One study showed that nearly a third of all the food Americans eat makes them feel guilty. You also spend approximately 20 minutes five times a week with that guilt. That time feeling guilty can really add up. 

Food guilt doesn’t have to be part of your food relationship.

It’s very normal to feel guilty about food choices. People say all the time that they were “bad” for eating certain things, which implies an expectation of guilt. There’s no food choice you could make that means you’re bad. You’re doing your best in any given situation.

You should expect that environmental situations or stressors will have an impact on your food choices. And it’s normal that emotions will come into play at times. Food situations outside of your control are part of life. When you’re able to accept this ebb and flow, you’ll be better able to release the guilt when it shows up. When your eating plan is balanced, that allows for a variety of different foods in your eating plan. It also allows for food experiences that prioritize celebration, culture, and tradition.

5 ways to begin to work through food guilt:

1. Acknowledge and stay curious about when food guilt comes up for you.

Awareness is so key. Building awareness around the habitual experiences you have with food and your body is a big part of the work I do with dancers in one-on-one coaching. The awareness and curiosity is part of what can help you undo those food habits when necessary. 

It’s possible you made an impulsive decision and then passed judgment on it after. In that situation, it might not be that the food was so bad but it wasn’t exactly what or when you planned or expected to eat. 

Whenever the feelings of guilt come up, just acknowledge them. Then, get curious. Before you get into a guilt-shame spiral, ask: “Why do I feel guilty about eating this?”

2. Ask yourself why eating that certain food makes you feel guilty.

The guilt could stem from childhood experiences or your family’s approach to food. Or, it could come from societal pressure or diet-driven messages in the media or on social media. Once you identify where the guilt is coming from, you’ll be able to start letting go of or delete or unfollow those influences.

If family or friends have something to do with the guilt you experience around food, you might have to initiate some challenging but very honest conversations around it. If you’re not ready for that, you might work to tune out those influences when they’re talking about food or dieting. You might need to just walk away or change the subject.

3. Think about the value of the foods that induce guilt.

A lot of the time the foods that make us feel guilty have been labeled as “junk” or “bad.” This is naturally going to lead to guilt. In order to shift the way you experience those foods, you have to change the value you attribute to them. What’s “good” about those foods?

Here are some examples:

• Chocolate cake: tastes great, makes me feel happy
• Gingerbread: reminds me of Christmas at my grandma’s house
• French fries: delicious and make me think of McDonald’s trips with my family as a kid

4. Slow down and consider your food relationship.

This can be quite hard as dancers because you have busy schedules. So often your meal and snack breaks are short and limited. There will be times when you have to eat more quickly in order to fuel your body adequately. When you do have more space and time to be intentional and eat slowly, practice that skill.

Beyond a more mindful approach to food, embrace the fact that you have the power to change the way you view yourself and your life. It might take some intentional rewrites in order to accomplish a big shift. To rewrite your body story, start here. If you’re ready to rewrite the story of certain foods and food experiences, craft a vision for your relationship to food.

Create intentional experiences with the foods you experience guilt with. Plan to get ice cream with friends and set the intention of having fun. Bake some brownies with your mom and set the intention of having a carefree experience.

5. Decide what “balance” with guilt-inducing foods can look like for you.

Are you someone who enjoys something sweet every night after dinner? Do you love chocolate or ice cream? Those preferences don’t mean something is wrong with you or you lack self-control. They’re worth honoring and asking yourself, “What’s a balanced approach to these desires?”

You might want a scoop of ice cream every night or you might prefer a trip to the ice cream shop for a hot fudge sundae on the weekend. Your preferences and balance can also shift from week to week. Just start to lean into it so you can discover what’s balanced for you.

It is a process to cultivate a more balanced relationship with food, but it is possible. Working through food guilt is a key part of that process because very often, on the other side of food guilt is restriction or attempts at dieting. 

Want some support to start working through food guilt and finding a more easygoing approach to food and your body for dance? Let’s have a chat! Set up your complimentary coaching call here.

The post 5 Ways Dancers Can Work Through Food Guilt appeared first on The Whole Dancer.

If you’ve ever realized you were totally caught up in your phone or a show and completely disconnected from your meal, don’t feel bad. It’s incredibly common, especially when people are busy. When you’re busy, like dancers are most of the time, and then you’re eating a meal alone, it’s very normal to look for connection at meal times outside of the food you’re consuming. 

What is mindful eating?

“Mindfulness traces its origins back to various religious and secular traditions. These include Hinduism, Christianity, Muslim, Buddhism before the modern secular practices.” To be mindful, simply, is to be present in the moment. 

When you relate mindfulness to food, it still just means to be present with and aware of what you’re eating. There are a number of things you can put more attention on at meal time to find a greater connection to what you’re eating.

Key principles of mindful eating.

Here are some key principles of mindful eating that you can incorporate in your approach to food. As with all things related to food for dancers, if you start to obsess over eating mindfully “perfectly,” it’s not going to be helpful. Consider each of these key principles and choose one area of opportunity.

Incorporate pleasure.

Something I talk about with dancers all the time is how important it is that you enjoy your food. Yes, prioritize nutrient-dense eating, but those healthy choices should also be delicious and craveable. Food should be pleasurable. It should be indulgent and decadent at times, but there should be pleasure whether you’re eating a veggie and rice bowl or a piece of chocolate cake.

Creating healthy, delicious meals does require you to develop some skills. You need to incorporate healthy fat, spices, and diverse flavors to make your healthy meals enjoyable. Commit to developing that skill.

Pay attention.

When you eat a meal, pay attention to what your body and mind are telling you. There are so many valuable insights to be had when you truly tune into your body’s cues. What’s going on around you as you enjoy your meal? Are you in a pleasurable environment or a bustling, stressful environment? You can’t always control where you eat, but staying aware can allow you to intentionally bring focus back to yourself.

Notice how you’re feeling in your body as well. How is the food sitting with you? Are you experiencing any strong emotions that are impacting how you feel in your body as you eat your food? Pay attention to these physical or emotional sensations and take note of how it shows up in your food experience.

Be present.

Meal time can become so routine that you miss it. At times, dancers have to eat on the go or quickly in between classes or rehearsals. This is an additional reason to be as present as possible when you’re able to slow down and take your time with food.

It can help to take a few deep breaths before you start eating. Express some gratitude, whether it’s out loud or in your head. Be present as you eat. If you’re eating alone, you can watch a show on TV but avoid the distraction of your phone. 

Take your time.

Speed eating is all too normalized in our culture. Most people you know probably eat much more quickly than what their bodies would prefer. Slow down. Give yourself a moment to breathe between bites. Put down your fork, take a sip of water, and check back in with yourself.

It takes about 20 minutes for your body and brain to connect and for it to register that you’re actually full or satisfied. This doesn’t mean you have to take 20 minutes to eat every little thing you consume, but especially when you’re enjoying a full meal and have the time, wait until you hit the 20-minute mark to decide if you’re still hungry or need more sustenance.

Engage your senses.

Connect to your food and fully take in the sight, smell, and taste of what you’re eating. Beyond the actual food itself, you can find a deeper connection to your meal and increase enjoyment if you set a visually appealing table and plate your food beautifully.

It doesn’t have to be Instagram worthy, but a beautiful plating can allow you to more deeply engage your senses. Nicely presented food can add to your pleasure.

Be aware of triggers.

There are likely experiences or situations in life that lead you to lose your mindful connection to food. If you struggle with emotional eating, your emotions would be an example of a trigger.

You might also notice that certain events or people lead you to disconnect from your mindful connection to food. Awareness is essential. Then, you can make adjustments that allow you to reconnect to your food even when faced with triggering people or experiences.

How can mindful eating benefit dancers?

It benefits digestion.

Eating more slowly and chewing your food more eases the digestive burden. “Digestion starts in the mouth, so large bites that are inadequately chewed will be more difficult for your stomach to turn into chyme—the liquid mix of partially digested food, hydrochloric acid, digestive enzymes, and water that passes through the pyloric valve on its way to elimination.”

When digestion improves, you will have regular bowel movements, and you’ll feel more comfortable from day to day. 

It’s empowering.

When you’re connected and intentional with food, it increases your confidence in your food choices. Confidence in your food choices allows you to feel assured that you’re fueling your body in the best way for your body and dancing.

It’s sustainable.

Mindful eating isn’t a fad, and it’s not a diet. The principles in their connection to mindfulness have been around for hundreds of years. My own mindful eating connection actually started when I began exploring yogic principles and buddhism. 

It’s anti-diet, and it can support a more uplifted and positive food experience, making it easy to maintain.

It can flow into all areas of your life.

Slowing down, paying attention, and being present can benefit your life as a whole. When you incorporate a mindful approach into all areas of your life, your food experience can be an extension of that.

How can you start to incorporate mindful eating principles into your life?

Make a commitment to yourself, and choose a small action step to get started. Take notice of how a more mindful approach to food works for you. Don’t strive for perfection because there will be times when you have to eat quickly or less mindfully in order to adequately fuel your dancing. 

Allow a mindful eating approach to be an exploration and a process. Incorporate the elements of this practice that work for you and release the rest. If you’re ready to find food harmony and explore your emotional relationship to food, check out this brand new course from The Whole Dancer.

The post Mindful Eating for Dancers appeared first on The Whole Dancer.

After a non – stop morning, I figured I had about 20 – minutes to eat my lunch. I really wanted to roast some vegetables but I definitely didn’t have time for that! Instead I decided to simply heat up some curried lentil soup I had made earlier in the week.

I was SO hungry by this point because I hadn’t even had time for a couple bites of a snack in the few minutes I had between appointments.

It was about 2pm and I hadn’t eaten since 7am (that’s more of my own advice I didn’t take yesterday – leaving that much time between meals is pretty much guaranteed to leave you ravenous). I put what looked like a lot of soup into a pot to heat up – eyes wayyyyy bigger than stomach!

Photo credit: whitneyinchicago via VisualHunt.com / CC BY

In the 10 minutes before I had to run out the door I scarfed down a HUGE bowl of soup. Almost immediately after I felt sick..

I had eaten so much so quickly it honestly gave me a stomach ache.

One tip I give many of the dancers I work with is to remind yourself that you don’t need to finish the entirety of any meal in a single sitting. If you have 10 minutes to eat your lunch, it’s OK to only eat a few bites – or whatever feels comfortable and moves you past distracting levels of hunger.

Eat just enough to sustain you until you have more time to sit down to that food again.

Eating slowly and listening to your body is key to reaching your best body. When you eat slowly you give your stomach and brain the opportunity to communicate and ensure that you don’t overeat past the point of comfort.

See that, even I have imperfect experiences with food. I just have to remind myself to make a better choice next time I’m in a similar situation (it happened today haha so I ate a lot less for lunch and avoided the stomach ache).

The post Food thoughts for the busiest days. appeared first on The Whole Dancer.