Episode 038 – The Intuitively You Podcast

Binge Eating Isn’t About the Food Itself

What if I told you that your struggles with food aren’t really about the food itself? That freedom from binge eating isn’t just about having more willpower? You may think I’m crazy, right? Well today I’m showing you what the real barrier may be in your food freedom journey and psst – it’s not the food. You may need to look a little deeper and uncover the true reason why the calorie counting, overexercising, and endless diets just don’t seem to “stick.” Read on to learn just how good life with food freedom can be and why doing the work is so worth it. If you’re ready to think about food less and embody your version of a healthy relationship with food more, then this is for you.

My Food Freedom Journey

As someone who has been through my own broken relationship with food, rode the diet roller coaster again and again, felt so out of control around food, thought I was trying my best to be “healthy,” got stuck with binge eating, and felt like there was something wrong with me and food… and now I overcame all of that years ago, teach you how to do the same through becoming a Registered Dietitian and Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor, creating The Intuitive Nutritionist and this podcast, Intuitively You, all of it being about food freedom, intuitive eating, and overcoming struggles with food, I want you to know… It’s not really about the food. 

Wait what? You might be thinking “But Jenn, the problem IS with food, how is this not about food?!” I hear you, and I’ve been somewhere similar to where you may be finding yourself right now, I know how real and exhausting these struggles with food are. So sure, of course food is PART of this. But really, it isn’t about the food. 

So what is this whole food freedom thing about then? This is about YOU. This is about you coming back to your whole, worthy, authentic self, by removing the struggles with food. There is such a deeper meaning to this work than just “eating better.” Or fostering eating habits that make you feel your best. That all is lovely, but I want more for you. To me, this is about sooo much more than just the food. 

Breaking Open: A Crucial First Step to Freedom From Binge Eating

Binge eating and food struggles are like a hard shell that builds around the core of our authentic being. Like a block that’s preventing you from shining. In order to be “broken open” you have to re-learn how to listen to and trust your inner wisdom. You have to unpack and unlearn all of the diet culture BS to get to the root of who you are and what your relationship with food was meant to be.

The truth is, we were all born intuitive eaters but over time messages from diet culture and the “outside world” start to compound and shape our sense of self. These messages also instill negative beliefs rooted in fear around food and can cloud our authentic selves. Through intuitive eating, you can push past all of this and return to yourself.

Learn to Live Authentically and Freely

When you heal your relationship with food and find freedom from binge eating you unlock the ability to live your life authentically and to its fullest potential. You get your brain space back.

Instead of stressing and obsessing over food 24/7, you get to have brain space to think about what ACTUALLY matters to you. (We have another entire post all about 4 practical steps for how to stop thinking about food all the time that you might like if you resonate with this!)

When you are no longer consumed by diet culture thoughts, food choices just get to be food choices. That’s it. We eat, we don’t overthink it, we enjoy it, we move on. Basically, we can just focus on living our life instead of staying in food la la land.

What could you do with more brain space? Would you…

• Spend more time with your loved ones?
• With your family?
• Be more PRESENT with them?
• Enjoy date nights fully?
• Grab spontaneous ice cream with your friends?
• Take up a hobby that brings you joy?
• Go to that dance class without stopping yourself or letting your body hold you back? 

Ask yourself: What does the authentic you truly want? I bet it’s not to think about food all the time… 

Reduce Your Stress and Find Freedom From Binge Eating

We know heightened stress is harmful to our health, and a great benefit of intuitive eating is that food freedom will help to alleviate food-related stress in your life!

Often people go on diets or plans or whatever kind of “clean eating plan” to be more “healthy” or lose weight (because they have smaller weight = healthier = better engrained in their minds). 

But what diet culture doesn’t tell you is that these diets or whatever version of restriction you’re doing causes you a large amount of stress and anxiety. And you know exactly what I’m talking about if you’ve been there. 

It’s the obsessively counting or measuring food into an app, tallying points, counting calories, fitting things into containers, tracking macros, rigid meal plans, etc. And if you stray away from this totally restrictive plan, you feel horrible about yourself. You feel like you’re a failure, and that you have to willpower your way into trying again tomorrow. And it repeats itself. Talk about stress! 

Then when you get to the point of binge eating, you start stressing not only about how you’re “not eating healthy” but also how you’re bingeing and feeling so out of control around food, and the stress and anxiety and shame cycle grows and grows. 

All this to say – improving your relationship with food teaches you how to let go of all of the stress surrounding food. Stress that can be negatively impacting your health. Arguably, the stress that trying to eat clean or diet puts on you could potentially be worse for you than the “unhealthy” foods that you’re trying so hard to control yourself around.

You Deserve Food Freedom

You deserve to have more space to embody what you truly want. To feel more confident in yourself. To fully embody the life you were meant to lead before diet culture and food struggles entered your life.

Oftentimes, all it takes is a single step. Ask yourself today: What would you do if you didn’t hold yourself back anymore? If you could stop thinking about food 24/7 and find lasting freedom from binge eating?

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Listen to the Episode

If you’re looking for a place to start, check out the full podcast episode for more. You’ll learn:

• More about my own history of binge eating & struggles with food
• Why we need to take the focus off of food itself
• What your life can look like beyond diet culture
• How food stress is negatively impacting your life
• How negative self image can lead to food struggles
• How to live your life authentically & fully without diets

And if you’re looking for more direction:

• Take the Free Quiz: I have a completely free why do you binge eat quiz that will help you figure out what’s keeping you stuck in the binge eating cycle and holding you back from food freedom the most at this time.
• Food Freedom Reflection: Get your journal out and answer these questions. How do I feel about my relationship with food right now? What do I want my relationship with food to be like? What’s one small step that I can take to get closer to my goals? 
• Get Support: I have a highly supportive binge eating coaching program that is designed to help you take all the steps you need to so you can embody your version of food freedom. Some other great places to look for support: Intuitive Eating Counselor directory, National Eating Disorder Information Centre (NEDIC), National Eating Disorders Association, and my other intuitive eating coaching services.