Last week was Dave’s birthday so, as he requested, we headed to Chili’s with a friend!
I even got to wear my new “t-shirt dress” (my word…it’s comfy like a t-shirt) that I got on sale at Target.
Seriously, go check out the end of the season sales going on at my favorite store. I got the shirt below for five bucks!
Back to Chili’s, it was a great time relaxing and catching up as well as consuming an amazing meal complete with margaritas and the new peanut butter molton cake. Oh yes.
While I don’t find anything wrong with eating at restaurants, aside from the fact that cooking at home is much cheaper AND I know what’s going into the meals, it’s amazing the way some people think about “forbidden foods.” There was a comment on Facebook about how our “pants must be tight” the next morning. Just from one meal.
(More WIAW or What I Ate Wednesday posts here.)
Or on Mondays certain people decide they need to do a “detox” from all of the “terrible” eating they did over the weekend. Yes, it’s natural to want to eat a giant bowl of fresh veggies after a few heavy meals, but going on a detox isn’t necessarily the right decision. (If you ask most dietitians, they’d tell you NEVER to “detox.”)
The thing is, sometimes when we are doing our best to be healthy, we label certain foods in our minds as “bad” or “forbidden” and they become a HUGE deal to eat. This could result in binging or devouring a whole restaurant portioned plate full of food (which is usually enough for two or three people) for fear that we won’t be allowed to eat this food again any time soon.
I am being reminded of these habits (that sometimes get away from me due to over-educating myself about food..resulting in “good” food/”bad” food obsessions) with the book Intuitive Eating.
I try to keep a healthy perspective and remind myself that one meal, heck even one day of eating, won’t make or break me. It is okay to eat at restaurants. It is okay to satisfy my sweet tooth, even on a nightly basis. Why? Because a little bit of chocolate (or whatever you want) is better than an episode of binge eating…with both the emotional and physical tolls.
I do try to pair dessert with dinner or some form of protein because I know I don’t like the feeling of the inevitable blood sugar spikes and crashes.
One week I felt like eating dessert with breakfast. I noticed that the cookie bars were delicious, satisfying and I had no sweet cravings later in the day.
When we take these foods off of their “forbidden” pedestals, we can be much more relaxed when we are eating in general.
Especially eating at restaurants with friends, which should be relaxed and fun in the first place! We will be able to order what sounds good, to fully enjoy the flavors and to stop when we are satisfied.
We won’t stuff ourselves to the point of discomfort or feel extreme food guilt. I often feel left out of the whole “Oh em gee I am SO STUFFED” conversations, but that’s good, right?
Dave and I stopped at Cold Stone creamery after lunch and a shopping trip on Sunday. We sat outside to eat and share a cake batter cup with cookie dough and health bar. It was perfect. And guilt-free.
Also remember that with restaurant food, it’s okay to take some home to enjoy the next day. You don’t have to eat it all at the restaurant! I like to add veggies or something fresh and different to leftovers.
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| I added spinach to the Chili’s taco with a side of carrots and hummus 🙂 |
If you look at all of this restaurant food and dessert and get a nervous feeling in your stomach, chances are that you might have some food issues that need to be addressed.
It won’t be instant, but if you stop forbidding yourself from eating certain foods, you will slowly be able to trust yourself and be able to listen to your body’s hunger and full signals.
This is only one part of the puzzle…stay tuned for the next parts of my Intuitive Eating or grab the book yourself from any of the links on this page.
Aaaand speaking of delicious food…head over to my Justin’s Nut Butter raffle supporting Girls on the Run! 🙂
Do you have any “forbidden” foods?
Have you read Intuitive Eating? What did you think?
Linking up to Jenn for another awesome WIAW (What I Ate Wednesday) party!
Girl, I totally know what you are talking about…i’ve recently actually given up on having any forbidden foods, and I have been letting myself eat whatever I want.
It actually has helped me have a WAY better relationship with food. I no longer feel deprived. I still tend to eat more fresh foods, but it is freeing knowing that if I want pizza, cookies, or whatever, then I’m totally okay with having those foods. I don’t feel as if I need to avoid them!
I actually also came across this blog post, which basically sums up exactly how I feel.
http://impruvism.com/clean-eating/
Exactly Natasha! Giving up “forbidden” foods doesn’t mean all we eat is junk..it’s just that we can if we want to and that makes dealing with food less nerve-wracking! I will check that post out! 🙂
Wow that article was crazy crazy long and the comments were funny to read, but I like the general idea.
I have to catch myself with “over educating” on food and health. There are so many different ways to eat and you just need to listen to your body, enjoy life, and eat what is right and healthy for you.
Exactly! Some of my nutrition classes I walked away and was like “I’m never eating sugar ever again” which is of course a little ridiculous and tends to prompt binging. Food is definitely meant to enjoy, not to stress/obsess over!
I have to catch myself with “over educating” on food and health. There are so many different ways to eat and you just need to listen to your body, enjoy life, and eat what is right and healthy for you.
Hi there! I have some blog reading to catch up on!
1. I love your shirt dress and it looks fantastic on you!
2. I also love Chili’s, but must admit I’m the person who stuffs myself silly there (oh queso how I love thee), but I really love your perspective on this and your explanation of this chapter in Intuitive Eating. To be honest, I haven’t really understood Intuitive Eating, but your examples make sense to me. Honestly, who really enjoys that ridiculously full feeling anyways?
I’m so glad this makes sense! It’s such a tough thing to teach with all of the different “eat this” or “don’t eat that” viewpoints but I think it helps to not “forbid” foods. More on this subject to come!! 🙂
Hi there! I have some blog reading to catch up on!
1. I love your shirt dress and it looks fantastic on you!
2. I also love Chili’s, but must admit I’m the person who stuffs myself silly there (oh queso how I love thee), but I really love your perspective on this and your explanation of this chapter in Intuitive Eating. To be honest, I haven’t really understood Intuitive Eating, but your examples make sense to me. Honestly, who really enjoys that ridiculously full feeling anyways?
Just found your blog (thank you WIAW) and I absolutely love this post! I am working on a similar post and I think you hit the nail on the head. When I was losing weight I had many forbidden foods, and it’s been a process incorporating them back into my diet.
Ah thanks for checking out the blog (and adding me to bloglovin’!!)! I LOVE WIAW for finding new blogs! It is definitely a process for incorporating those foods back in…but keep at it!
Just found your blog (thank you WIAW) and I absolutely love this post! I am working on a similar post and I think you hit the nail on the head. When I was losing weight I had many forbidden foods, and it’s been a process incorporating them back into my diet.
“forbidden” foods for us are just the ones that our body (our skin) does not like at the moment. we try to just listen to our bodies and keep things simple but also not too restrictive and still have fun 😉
Yes! I should have mentioned that of course allergies cause foods that we can’t eat!
Same here! I finally got rid of the “forbidden foods” mentality only to find out I had a ton of stupid food allergies. I’ve had a few times since then that I have had minor binges (chasing a craving for something I couldn’t have because of an allergy), but mostly I’m doing pretty well.
I’m finally getting over the initial depression that came w/ the food allergies (a big wide world of food was opened up w/ intuitive eating, and was slammed shut when I was diagnosed with food allergies). I wasn’t cooking for myself and was just eating things like cereal because it was safe. Now I’m starting to find solutions for my favorite foods and am enjoying it again.
That would be so awful to finally feel like you can eat normally only to be told “no!” Seriously food allergies are the worst!! I’m glad you’re finding what works for you though!! <3
“forbidden” foods for us are just the ones that our body (our skin) does not like at the moment. we try to just listen to our bodies and keep things simple but also not too restrictive and still have fun 😉
Girl, I totally know what you are talking about…i’ve recently actually given up on having any forbidden foods, and I have been letting myself eat whatever I want.
It actually has helped me have a WAY better relationship with food. I no longer feel deprived. I still tend to eat more fresh foods, but it is freeing knowing that if I want pizza, cookies, or whatever, then I’m totally okay with having those foods. I don’t feel as if I need to avoid them!
I actually also came across this blog post, which basically sums up exactly how I feel.
http://impruvism.com/clean-eating/
Yes! I should have mentioned that of course allergies cause foods that we can’t eat!
Ah thanks for checking out the blog (and adding me to bloglovin’!!)! I LOVE WIAW for finding new blogs!
Exactly! Some of my nutrition classes I walked away and was like “I’m never eating sugar ever again” which is of course a little ridiculous and tends to prompt binging. Food is definitely meant to enjoy, not to stress/obsess over!
I’m so glad this makes sense! It’s such a tough thing to teach with all of the different “eat this” or “don’t eat that” viewpoints but I think it helps to not “forbid” foods. More on this subject to come!! 🙂
Exactly Natasha! Giving up “forbidden” foods doesn’t mean all we eat is junk..it’s just that we can if we want to and that makes dealing with food less nerve-wracking! I will check that post out! 🙂
GREAT POST! I also noticed that I recognize when I’m overeating, pause, and decide if it’s something I actually want to do or not (like if it’s something really good that isn’t going to be as good leftover and that I can’t re-create at home).
Thank you, Calee!! I think pretty much everything is good leftover…except for Chinese. For some reason I just cannot eat it after it’s been in the fridge.
Same here! I finally got rid of the “forbidden foods” mentality only to find out I had a ton of stupid food allergies. I’ve had a few times since then that I have had minor binges (chasing a craving for something I couldn’t have because of an allergy), but mostly I’m doing pretty well.
I’m finally getting over the initial depression that came w/ the food allergies (a big wide world of food was opened up w/ intuitive eating, and was slammed shut when I was diagnosed with food allergies). I wasn’t cooking for myself and was just eating things like cereal because it was safe. Now I’m starting to find solutions for my favorite foods and am enjoying it again.
GREAT POST! I also noticed that I recognize when I’m overeating, pause, and decide if it’s something I actually want to do or not (like if it’s something really good that isn’t going to be as good leftover and that I can’t re-create at home).
I really like the idea of Intuitive Eating. I havne’ t read the book, but it looks interesting. There are things that are off limits to me due to allergies, but other than that… it’s all fair game!
Yeah food allergies do create limits on foods, unfortunately, but I’m glad you don’t let it get you down!! 🙂
I really like the idea of Intuitive Eating. I havne’ t read the book, but it looks interesting. There are things that are off limits to me due to allergies, but other than that… it’s all fair game!
That would be so awful to finally feel like you can eat normally only to be told “no!” Seriously food allergies are the worst!! I’m glad you’re finding what works for you though!! <3
Thank you, Calee!! I think pretty much everything is good leftover…except for Chinese. For some reason I just cannot eat it after it’s been in the fridge.
Yeah food allergies do create limits on foods, unfortunately, but I’m glad you don’t let it get you down!! 🙂
Wow that article was crazy crazy long and the comments were funny to read, but I like the general idea.
I checked it out at the library, but didn’t get to try it. Need to do a re-try on that!
And I try not to have “forbidden” foods in my head anymore. I’d rather enjoy life. And if I’m constantly restricting myself … well that’s not too enjoyable, now is it?
Exactly, Alex!
I checked it out at the library, but didn’t get to try it. Need to do a re-try on that!
And I try not to have “forbidden” foods in my head anymore. I’d rather enjoy life. And if I’m constantly restricting myself … well that’s not too enjoyable, now is it?
Our Daves have the same birth-week! Ha!! No forbidden foods – agreed. I limit things like sugar, caffeine and alcohol, but have run out of patience for excluding whole food groups. Been there, done that! <3
Haha that’s funny they have the same birth week! Limiting is totally different than forbidding foods. And I have no idea how I would exclude a whole food group!
Our Daves have the same birth-week! Ha!! No forbidden foods – agreed. I limit things like sugar, caffeine and alcohol, but have run out of patience for excluding whole food groups. Been there, done that! <3
Exactly, Alex!
Haha that’s funny they have the same birth week! Limiting is totally different than forbidding foods. And I have no idea how I would exclude a whole food group!
Very interesting to hear your take on this. I’ve heard a lot about Intuitive Eating as a programme and always thought it was all of nothing. I’m tempted to read the book now and see what takeaways (no pun intended!) I get from it. I have no forbidden foods, or officially good/bad ones, but I do find it hard to get away from society’s definition of ‘bad’ foods in my own mind. Looking forward to hearing more of your thoughts on the book.
Very interesting to hear your take on this. I’ve heard a lot about Intuitive Eating as a programme and always thought it was all of nothing. I’m tempted to read the book now and see what takeaways (no pun intended!) I get from it. I have no forbidden foods, or officially good/bad ones, but I do find it hard to get away from society’s definition of ‘bad’ foods in my own mind. Looking forward to hearing more of your thoughts on the book.
Oh it’s VERY hard to not think of foods as “bad” since our society is obsessed with labeling things, but it gets easier once you are aware that any one food isn’t necessarily BAD. Everything in moderation. 🙂
Oh it’s VERY hard to not think of foods as “bad” since our society is obsessed with labeling things, but it gets easier once you are aware that any one food isn’t necessarily BAD. Everything in moderation. 🙂