I Should Lock My Pantry

I still have diet thoughts come into my head. The patterns in my brain that told me to restrict and measure and stop and avoid were used for many years, so as much as I've tried to erase them, I sometimes find myself in those old thought loops. 

One of those loops goes like this. Enjoy a nice lunch, come back to the kitchen an hour later, eat something sweet and then listen to my brain say, "why did you just eat that? You shouldn't be hungry again. What's wrong with you?". Then some sort of guilt and shame and self flagellation follow. Sound familiar? 

In my dieting days, this mini conversation would've spurred on a new dedication to the next diet. I would've thrown out all the "bad" foods so I wouldn't dare be tempted to eat them again. I would debate locking up my pantry. How many times have you heard people joking (or serious) about this during COVID-19?

The only thing I need to lock up right now is my ability to recognize these diet thoughts and continue going back to step one of Intuitive Eating which is to Reject the Diet Mentality. Living in diet culture, you will constantly be called to come back to this basic principle. Reject any attempts to give yourself any less than what your body is wanting, needing, craving or desiring. When you allow yourself what you need, you'll lose your desire to want to lock your panty. When you stop questioning your intuition, you'll be able to feel fully satisfied. 

I'm so satisfied about my newly organized pantry and want it in full view. I've put everything into glass jars* with fun labels and there's plenty of foods in there that I used to feel like were off limits. I don't restrict anymore so food has really lost it's siren song. I'm not lured by food into a shipwreck worthy binge at night because I've restricted too much during the day. Thankfully, those days are long gone. 

Next time you catch yourself feeling guilty for what or when you ate, get off that ship because you'll eventually crash if you keep restricting yourself. The only way to feel like you don't need a lock on your pantry is to stop dieting.