I don't know how many times I've heard a client say, “I feel so sad that I have to eat so little food to lose weight, especially now that I'm over 50.”
Food grief is real!
You go through stages of food grief, just like you do when you lose a loved one or pet. Your body may feel lighter, but your brain can feel heavy or “weighty.” When you can no longer use food as a friend, or for comfort or entertainment, you can feel the loss, and you start the grieving process.
Let's talk about the first stage of grief, denial, and how it relates to food. You commit to losing weight so you clean out your pantry and your fridge and start eating chicken and veggies. At this point, you're motivated and committed to losing weight. You tell yourself you're going to do it this time!
Friends and family start to notice the changes you're making. They ask, “don't you miss bread or your daily Starbucks run?” You tell them that you really don't miss those things.
You're fine. This is SO easy.
And then….
Your enthusiasm starts to fizzle out. You dream of your favorite foods and find it hard to eat lettuce when you're out with friends, while everyone else is face down in nachos and wings.
So…. You start skipping lunch with friends or going to happy hour after work. It's easier to avoid those situations than to watch everyone else eat foods you've told yourself you
can't have.
Your body may look and feel better, but you are spending time isolating yourself as a trade off.
You know you need a healthier lifestyle, BUT you also say things like….
“I can't believe I have to give up pizza and beer.”
“Why can other people eat yummy food and not gain weight?"
"This isn't fair."
Once you realize you're mourning the loss of food, you may transition to the next stage….. Anger.
Tips for overcoming the loss of food:
If you need to eat less food to lose weight, it's more important than ever to plan foods that you enjoy.
Give yourself time and patience to get through the stages. It's normal to miss food if you've been using it to cope in some way.
Make a list of other ways to give yourself what you need in place of food.
Celebrate every small win and remind yourself how much better your body feels without the extra weight.
PS I'll be sharing more about the stages in future emails.I
If you would like help with this, be sure to sign up for a free call by clicking the link below, where I will help you figure out how to start losing weight or how to keep going if you're stuck.
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