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Have you ever heard those stories about a mom lifting a car off her trapped child and thought, HOW?!
It sounds impossible... and yet, we have mountains of research showing just how powerful the human mind is → how it can shape our behavior, influence our decisions, and sometimes even push our bodies beyond what we thought they were capable of.
Which makes it kind of ironic that the second someone says, "maybe you need to work on your mindset," our first reaction is usually some version of "eh, I don't really need to work on my mindset."
🙋♀️🙋♀️🙋♀️
Except it is. A. BIG. DEAL. If, that is, you want a different reality with food and your body.
What I Actually Mean When I Say “Food Mindset”
Quick pause so we're on the same page. When I say "food mindset," I mean the beliefs you hold about food, fueling every decision you make around it (whether that's consciously or subconsciously).
For example:
- "If I eat something 'bad,' I've ruined the day."
- "If I'm craving something, I shouldn't eat it."
- "I have to clean my plate."
- "Food is my comfort."
- "If I gain weight, I've let myself go."
- "I have to control food or food controls me."
Most of you reading this have already done incredible work on your food mindset. I see that, and I don't want to skip past it. BUT ☝️ if you've noticed yourself with a new goal, like wanting to lose weight or get healthier, and you just feel stuck, it's likely because it's time to upgrade your mindset again.
Let me show you what I mean:
Example 1: You want to lose weight.
You no longer believe:
- You have to earn food through exercise
- A good day is measured by the number on the scale
- You're a failure if you eat something "unplanned"
But you do still believe:
- You're just the kind of person who is always going to struggle with their weight
- You need to cut out certain foods if you want to lose weight
- If you're losing weight, then the rest of your life needs to be on hold
So even though you want to lose weight in a healthy, sustainable way (and even if you can do it for short periods of time) your default is to approach weight loss through restriction, urgency, and putting your life on hold which means you always gain it back.
Example 2: You want to be more flexible with your workouts.
You no longer believe:
- You have to do extreme workouts for them to count.
- Every workout needs to be tracked.
- Taking a rest day means you're losing progress.
But you do still believe:
- My worth is tied to how productive I am.
- I need to eat less on rest days because I didn't "earn" as much food.
- My body will change for the worse if I loosen my routine.
So even though you want a more flexible relationship with exercise, and even if you occasionally take a rest day, you never actually feel at rest.
I know this to be true first hand.
Most people don't believe me when I say that. They look at me now and assume "you've always just been like this." I haven't. I have been in many different body sizes, with very different mindsets alongside them.
This girl's mindset around food (before binge eating treatment) ↓
was nothing like this girl's (before having a baby) ↓
and was nothing like this girl's (after having a baby) ↓
You'll clock the weight difference in these photos instantly, so your brain's probably already decided I must be eating less and working out more now. Nope. Opposite, actually. I'm way more detached from food, weight, and exercise than I was in the top two photos, and that came from changing my mindset.
If you relate, keep reading.
Because you probably think you need to work harder right? NO. Please, no. 🙅♀️ You already work so hard. You don't need to work harder, you need to work smarter, well, mindset-er? You need to shift the mindset that's keeping you stuck into one that actually helps you.
Ready? Let's go!
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The full step-by-step on shifting your food mindset is below for Kitchen Table subscribers only.