Hello Fabulous Reader,

This week I want to talk about feeling scarcity around food.

Now that the holidays are over and lots of us are back on our regular routines - we might not be around tempting food quite as much.
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First off, I want to take morality out of food. Food is just food. It’s neither good nor bad - having it won’t make you a better or worse person.

Food in relation to how you think about your worth - they should have no correlation.

Are some things healthier than others? Absolutely, but morally, it’s just food.

Obviously, I’m vegan, so there is some nuance to this - but I know veganism is not available to everybody. So don’t come at me; I do see how this seems hypocritical and contradictory of me to say food has no morality when my entire way of eating is based on morals. But for the purposes of this conversation - I’m not talking about animal slaughter.

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Many people carry a lot of shame and guilt around food. I know when I would binge on pints of ice cream - I felt disgusting and hated myself. Food has all kinds of stigma associated with it.

Carbs have been trampled on.

Fats have been villainized.

Gluten has been thrown out with the bath water.

But what you choose to eat - does not make you good or bad. Eating clean all the time doesn’t make you better, just like eating fast food doesn’t make you less than.

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Just had to clarify that.

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We’ve stigmatized foods. But we’ve also put food on pedestals and glorified having things at certain times of the year or events. It’s special occasion syndrome, associating a place or event with a food item and assuming that we “must” eat it to “have the full experience.” We worry that we might never get to have it again.

Funfetti Cakes at birthday parties.

Stuffing and Pie on Thanksgiving.

Hotdogs at baseball games.

Popcorn at the movies.

Funnel cake at the fair.

Cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory.

Croissants in Paris.

Gelato in Italy.

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What foods can you think of that you only have at certain times of the year or specific events?

When we do this to food - we end up operating in scarcity around food without even realizing it. We experience Food FOMO (fear of missing out). The anticipation of future deprivation makes us feel that, at some point, these foods will be “off limits,” so we have to eat them all right now - even if we’re not hungry.

When I travel with my family, we eat two full meals every day - appetizer, main course, and dessert - even though we’re not always hungry. We’re in a new place and must try everything we can while we’re here. It’s just what we do.

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In these situations, we also could be telling ourselves some old, deeply ingrained narratives. At family dinners or potlucks, we worry there might not be enough food, so we load up our plate in case.

I know I used to do that, worried it would all be gone and I wouldn’t be able to have seconds.

We also want to ensure that we get out money’s worth and don’t waste any food, so we’ll clear our plates even if we’re already stuffed.

All of these habits keep us operating in scarcity around food - feeling like there won’t be enough to go around now or at some later point.

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But what if I told you to start giving yourself permission to have these foods whenever you want?

Take them off pedestals.

If you had funfetti cake every day for a week - it would lose its appeal. If you start operating from a place of abundance and permission, knowing that food is available to you anytime, you won’t feel the urge to eat it all right now.

Now I know it’s not as easy as flipping a switch in how you think about food.

So I want to give you some tactical tools to help with this process. Part of learning to do this comes through understanding how to eat in moderation - so your hunger is satisfied, your cravings managed, your energy is stable, and you can stay mindful.

Shameless PLUG: I work with clients to help them master how to do this so that it doesn’t feel so scary and overwhelming. If you’re interested in 1:1 Coaching - let’s chat!

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The first tool is to practice sharing food or splitting it in half.

By sharing your food with someone else, you reinforce that there’s enough to go around, there’s more where that came from, and you don’t have to hoard it all to yourself.

This one came hard for me because I love food so much that the thought of giving someone else my delicious treats - well, it’s still hard. But it helps me realize that any food is available to me anytime, so I don’t have to eat it all right now.

I can always buy more or order more.

Learning to surf the disappointment of not having it all is a skill - so this will come only with practice. But it’s part of the process of taking food off pedestals.

Remember, you can always have any food any day of the week.

You can even put some away and then literally take it out 20 min later and finish it.

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When you learn to honor your cravings and eat things in moderation - you never have to feel deprived or restricted around food.

This allows you to operate from a place of abundance.

You can make choices about food that are grounded in meeting the big dial movers of nutrition rather than stuck in special occasion syndrome where you’re making decisions based on the specialness of the situation.

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When your cravings are managed and eating those foods is just part of the day-to-day, it makes room for you to focus more on making solid food choices the rest of the time, no matter where you are.

Have your mini sweet treat, but ALSO consider the big dial movers when you make up your plate. Prioritize protein, eat enough complex carbs, include healthy dietary fats, and have a ton of veggies for fiber and nutrients.

Where do you find yourself in food scarcity?

What mantra will you use to remind yourself that any food is available anytime to dissipate the urgency to eat it all right now?

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Even though the holidays are over - now is the time to start thinking about it.

How can you take those special occasion foods off their pedestals?

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Until next time,
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Break down those pedestals and operate in abundance.

Coach Morgan