How An Eating Rhythm Stops the War with Food – Eating Rhythm Series – Episode 166

Hola amigos! Welcome to One Small Bite!

I remember a few years ago I was talking to a client and I was telling him about how many people are not aware of their eating rhythm. He looked at me and said “What’s an eating rhythm?” So I told him that an eating rhythm is “…the cadence or rhythm of eating meals and snacks throughout the day that helps sustain the body’s energy and nourishment. Or to put it simply, it’s your eating pattern.”

In this episode I discuss…

• What an eating rhythm is and why it’s important
• What happens when we don’t have an eating rhythm
• How a poor eating rhythm leads to a negative relationship with food
• How a negative relationship with food is similar to other relationships in our lives
• Find one small bite to start building an adequate eating rhythm, and a positive relationship with food

Episode Show Notes:

When I told this client about an eating rhythm he looked at me a little perplexed. He tried to remember what he ate that day and what his eating pattern was. He didn’t seem to understand why it was important. So, I went on to tell him that when someone skips meals and rarely prioritizes eating, they are not prioritizing themselves. Therefore, they have a challenging or negative eating rhythm.

Did you know that this is one of the main ways we develop a very negative relationship with food? Many of us often skip meals, or eat very little for a variety of reasons. Then we complain that we have problems with portions, or lack the control over our cravings and desires. The relationship with food is therefore one of control and manipulation.

In fact, I often make the comparison between our relationship with food and our relationships in life.

Think about it for a second. What kind of relationship would it be if we tried to control or manipulate our partner? Would they put up with it? Would they like it? I would imagine they wouldn’t, at least not for long. I would imagine our partner would argue or fight for their autonomy, and possibly end the relationship sooner or later.

The parallel with our relationship with food is that, although food isn’t literally going to fight back for its independence, we are both the manipulator and the partner in the relationship, all in one. Therefore, when we try to control our eating, like making rules around what foods one should eliminate, or skipping meals, we trigger the rebellious partner in us to fight back. In a way, it’s a form of deprioritizing a basic human necessity, eating. This in turn is a way of deprioritizing ourselves; our own basic self-care needs. Yes, there are a whole host of important, and not so important, reasons to sacrifice our basic need to fuel the body. But are there really? In the intuitive eating space we call this the war with food, or the war with the Food Police voices.

Making peace with food means recognizing our Food Police voices and learning how to build a positive relationship. Let’s take a look at the characteristics of these three voices. The Food Police Voice is the judge, jury, and executioner. It’s the one that makes us feel bad if we eat carbs, sugar, or fried foods, and praises us only if we eat broccoli, carrots, and baked chicken. The next voice is the Nutrient Informant. This one is the snitch, kinda like the CI (confidential informant) for the cop. The Nutrient Informant rats on us to the Food Police Voice. And then there’s the Food Rebel voice. This one completely ignores the other two and does the complete opposite, mostly in spite of the Food Police and Nutrient Informant voices.

Not having an eating rhythm puts us in a place where these voices take over. When we skip meals or avoid eating a certain food group, even though we enjoy that food, we allow these voices to kick into overdrive. It’s essentially a toxic relationship.

We need to stop the war with food. Make peace with food, and start by prioritizing our meals and enjoy the down time to eat.

Put ourselves first and enjoy our meals throughout the day to fuel the body. Remember, a rhythm of eating allows the body to sustain its energy levels, keep the metabolism functioning optimally, and keep our brain sharp.

A rhythm of eating gives us back our time, our lives. It allows us to slow down and enjoy the day. Time to reflect and pay attention to our bodies. A rhythm of eating provides us with opportunities to nourish the mind, body, and soul. It gives our mind space to allow those Food Police voices to just disappear into the vastness of our mind, instead of trying to control them.

Maintaining an adequate eating rhythm is to incorporate a variety of foods that we need and want to help decrease the feelings of deprivation. We’ll rarely have to battle with ourselves to control what we eat because those foods aren’t going to hurt us.

Here is one small approach that helps build back your rhythm of eating.

Take a moment and write down your daily habits. Those habits that seem to be out-of-mind, or that you do without hesitation throughout the day. For example, write down when and how often you check your email on your phone; when you ignore your hunger cues, how many times you hit the snooze button on your alarm; or when you’re running out of the house with just a coffee in your hand.

The ability to pay attention to your mindless habits can have a powerful effect on changing them. People are surprised when they see how often they engage in these habits despite knowing they do them. Many people often sacrifice their eating rhythm because of these mindless habits. Therefore, paying attention to those habits can help you develop a plan to replace them and build an adequate eating rhythm.

Making peace with food, your body, your health, and your happiness starts by having an adequate rhythm of eating.

How are you going to start prioritizing your meals? What’s one simple meal you’ll slow down to enjoy?

Oh and you got listen in to the next episode! I’ll explore what the next steps are to building an adequate eating rhythm, so stay tuned! In the meantime, happy exploring!

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Chop the diet mentality; Fuel Your Body; and Nourish Your Soul!