Tired of Thinking About Food? How Food Rules Can Create More Mental Noise

Have you ever wished you could just stop thinking about food so much?

Not necessarily because you're hungry.

But because there's always another decision to make.

• What should I have for breakfast?

• Was that a good lunch?

• Do I really need a snack?

• I've already had enough today.

• I should probably have something healthier for dinner.

• Why did I eat that?

It's exhausting.

And ironically, the harder we try to "get it right" with food, the more space food can begin to occupy in our minds.

I find this especially interesting because I spent more than 25 years working in dietetics.

I know a lot about food.

But one of the things I've come to appreciate more and more is that knowing more about nutrition doesn't automatically create a peaceful relationship with eating.

Sometimes it creates more rules. More evaluating. More opportunities to wonder whether we're doing it correctly.

When every choice becomes a test

For many women, food decisions aren't simply food decisions.

They're little evaluations of how we're doing.

Salad for lunch?

Good.

Chips in the evening?

Bad.

Went back for seconds?

Shouldn't have.

Didn't eat the dessert?

Good for me.

Without realizing it, we can spend an enormous amount of mental energy grading ourselves throughout the day.

And when eating becomes a test, every choice has the potential to feel like success or failure.

No wonder we're tired!

What if food could just be food?

This doesn't mean nutrition doesn't matter.

Of course it does.

Food nourishes us. It affects our energy, health and wellbeing.

But food is also:

• Pleasure

• Culture

• Comfort

• Celebration

• Convenience

• Connection

And sometimes it's simply Tuesday night and you need to get something on the table.

Not every meal needs to be optimized. Not every snack needs to be justified.

And not every eating decision needs a post-game analysis.

Sometimes good enough really is good enough.

Something I've had to learn, too

Despite everything I know about nutrition, my meals aren't perfectly balanced.

Sometimes I eat later than I intended.

Sometimes dinner is chosen because it's easy.

Sometimes I want the chips.

The difference I've worked toward isn't eating "perfectly."

It's spending less time turning those choices into a story about how well, or how poorly, I'm taking care of myself.

Because one meal doesn't tell that story. Neither does one day.

Our relationship with food is built across thousands of ordinary moments.

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A Gentle Reflection

This week, notice how often you mentally evaluate your eating.

Not what you're eating.

Just the commentary that comes afterward.

Good.

Bad.

Too much.

Shouldn't have.

I'll do better tomorrow.

When you notice it, experiment with replacing the evaluation with something neutral:

"That's what I chose to eat."

And then move on.

You don't have to convince yourself it was wonderful.

You don't have to promise to make a different choice next time.

You're simply practising letting one eating experience be exactly that: ONE eating experience.

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Maybe peace with food doesn't come from finally learning how to eat perfectly.

Maybe some of it comes from deciding that we don't have to keep grading ourselves.

Until next time, here's to letting food take up a little less space...and life take up a little more.

Warmly, Shelley