3 Limiting Beliefs That Are Sabotaging Your Relationship with Food and Your Body

I’m not going to beat around the bush here. It’s time for us to get really honest with ourselves. What beliefs are you holding onto that are stopping you from being able to make peace with food and your body? What if you were able to challenge those beliefs and choose new, empowering beliefs?

I want to share with you 3 common limiting beliefs that can sabotage your relationship with food & your body and how to overcome and challenge those beliefs!

But first…

What is a limiting belief?

A limiting belief is something you believe is true about yourself or your world that holds you back in some way. They’re basically the interpretation that your mind gives to a particular overwhelming emotion. Although these emotions may feel painful, they actually provide us with valuable information and tell us if we are moving in the direction of what we want (you feel good) or what we don’t want (you feel bad). So instead of feeling bad about yourself for having limiting beliefs, can you be grateful for them for guiding you to uncover exactly what you need to grow and become the best version of you?

If your beliefs don’t empower you, change them. Will your beliefs be the reason you stay at war with food and your body for the rest of your life? Or will you reframe them into the greatest opportunity to transform the way you feel about yourself and your world?

3 Beliefs that Are Sabotaging Your Relationship With Food and Your Body:

1. I can’t practice intuitive eating or have food freedom until I’m at a “healthy” weight:

Food freedom isn’t just for people who have had eating disorders or people who weigh less than a certain amount; it is for everyBODY. The process of eating intuitively and having food freedom, over time, supports your body in finding it’s natural healthy weight (which is different for everyone). You might gain weight, lose weight or stay the same. Higher weights do not directly cause poor health outcomes. Behaviors are actually what impacts health, not weight. Weight loss is not the goal. Health and freedom are, taking the focus off of the numbers. Having a peaceful, healthy relationship with food and your body and treating your body with care, kindness and compassion is what leads to long term, sustainable health and happiness. A certain weight can’t give you any of that.

2. If I give myself unconditional permission to eat anything at anytime, I’ll eat uncontrollably:

When you have completely made peace with food and know that what you want will always be allowed, you’ll be able eat amounts/types of food that feel right for you in any given moment. If you don’t fully believe you have unconditional permission to eat anything at anytime, eating intuitively won’t work because you will still feel a sense of deprivation. Even the perception that food might be forbidden, can trigger cravings and obsessive thoughts about food. It’s normal to find yourself eating more of the foods you have restricted in the past; the more you forbid, the more seductive those foods become. Your body is like “OMG I better stock up now before I’m not allowed to have this again”. However, once your body trusts that you won’t deprive it anymore, these foods will become a balanced part of your eating.

3. If I allow myself to eat whatever I want, I’ll only want “unhealthy” foods:

The goal isn’t to see all foods as equally nutritious; it’s to have the same emotional response regardless of what you eat. Giving yourself unconditional permission to eat what you want ultimately results in variety and balanced food choices. You’ll want to feel good and feeling good comes with listening to YOUR individual needs. Our bodies have bio-individual nutrition needs and eating based on your intuition is what allows you to really listen to them. And eventually, the appeal of your “forbidden” foods naturally wears off once your body knows it can have them anytime.

How to overcome these limiting beliefs:

Overcoming limiting beliefs is part of step 1(Intention) in my 8 steps to food freedom process. Click here if you want to read the full series on my 8 steps to food freedom!

1. Ask yourself how these beliefs make you feel:

Then ask yourself how do you WANT to feel. Having negative feelings isn’t bad; they’re just here to teach us a lesson and becoming aware of how they make us feel is what allows us to discover the lessons within them.

2. Figure out where these beliefs came from:

Who made you believe this? Where do these beliefs stem from? When was the first time you remember hearing these stories/beliefs? Did you parents teach you these beliefs? Did the media?

3. Consider what the consequences will be if you don’t let go of these beliefs:

Really think about all that you have missed out on by having these beliefs. What will your future look like if you don’t let go of these beliefs? This isn’t to make you feel guilty but rather to motivate and inspire you to shift your beliefs.

4. Choose new beliefs that empower you:

These are just a few examples but I’d encourage you to see if you can come up with some of your own that really resonate with you. It’s okay if you aren’t totally convinced of your new beliefs right away; it takes time. Start by writing them down or saying them out loud every day. Eventually, these affirmations will re-program your subconscious mind to find evidence of these thoughts in your day to day life so that they become beliefs.

• I deserve to feel free around food and love my body just as it is
• I can trust my body to tell me what, when and how much to eat for my body’s individual nourishment needs and optimal health
• I know that listening to and trusting my body leads to balanced, healthy eating overall

What else is holding you back from making peace with food and your body? Let me know in the comments below!