free sugary treats and carbs (or overdo movement or lose some sleep) on a holiday or at a special event, so does my MIND.

(Now there is a difference between these mind signals and disordered eating thinking, in my opinion based on personal experiences, so I am not talking about diagnosed eating disorders here .)

I’m talking about the thoughts that come after like, “Why the heck did I do that? I shouldn’t have eaten that much of that. Now I feel like sh*t and need to recover.”

THOSE thoughts…I allow myself to have as part of the signaling process…which also includes PHYSICALLY feeling like a hot can or garbage for a day or two after.

I accept the mind and body BOTH telling, “Gurl, excuse me. Please don’t do that again anytime soon.”

I find if I try to shush the mental part out immediately, it just transmits louder, and starts to echo through my body as something I also shouldn’t be doing.

Saying to myself, “NO DON’T HAVE THESE THOUGHTS, THEY ARE BAD” is punishment for pushing down a natural response from my body…a response that plays a part in protecting me from inflammation, weight gain, brain fog, and flattened energy.

After allowing the thoughts to process and just be what they are, I will pause and think something intentional like, “OK, great. Thanks for protecting me, but that’s plenty enough. I don’t need any more of those thoughts right now. I'll likely allow myself to overindulge a bit if I feel like it next time and that’s quite alright.”

I’ve found better balance with this approach. I am worthy of an occasional overindulgence or even a mindful portion of a treat here and there. I am also worthy of listening to my body’s signals in a healthier way that works for me.

Have you tried this approach?

**PS: GLP-1 therapy has put emotional eating to a near halt - so much so that I didn’t realize how MUCH I was actually participating in that behavior until my mind was super quiet about sugary treats and too many carby snacks. I share about these types of therapies in my Telegram channel. Leave me a comment or send me a DM if you’d like an invite!