Dating Den Episode 164 – With Paige Smathers: Tips on How to Find Joy in Your Food Without Binging or Dieting During the Pandemic and Beyond
Do you find yourself eating more because you’re home all the time these days?
Do you take comfort in food because things feel so… uncertain?
Has COVID-19 brought back your ‘freshman 10’… or 15?
A lot of women are having emotional reactions to the perception of scarcity, by hoarding food and binge eating during the pandemic.
And, working from home so close to your refrigerator makes it worse.
To discover how we can have a positive relationship with food during this pandemic Marni welcomes Registered Dietician/Nutritionist, Paige Smathers to the Den. Paige helps people heal their relationship with food and their body. She specializes in chronic dieting addiction recovery, eating disorders, and the family eating dynamic.
Key Takeaways from this Episode:
- Overcoming the urge to hoard and binge eat
- Giving yourself permission to take pleasure in eating
- How to listen to your body and eat intuitively
- Making the most out of the family sitting down to a meal
- Why it’s not productive to micromanage your meals
A Sense of Scarcity [2:09]
It is a shock to go to a grocery store and find the shelves empty. We are not accustomed to not having enough food. It’s normal to respond to these things by hoarding or buying in bulk… it’s a trigger for the fear of scarcity.
And in our ‘diet’ culture, we try to manipulate our bodies and brains when it comes to food but during this pandemic, we can lose control.
The Intuitive Eating Framework [9:34]
There is a lot to Intuitive Eating. It can be tricky to understand what it means. especially if you come from a diet mindset.
Having a happy, healthy relationship with food is less about following rules; it’s more about finding a way to approach food that works for you.
Working with the Fridge in the Next Room [23:08]
A lot of women are concerned about their families, their work, and what will happen tomorrow so they find themselves emotionally eating.
Be gentle with yourself when you work from home. Check-in with your self-compassion. Give yourself permission to have a bit of structure.
If you want to know more about how to create a routine and structure around eating, so you can function optimally and avoid emotional eating during the pandemic…
Listen now!