If you are afraid of eating carbs or feel guilty for doing so, you’re not alone. And it should come as no surprise because you lived through the “keto” era and maybe the “adkins” era.
Diets get remarketed ALL OF THE TIME, so nothing is ever new.
The problem comes when these fears start impacting your life in a major way. So if the fear of carbs is making you avoid your favorite foods, not feel satisfied with your meals, feel obsessed with food or bingeing, here’s some tips to work on breaking this fear!
Weigh your options
Would you rather fear food and fight binges, or face that fear and try and move past it? And maybe it would feel better for you in this moment to stay where you are, but if your cons outweigh your pros of fearing carbs it can make a solid foundation for change.
Identify your beliefs
What specific fears do you have around carbs? Most clients I have dealing with this fear have carbs associated with weight gain. Another belief I hear often is that carbs aren’t “healthy.”
Where did you acquire these beliefs? Are they actually true all of the time?
What we don’t often hear about carbohydrates is there many benefits and how if we are deprived of them, our body craves them so it can work more efficiently. Glucose is the only fuel source for our brain (which comes from carbohydrates). Our body can make glucose when necessary but only for so long before it then produces ketones as a last resort survival for the brain and body. The body and brain does not use ketones as efficiently and it also causes muscle breakdown to create them.
Bottom line is our body needs carbohydrates to function properly, the beliefs we hold are deeply rooted in diet culture marketing. It is actually recommended to have a diet of 45-65% carbohydrate, which is much less than most of us are getting. A healthful diet consists of plenty of carbs.
Reflect on your past experiences or experiences of others
The problem with these beliefs is that they are very black and white and they often tie morality with food. This restriction is what has been causing your food obsession and binges. Without having the understanding of how restriction leads to this preoccupation with food, it can be easy to associate the food with the experience (carbs=binges), when in reality avoiding carbs=binges.
Is there anyone you know who eats carbs and doesn’t just keep gaining weight? Or someone you know who feels comfortable eating carbs without guilt? What about someone you know who lives a healthful life with carbohydrates of all kinds?
Practice adding in carbs without restriction
Start with carbs that are less scary. Practice adding these foods in at a very normal time and place when you can be very present with your food. Pay attention to how this food looks, tastes, feels, smells and tastes. Allow yourself to enjoy it and address any negative thoughts as they arise.
Add this food in every day. If this sounds super scary try adding it with a comfortable food.
If carbs specifically are creating a lot of fear and stress, think about what caused these fears in the first place. If you are really struggling to accept the benefits of eating carbs look at reputable research, but also keep in mind your own experience. If restricting carbs has created food obsession, binges or stress around eating, is it worth restricting? At some point the overall health needs to be taken into consideration as well.
If you have this food rule or others that you are struggling to get past, working with a dietitian can be very helpful to get support and strategies to break these food rules without creating to much stress.
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