This episode is brought to you by:

Our free audio training get it at bit.ly/3mindsetblocks where we share the 3 most common mindset blocks that are keeping you stuck in the food struggle -  and how to get through them! You can also grab this through the link in the show notes.

Today's episode is a Community Question: food addiction - is it necessary for some people to stay away from addictive foods like flour and sugar?

This is a question people ask often and we wanted to address that.

The first thing we want to say is this is not about FEELING addicted to food, if that’s how you feel that’s real but it can be different.

Why do some people feel addicted to food?

We need food to live.

And as dieters we restrict ourselves ,therefore not getting enough food, which leaves us feeling deprived.

When you don’t have enough of something you need to live, your body will fight to get enough.

Take oxygen for example.

If you are under water and needing air, when you get to the surface you are going to be gasping for air, does this mean you are addicted to oxygen?

No!

But yes you are going to feel crazy for it when you haven’t been getting enough and then it’s available.

So for food, if you are restricting all week and find yourself thinking about food all day and binge eating.. It’s the restriction that is causing this…. Not an addiction.

Remember: feeling crazy around food is caused by restriction, not addiction.

So the next time you feel addicted to food, look a little deeper.

Are you restricting? Are you getting satisfied after each meal?

How to move on from the feeling of being addicted to food:

 

Assess where you are restricting - physically or mentally.

Are you prioritizing satisfaction each time you are eating?

How is your overall relationship with food?  Repairing your relationship with food is the number one thing to get rid of the feeling of food addiction. This is what we do in The UnDiet Academy - focus on repairing your relationship with food and body image - mind, body and soul . Doing this deeper work will naturally dissipate these feelings instead of working really hard to “fix them” or make them go away. Forcing it never works.

Get okay with loving food. Put a positive spin on your love of food - create a new belief around this. Is it really so bad to love food? Create a positive mantra if that helps - it is safe for me to love and enjoy food….

We also wanted to address the part of the question that says is it necessary for some people to stay away from addictive foods like flour and sugar.

First off - let’s switch the narrative on flour and sugar, these are foods that are often demonized and saying they are addictive is one way to do this.

Are you eating flour or sugar out of the bag? Likely not, these are not addictive substances although if you don’t allow yourself to have carbs or sugar you are definitely going to feel addicted to them.

Also - no staying away from flour and sugar is a sure fire way to feel even more addicted to it.

The best way around this is to repair your relationship with these foods and begin to see all foods as neutral, once you do the mindset work you can then listen to your body and you’ll find you can enjoy these foods without feeling out of control with them.

Also - the only reason you’re fearing being addicted to flour or sugar is because you see it as bad because you associate it with weight gain and being “unhealthy”. If you always thought about salad and ate it all the time you probably wouldn’t be worried you’re addicted to it, you would feel like such a good person for eating so many veggies.

Breaking down the beliefs about foods, your body etc is such an important part of this process.

Do you feel addicted to food?

Come join us on Instagram and let us know! We are www.instagram.com/thebodylovesociety. You can DM us any questions you have and we are happy to chat about it.

If you are working on repairing your relationship with food and yo