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NuStart / October guideRethinking Food RulesRethinking Food Rules
Notice the rules you never chose.
Ask of any food rule: is it true, is it kind, does it serve you? Keep what helps, and rephrase the rest into a flexible guideline you actually chose.
Why it matters
Most food rules were never consciously chosen: childhood messages, past diets, a culture that sorts food into good and bad. Noticing them is what lets you keep what helps and loosen what only adds stress.
What to know
A food rule is a fixed belief about what, when or how much you are allowed to eat. Five signs: labeling foods good or bad, guilt after eating, cutting out whole groups, counting everything, eating differently when watched.
A rule punishes you. A guideline bends.
“I can never eat dessert.”
Fixed. It punishes you when you cannot follow it.
- Is it true?
- Is it kind?
- Does it serve you?
“I try to notice whether I actually want it, and let that decide.”
Chosen by you. It bends when life calls for it.
Pick one background rule. Is it fact or opinion, and does it serve you? Rephrase it into a flexible guideline that fits your goals. Challenging even one rule is real progress.
Also this month → Rediscover the Joy of Movement and this month’s activity, What You Used to Love.
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