What does your own language tell you?

‘I don’t want to deprive myself,’ is something people say when they are about to indulge in some food or quit an eating plan. What do they mean? It is normal when cutting calories for your leptin hormone to go down. The more it goes down, the more hungry you may feel; however, I want to point out that when people say this they don’t use the word hungry. This can be something to think about for yourself. If you are actually hungry, this doesn’t apply to you.

Many times when people use this word, they are talking about the idea that they are missing out on eating a type of junk food that they are trying to avoid in an effort to eat healthy or lose weight. It is normal that we get pleasure from food. I am just wondering what are they getting out of what they are missing from that food?

What is the need you are missing, that you think you are deprived of, by not eating that food?

When you commit to a plan of eating and can’t eat for reasons other than hunger, this really opens us up to the opportunity to meet needs without food. If you are stressed, you deal with the stress. If you are bored, you have to solve the issue of being bored, or allow it. So, if you are feeling deprived, perhaps you can meet the need in another way besides food. I am not talking about ignoring hunger. I am talking about deprivation is a word used for desire, not hunger.

What are you really depriving yourself of?

What are you really depriving yourself of? Answer that question. What is it that you need from that food? You don’t want to deprive yourself of … good nutrition?…sleep?…moving your body at a functioning amount?…me time?

Think about it this way. You hardly hear someone that is only sleeping a few hours a night say, ‘I don’t want to deprive myself.’ Not getting enough sleep has been something that we have normalized and even value.

So, what is it you get from eating that food? Joy? Pleasure? A way to wind down? Trying to use it as a way to destress? Deserving it after a long day? Is there another way to meet those needs? ❤️