10 Mindset Shifts to Find Food Freedom

“I’ll take the biggest waffle you have and the largest iced coffee with a splash of cream, thanks” – me to the waitress.

Gone forever are the days where I would always choose the healthiest thing for me on the menu. I would overanalyze every option and look at all the nutrition facts down to the sugar content in the meal and make any substitutions I could to get it to be the most ‘macro friendly’ or what I thought was so. Turns out, the thing with the highest protein and lowest amount of carbs and fats not only doesn’t satisfy me, it also isn’t what my body needs.

My favorite thing in the world as a coach is helping women find confidence in themselves while enjoying their life. I was actually doing a check-in today and this girl I coach mentioned there were some spur of the moment decisions made over the last weekend and she didn’t stress at all about them! She was mindful of what she was putting in her body but didn’t stress if the macros were perfect, she had some drinks and is feeling some side effects but didn’t regret her decisions because she had such a fun weekend with her friends.

The more girls I coach and the more I find myself battling the same things my clients and many other girls are, the more mindful I’ve been of how my mindset affects my decisions. Food guilt doesn’t just go away one day, there will probably always be a part of you that looks at the menu beforehand or over analyzes a meal you ate or feels bad for decisions you made yesterday. That’s okay, that’s human! But the more we practice these shifts and get better at giving ourselves grace, the easier it will become to go and enjoy those foods and drinks with your friends/family!

I urge you to stop yourself when you have these feelings and actually correct your thoughts by repeating these phrases 3 times! We won’t get better if we don’t train our mind to see food differently.

*I strongly encourage counting macros for most of my girls, this is in no way saying you can’t track and have freedom. I think a large part of tracking our macros helps us to find more flexibility vs a rigid meal plan. There are some phrases where I talk about macros and others that you could fit the mold of whatever diet / lifestyle you’re following!

1. I’m just going to get a water, I can’t track my food here –> I’m going to start with a water and eyeball my portion sizes and track that.
2. That dessert will make me fat –> I am craving a little dessert, instead of eating the whole piece I’m just going to have a few bites.
3. Oh my god I ate so much last night I’m going to gain weight I need to go to the gym –> The food I ate yesterday was more than I typically eat but it was only one day and I’ll just get back on track today. 1 day won’t derail my progress.
4. I’m just going to stay home so I’m not tempted to drink –> I’ll be the sober cab driver so I have an excuse to drink water all night but I’ll go and hang out.
5. I can’t buy that food because it’s bad for me –> There are no good or bad foods. I can enjoy everything in moderation.
6. There must be something wrong with me, why can’t I just stick to the plan? –> I messed up again and that’s okay. I’m going to figure out why I can’t stick to this plan and find something that fits my lifestyle better.
7. I feel so guilty for eating/drinking those ____ last night –> There is no such thing as a healthy or unhealthy food, everything has protein, carbs, and fats in it. I honored my cravings and I’m okay with my choices.
8. I can’t control myself over the junk food, I’m going to throw it all out so I only eat whole food –> If I let myself enjoy the food when I crave it, I won’t be tempted to over do it. I will limit what I buy but won’t restrict myself from any individual foods.
9. I need to lose weight, I’m going to only eat healthy whole foods until I lose these pounds –> No diet is magic and just because something comes in a package doesn’t make it bad. In order to lose weight I have to be a caloric deficit. I can enjoy the food I like while tracking my intake to make sure I’m making progress in a safe and flexible way.
10. I messed up my whole week of eating good by that one meal, why did I do that to myself?! –> I’m glad I prioritized my social life and enjoyed my night out with my friends. I know one meal won’t make or break the progress I’ve made.

These may sound a little cheese-y and maybe they are, but they are legit thought patterns I have had before and have had to overcome with the help of my own coaches. The biggest shift I had to make was to stop labeling foods as “good” or “bad” or “healthy and unhealthy”. I was convinced I had to be vegan for a point in my life in order to lose weight. Boy was I wrong.

If you need professional help, please reach out to somebody, if you just simply want some accountability and want to learn how to flexibly diet to stop these trains of thought, apply for coaching here or enroll in my monthly subscription site!