Dr Gemma Sampson · 42. You have permission to eat cookies and other “forbidden” foods

How many foods right now are on your 'not allowed to eat' list?

Maybe it's cookies.
Maybe it's chocolate.
Maybe it's icecream.
chips, cheese.....
It might even be hot cross buns!

Whatever the food that you've got on your 'forbidden list - I want to challenge you to think about what happens when you restrict those foods.

Do you really stop eating them?

Or do you spend hours, days, perhaps even weeks thinking of those foods? craving them? Eventually giving in, bingeing on it, feeling sick, shaming yourself, hiding the evidence and then promising yourself that next time you'll do better, that you'll have better will power or control....

It doesn't make you feel good does it. Neither in the moment when you are restricting and feeling like you are missing out. Or afterwards with that shame spiral.

The more extreme the more you restrict, the more likely you are to rebound in the opposite direction and end up overeating - it's not sustainable or healthy in the short or long term.

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Permission over restriction

Instead of restricting those foods in an unsustainable manner, I want to challenge you to a new approach - one where you give yourself permission to eat them!

Stay with me!

Many times when people think about a food that is on their say 'naughty' list it's because they have this thought in their head that they can't control themselves, or if they give themselves permission to eat it, they will eat that food uncontrollably for ever and ever.

However.

When you give yourself permission to eat a food on your forbidden listen- the cravings drive often magical disappear.

This is all about reframing food.

How to reframe food with permission

Let’s say you love cookies.

Cookies are delicious.

But you know that they are high in energy, high in fat and probably aren’t a good that supports your nutrition goals if you are trying to lose weight.

So they go on the ‘can’t eat that’ ‘naughty’ or ‘bad food list’.

What happens?

Do those cravings and desire to eat that food disappear?

Or do they intensify and bring along a sense of internal shame or judgement whenever you do eat that food?

I like to reframe food, using it not only for fuel but for enjoyment too. Because nutrition is more than numbers.

When we exercise, when we ride the bike, that’s a time when our body is actively using energy and rather than forcing down sports drinks or energy gels, how much more would you rather enjoy eating one of those cookies, knowing that you are

Rather than putting food on a forbidden list, ask yourself where could I include that food in a way that supports your goals?

This were some of the recommendations that I was making

If cookies are your thing - they make fantastic ride fuel for low to moderate intensity rides.

And when you allow yourself to eat them, what you’ll find is that the desire to eat them outside of training starts to drop.

It’s simple psychology like when you see a don’t push button - how often do we want to do the opposite of what it says?

Giving yourself permission defuses the desire because you know that if you really wanted to eat it - it sounds like magic but it really works.

It's not about earning them or trying to burn them off. No. This is about being intentional with your choices on and off the bike. While you are riding your body uses a lot of energy as fuel - and choosing to fuel up on foods that you enjoy, foods that you want to eat rather than just relying on energy drinks or gels means that your training quality goes up but you can also actually look forward to and enjoy what is supporting that ride.

If you are looking for a sports dietitian who is going to tell you restrict and to eat less or to avoid - you are in the wrong place.

However! If you are looking for a sports dietitian who says that you CAN eat cookies while improving your body composition and getting better cycling performance then you are in the right place.

Welcome to my Fuelled team! We fuel our cycling for better health, performance and body composition and off the bike and we enjoy a good cookie ride.

That's all for today

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