Episode 11: How do I add “fun foods” into my day?

In this week’s episode, Jessica is discussing the question: “How do I add fun foods into my day?”  The word “fun foods” is synonymous with labeling foods as “good” and “bad” which can idolize and give food morality. It is important to remember that there is nothing wrong with having these foods in our diet, and I would actually encourage it!

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Teaser

Often people's reaction or first reflex is to just say well I'm just going to cut them out and my body doesn't need cookies or my body doesn't need these quote-on-quote processed foods or it doesn't need sugar so maybe I can just live without it. 

Intro

Welcome to the Art and Science of eating. I'm Jessica Begg, registered dietitian and clinical counsellor. I worked for 15 years in programs for the treatment of eating disorders. I now help those that struggle with emotional eating and their relationship with their body. This podcast is where I answer questions to help people along this bumpy journey to creating peace with both food and their body. Hello and welcome to episode 11.

Podcast

I am really enjoying doing this podcast, and I’m really enjoying listening to other podcasts, as everybody else on this planet probably is. Podcasts have really exploded lately.

One of my favourites right now is called Smartless — L.E.S.S. — with Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, and Will Arnett. They have other comedians and celebrities on, and it’s just really good, funny listening.

A friend of mine also suggested Poog — P.O.O.G. I don’t know if that’s an acronym or maybe just a new word they made up — with Kate Berlant and Jacqueline Novak. It’s more wellness-focused. I’ve actually only listened to one episode so far called The Bleed, which was really cute, so I’d suggest that one too. But I’m really enjoying Smartless. I was just listening to the episode with Martin Short and, of course, awesome Canadian comedian.

This week’s podcast question is: How do I implement fun foods into my day?

This actually came from a client during a session. We were talking about how to do this because she had been working on making sure she was eating enough, and we were using a lot of safe foods — comfortable foods that she felt happy eating.

Then we started talking about how to integrate fun foods, or foods that had previously felt taboo or like she “shouldn’t” be eating, even though she enjoyed them. So how do we do that in a new and safe way that creates new connections with these foods?

Often people’s first reaction is to say, ‘Well, I’m just going to cut them out. My body doesn’t need cookies, or processed foods, or sugar, so maybe I can just live without them.’

And in some ways, it can feel easier to completely separate yourself from the situation.

However, by removing yourself from those foods, you also remove yourself from the experiences that come with those foods.

Foods with sugar, for example, are often tied to celebrations. We have cake to celebrate. We eat chips and popcorn at movies. We eat all sorts of fun, experiential foods while on vacation or visiting someone’s house for dinner.

There are so many moments in life where fun foods are part of the experience, and if you always say no to them, you can end up separating yourself from those experiences too.

So how do we engage with these foods in a way that still allows us to enjoy those moments and have fun in our day-to-day lives?

That was the question this client was asking. Now that she had established a more consistent eating pattern — eating more regularly, eating balanced meals, and working through that intense hunger that can drive eating — how do we add fun foods back in?

There were a couple of options I suggested that you might also want to play around with if you’re at a similar stage.

One idea is to interact with these foods in a new way by finding safer ways to include them.

For example, nighttime eating is often when taboo foods show up more frequently, and people tend to feel more out of control around them in the evening. So I might suggest bringing those foods earlier into the day.

Maybe have them intentionally in the afternoon. Have them at work, or simply plan them for a different time of day. That creates a different connection because your brain starts to see, ‘Oh, I can interact with this food differently.’

As soon as you create those new experiences, your brain starts recognizing that it doesn’t have to happen the old way anymore.

The planning component can also be really important.

I like being very intentional when adding in fun foods. Historically, it may have felt more impulsive — like, ‘I feel like eating this, so I’m just going to go for it.’

And eventually that spontaneity should absolutely feel okay. But when we’re trying to create new connections with food, I like approaching it more intentionally.

So maybe you decide, ‘Every afternoon I’m going to have a fun food.’ That way your brain understands that it’s not a surprise. You’re intentionally choosing to have this food at 3 o’clock in the afternoon, or with lunch as dessert, or during some other planned moment in the day.

It can also help to involve other people.

Sometimes taboo foods are typically eaten alone, so I would encourage you to experiment with having them socially instead. Maybe you have dessert while eating with your partner or family, or while connecting with a friend during the day.

That shifts the experience into something more relational and connected: ‘I’m sharing this food with this person during this moment.’

Again, that creates a new pattern and a new relationship with the food.

So if you can switch things up and explore different ways of connecting with these foods, you create new pathways and new experiences around them. That allows you to keep the enjoyment, the fun, and the experiences that fun foods can provide.

Let me know how it goes. I’m looking forward to hearing from you.”

Connected Eating ad

This episode is brought to you by my new online group program connected eating where I help people that struggle with emotional eating from feeling out of control with food feeling not in alignment with how they want to care for their body and spending all of their time worrying about it but they've tried every diet and finally know that diets have claimed too much of their time but don't know where to go next this online group program has been built from my many years of helping people that struggle with food but now it's not just me to help through this process but also with the support of all sorts of other people that are working towards the same goals I have heard too many times that people think that they're the only ones that feel this way that they haven't spoken with anyone about the way that they eat or the way that they feel in their body, so I'm on a mission to create a community. You no longer need to feel alone, no longer feel ashamed thinking that you're the only one or that it's just you it's not you it's how diet culture has impacted all of us so similarly so come and join us come and learn from both me and other people moving towards happy eating and being comfortable in their body follow the link in the show notes and I'll see you in there.

Disclaimer

This podcast is for education and information purposes only please consult your own healthcare team to discuss what is right for you and your care.