My prescription for obsessive eating or orthorexia is : eat. Let go of any and all food rules and restriction and acceptable eating amounts. Eat more than you ever thought you should. Neutralize all foods. Allow binges (and by doing that, it becomes not a binge.)
Eat and eat and eat, and eat the things you are scared of, until eating is just eating and food is just food.
It works. Especially when you are supporting your emotions and fears, and helping create a new expansive identity beyond food and body obsession.
It heals your metabolism and fixation on food.
It is the way to get to true intuitive eating. Attuned eating. Eating where you are able to simply listen to your hunger and cravings and not judge them for not being healthy enough, or not being what you expected or heard was acceptable.
Lots of people think Yea well, I’ll eat, but I’ll only eat good healthy foods.
I want to share my view on “healthy” and organic foods.
Besides the fact that “healthy” is subjective, and the healthiest thing for you is what you crave in this very moment. And therefore healthy changes from day to day depending on what you need….
I LOVE healthy and organic foods. Maybe selfishly, I truly wish we lived in a world where access to healthy, sustainably and humanely raised, organic, non GMO, real delicious buttery food was the norm. I wish we could get back there. I wish it was accessible to everyone. I wish that was the food we ate. At least I wish that was the food I found everywhere I go.
In general, I like that food better. It tastes better to me. It feels better to me. And, perk, it helps our planet too.
And I’m not talking about low cal BS. I’m talking the real stuff.
But… it still doesn’t help to fear the other stuff. The” shit food”, as I call it, it IS all neutral. It is important to eat that food when you want it. In whatever quantity you want it. Forevermore. It is important to enjoy it, release all fear of it, and enjoy it.
Remember this: Perfect health does not exist by eating perfect foods.
Sorry about it. Eating pure perfect foods isn’t the be all end all. If it was, I would have cured myself doing the paleo diet and I never would have started The Fuck It Diet. Perfect food (whatever that is) does not cure all our earthly woes and health problems. And some “shit food”, as I sometimes call it, will not ruin our health.
It just won’t.
As Linda Bacon says in Body Respect, what has more impact on our health than anything else is how much power, autonomy, and agency we have in our lives. Feeling stressed, marginalized, financial burdens, prejudice, and fear of the very things we are using to sustain our life force cause more health problems than any health habit.
Fearing food is not good for us.
Part of orthorexic or food obsession recovery is about truly neutralizing food and weight. And that includes eating any and all food you want. Especially foods that scare you. Rancid fried oils in your nachos? Bring it on. It can not will not ruin your life or your health. It just doesn’t hold that much power.
Realizing that no one food has the power to heal or destroy you (unless you are legit allergic to it, in which case, more power to you! Become aware of that stuff. Thank your body for communicating so amazingly to you.)
Are rancid fried restaurant oils the best? Surely not. Does it matter in the big picture. NO.
Pop tarts might be just the thing for you. It will help you heal your fear of foods, it’ll let your whole being know you are feeding and taking care of yourself physically and emotionally, and it’ll do just as much work to speed up and repair your metabolism as a “healthier” food.
It is so essential to eat foods because you want and crave them. The best bet to getting to a place where you are really eating what you want and crave, is to get through all fear and food fixation. If you are eating wild salmon because you are forcing yourself to, as opposed to when you really really really want it, your health will flourish so much more from eating it when you crave and want it.
Organic, whole foods are great. I think you are great for your health, happiness, taste buds, and the planet, but trust your body when it wants other things. Trust this process.
Do not force health foods on yourself. Be open to eating and exploring them when you want them. Until then, realize that your nachos and pop tarts are exactly where you need to be. You can trust your body to lead you right. Give it time.