Food habituation is when we have a decreased eating response (desire / craving) to specific food as a result of repeated exposure to that food. In other words, when you eat the same food over several days and/or when food becomes normalised, it unconsciously becomes less appealing to us.

Besides the other reasons we’ve discussed, dieting and restricting are unsustainable methods because they in fact cause an increase in desire for the ‘forbidden’ and ‘not allowed’ foods.

When certain foods are forbidden it segments and categorises the food into something that separate from the foods that we have normalised.

Dieting often causes an increased desire for so-called forbidden foods. When we start to habituate to our forbidden foods, we start to normalise them and can decrease our cravings and overeating of them. Food becomes neutralised, we can begin to feel that we are allowed and reduce the effects of seeing foods as ‘good’ or ‘bad’.

PRACTICE

As with all practices, please take your time to titrate, so not to overwhelm the nervous system. We want to build the exposure in very small, incremental steps, maintaining the connection to the activation that may arise within our body, without it overtaking our body completely.

ONE

Begin by writing a list of all of the foods that currently sit in the category of ‘not allowed’ … ‘foods I fear’ … “only allowed if”. The strength of your restrictions will be different for each one of you, so find the language that suits you there.

TWO

Once you’ve written them all down, get familiar with which foods you fear more / feel more triggering than others.

THREE

Begin with the food that feels the least triggering (remember, we’re starting small VS going into the deep end)

Food habituation can feel a little (or a lot) scary, particularly when we’ve lost that element of self-trust around food.Beginning to bring foods into our home that we’ve feared or to order something in a restaurant that we’ve typically avoided our whole lives can feel very unfamiliar and at times, can feel as though we’re “going backwards”. But remember we’re building up capacity, so that you can be exposed to these foods, without fear or guilt. So start small and go from there.

FOUR

You might want to pre-plan eating this food … or it might be something that happens spur on the moment, but that you’re consciously choosing, in connection to this exercise. Whatever you choose, allow yourself to be connected to safety. Maybe that’s with another person, maybe it’s the room that you’re in … the environment around you… the time of day. Set yourself up to be supported.

FIVE

As you move into practicing eating this food, please refer to and practice Somatically Experiencing Food

Take pauses and notice the constriction and activation that may arise. Use the ‘Tracking the Breadcrumbs/Activation’ and‘Tracking the Safety’ practices.

When not to introduce (increased chance of binge/over eating).

• After a stressful day where you are feeling activated and under-resourced.

• If you’ve skipped meals through the day, I would not recommend to introduce one of these foods in the evening

• You’re already in a place of conflict and craving with the food … maybe there’s been intense desires and cravings that you’re hyperfixated on. In that case, you may want to refer to Responding To The Urge To Binge

• Evenings are often a triggering time due to the stresses of work / life and potential lack of resource and nourishment from food itself. So you may want to avoid this time of day and instead look to exploring in the morning / lunch time.

IT IS COMMON TO BINGE AND OVER-EAT WHEN STARTING OUT.

GIVE YOURSELF PATIENCE, GRACE AND COMPASSION.

Have access to your resources, make space afterwrds to be supported whether that’s with and through yourself or with another.

As always, please come and share your experiences, questions and shares in the Community group

With love

Alex X