Do you feel like you’re a part of the clean plate club?
Maybe you’ve been dieting for so long that when you FINALLY allow yourself to eat the food you like, you feel like you have to Eat. It. All. Regardless of how full you feel?
Or maybe you’ve been taught by your parents that if you want to leave the table, you have to finish all the food on your plate.
Or maybe when you start eating you’re SO HUNGRY that you’re eating so quickly you don’t have a chance to feel your fullness.
Or maybe it’s just a habit to finish everything on your plate. That’s what you’ve been served, so that’s what you eat.
There are SO many reasons as to why you might be a part of the clean plate club, but I want to provide you with some tips to break free from it so you can begin to honor your fullness in a way that feels good to you.
- Give yourself unconditional permission to eat all foods. How can you expect to honor your fullness when you believe you won’t be able to eat this particular food again? These go hand-in-hand. In order to give yourself unconditional permission to eat this means to remove food rules that have developed from years of dieting. Some examples of these might be “I can only have 1 piece of bread per day” or “I can’t eat desserts at night.” Slowly make your way breaking these rules, so you can truly find unconditional permission to eat.
- Identify what comfortable satiety feels like. You’re probably able to describe in great detail what an overstuffed feeling feels like. But I want you to take a second and think about what COMFORTABLE satiety feels like. I wish I could tell you what this feels like for you, but each of us experience hunger/fullness cues in a different way.
- Begin to add some mindfulness into your eating experience. This means to check-in with yourself throughout the meal. Ask yourself questions such as, “How does this food taste?” “Do I enjoy this?” “Am I feeling satisfied?” “How full am I?”
Respecting and honoring your fullness allows you to build back body trust. When you can fine-tune these signals, you’re better able to honor your body’s needs and your body will trust you to do so.
Blog contribution by Kaitlyn Allen MS, MEd, MS, RD
If you’re ready to heal your relationship with food and your body. you’re in the right place! Join Behind The Binge Academy, my signature group coaching program so you can create a healthful life where you eat without guilt, stress or obsession.
