For many of us, Easter is an enjoyable time spent with family, swapping Easter eggs and perhaps engaging in an Easter egg hunt (yes, even as an adult!). However, after the celebrations are over, you may be left feeling guilty for overindulging in chocolates and hot cross buns.
Why do I feel guilty?
Guilt comes from a feeling that you've broken the rules or that you've done something wrong. If you are experiencing guilt around food, it is likely you have some food rules.
What are food rules?
Rules can take the form of restriction such as avoiding foods or limiting the amount of food you can eat (e.g. "I won't eat chocolate" or "I will eat less than 1200kcal per day"), having the need to "earn" your food (e.g. "I will only have cake on the days I go to the gym"), labelling foods as good or bad (e.g. "salad is good, pasta is bad") or rules about timing or situations that you can/can't eat (e.g. "i will not eat after 7pm").
How to reduce guilt?
Since your guilt came from breaking the rules, it would make sense to not break the rules next time, right?
Wrong. Reinforcing rules or being more strict on yourself next time unfortunately rarely gets the intended outcome. And, if you were to break the rule again, you are going to feel significantly worse guilt, and then try to push yourself harder to do better next time... and so the cycle continues. This cycle often leads to feelings of worthlessness, disordered eating and even depression.
So, what can you do?
Remove dietary rules. Instead, food choices should be driven by hunger and health most of the time, however should also take into consideration taste, enjoyment in food, social and cultural factors.
Furthermore, foods can be viewed as either 'everyday' foods (these are wholegrains, dairy, fruit, vegetables and protein), or 'occasional' foods (these are fast food, chips, ice-cream, cake etc), rather than 'good' and 'bad' foods.
Shift your perspective to one of kindness and compassion
For more information on food guilt, you can read my blog here.
