Whether we know it or not, most of us have some kind of food rules, some are helpful some not so much. Food rules are games you end up playing with yourself, such as “you can’t eat food X because it’ll make you fat,” or “if you eat food X you have to work out for a certain amount of minutes.” Another would be, “I must only eat Y amount of calories.”
Food rules could be good for you, but most aren’t as helpful as you would like to believe. I’m definitely a fan of rules like getting 5 servings of colorful veggies a day or a serving of lean protein with every meal. What it comes down to is really starting to listen to your body. Not so much your brain, your brain’s going to tell you whatever you want to hear, it’s a sneaky little guy. Listen more to your stomach and the rest of your body. If you eat a certain food that makes you feel not so great, possibly makes you feel sore or achy, maybe you could stay away from that food for awhile to see how you feel without it, it’s your choice. Really start tuning into your body and listening to what it wants and what it’s asking for, focusing on the foods that make you feel good from the inside out!
Every time you sit down finding yourself thinking “Hey, I shouldn’t eat this”, or “I shouldn’t do that.” Really ask yourself “How’s that working for you?” How are those rules helping you or not helping you? Try to figure out how to be a little more gracious with yourself, to really listen to your body instead of all these other external rules that you’ve created. Try to just listen to your stomach and the rest of your body, see how that works.