How to Avoid Eating Unhealthy Food
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A few weeks ago I asked you ladies on Instagram what you’re biggest struggle was on your health and fitness journey. So many of you said you struggle to avoid eating unhealthy food when it’s in front of you. So let’s talk about it. How DO we stop eating that unhealthy food?
You actually don’t avoid eating them, YOU GIVE YOURSELF PERMISSION to eat them. The more permission you give the less you’ll crave and the less you’ll overindulge. Capeesh?
If you found this episode helpful, I know you’ll also love tuning into…
Episode 54: 5 Reasons Why I Don’t Believe in “Cheat Meals” + 5 Things to Do Instead
TRANSCRIPT:
Hey, hey, beautiful human. Can I steal five minutes of your time? I have something super important to share with you, but I promise I'll be really quick. You're listening to my weekly bonus episode of Embrace Your Real with me, Julie Ledbetter. I'm about to give you a quick tip for building your confidence, honoring your body, and unconditionally loving your authentic self. Stay tuned if you're ready to embrace your real. Let's get in, let's go.
Hello, hello, and welcome back to another bonus episode of the Embrace Your Real podcast. A few weeks ago, I asked you, ladies, on Instagram, "What is your biggest struggle when it comes to your health and fitness journey?" And so many of you guys said that you struggle to avoid eating unhealthy food when it's in front of you. So let's talk about it. How do we stop eating that unhealthy food? But before I answer this question, I want to share this super sweet review. It comes from Holy Sniky. She says, "Peace. For a full decade of my life now, I've struggled with my body image and feeling as though I'm never enough in society standards. Julie's podcast and Instagram page has helped me tremendously by reminding me to be thankful for this body that God has given me and to honor it with nourishment and movement. For the first time in a long time, I feel like I'm starting to finally experience peace in this area of my life. To God be the glory and thank you, Julie, for using this platform He has given you to spread such a wonderful message."
Thank you so much. These words truly mean the absolute world to me. This is my mission. This is what I have dedicated my life to. And so just to have these words of encouragement means the absolute world. And yes, like you said, to God be the glory. I appreciate you bringing that up so, so much. If you haven't already left your rating and review on Apple Podcast, it means the absolute world. You guys know, I stress this so much, but it really does help out the growth of this podcast. And I love connecting with you guys in my DMs. And just being able to see how this podcast is helping you, it really does help us here as a team to be able to continue to develop content that serves you. So thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Okay, so we have this unhealthy food in front of us and all we want to do is eat it. So what do we do? First of all, I do not believe in unhealthy or healthy foods. I believe that there are some more nutrient-dense and some less nutrient-dense foods. So my first piece of advice is to stop labeling foods. The more that you label foods as off limits and unhealthy, the more power that they have over you and the more you're going to want to eat the food and the more you're going to struggle to not eat them. Why do we even label foods? Why can't an Oreo just be an Oreo or a carrot just be a carrot? If you're counting your macros, you're tracking how much protein, carbs, and fats you're eating daily. It's just as okay to eat Oreos as it is carrots. Sure, you may be able to fit way more carrots into your macros than Oreos, but a carb is a carb and a calorie is a calorie.
Second of all, the reason why you overindulge when unhealthy food is in front of you is typically because you restrict it in the first place. I need you to give yourself permission to eat what you want when you want to eat it. The more permission you give yourself to eat what you want, the less you feel the need to overindulge. I want to compare these two scenarios. Scenario number one, you never let yourself eat what you want on a daily basis. You're extremely strict, and you have a firm belief in the fact that you should only be eating healthy foods all day every day. So when you go to a party or a restaurant or a friend's or family's house, and you're surrounded by unhealthy food, your brain goes crazy. It really realizes how deprived it's been, and all it wants to eat is everything in sight. Eventually you tell yourself you can have one cookie or one piece of cake or a handful of chips or one plate of food, whatever it may be. But your brain is like, "Oh my gosh, this is amazing. I need to eat more. I need it all. I need to get as much as I can right now because I don't know when I'm ever going to be able to eat these foods again." That's where the overindulging enters.
Now let's look at scenario number two. You allow yourself to eat whatever you want when you want it. Most days you crave nutrient-dense foods as a staple for your meals simply because you see the correlation that it has with more energy. But whenever you have a craving, you simply allow yourself to eat it and you move on with your life. So when you go to a party or a restaurant or a friend's or family's house and you're surrounded by unhealthy food, you're able to eat the cookie that looks good or the plate of chips or dip that looks good and move on with your life. Your brain doesn't feel the need to overindulge because it knows if it is craving chips or cookies later you can always eat them later. It doesn't feel the need to eat as much as possible because it knows that it can have these foods in moderation at any time.
In this scenario, even though you're eating whatever foods you want whenever you want to eat them, in the long run, you end up nourishing your body so much better because you're so much more consistent. You don't have these crazy overindulgence moments because over time that adds up to so much more than eating a little bit in moderation of whatever you want when you want it. At first, yes, your brain might go crazy with this new permission, and it might feel like you need to indulge, but give yourself practice. Your brain and your body just need time to get used to the idea that it can have these things whenever it wants. You'll then notice that you'll start to crave more nutrient-dense foods and everything will even itself out.
So to sum this up in an entire episode, how do you avoid eating unhealthy foods? You actually don't avoid eating them. You give yourself permission to eat them. The more permission you give, the less you'll crave, and the less you'll overindulge in the long run. Kapeesh?
If you found this episode helpful, I know you'll also love episode 54, 5 Reasons Why I Don't Believe in Cheat Meals and Five Things To Do Instead. In this episode, I really break down why I'm very against cheat meals and giving you five things to do instead. So be sure to tune in to episode 54, I will link that in the show notes below. I hope that you found this bonus episode helpful. Again, in the long run, it's going to take practice, it's going to take time, but the more permission you give yourself, the less you'll feel the need to overindulge every second of every day because you're allowing yourself to eat all things whenever you want in moderation. If you have someone in your life that you feel like would really benefit from this episode, I just ask that you share it out with them. Also, be sure to screenshot this. Post it up on your story, tag me, Julia Ledbetter. I love seeing your aha moments or what comes from it. Thank you so much for tuning in, and I'll talk to you guys in the next episode.
All right, sister, that's all I got for you today, but I have two things that I need you to do. First thing, if you're not already following me on the 'Gram, be sure to do so, juliealedbetter, yes, it's with an A in the middle, for that daily post-workout real talk, healthy tips and tricks, and honest accountability to keep your mind and heart in check. The second thing: be sure to subscribe to Apple Podcasts to never miss an episode. Thank you so much for joining me. It means the absolute world. And I'm going to leave you with one last thought. The most beautiful women that I have met in my life are the ones who are completely confident and secure in being authentically themselves. Remember that beauty goes so much deeper than the surface. So go out there and embrace your real because you're worth it.