Ever find yourself in a battle with the snack drawer after a day of 'perfect' eating?
It’s like your self-control vanishes the second you're home alone. Leaving you stuck in the frustrating cycle of being disciplined during the day, and over-eating at night.
If this rings a bell- stick around as we're diving into the effective strategies that'll revolutionise your relationship with both your pantry and your plate.
I'll introduce you to the "three packet principle," and offer practical advice on breaking free from the "last supper mentality" - guiding you toward a more mindful, intentional relationship with food, without the guilt and self-loathing.
Want to learn how to go from a compulsive to a mindful eater? Check out my Stop Struggling With Food Guide.
Grab your copy of my best-selling book Your Weight Is Not The Problem.
Watch my YouTube video on Why you CAN’T stop snacking » 7 strategies to stop overeating.
Want to ditch the diet culture for good? Get my Back to Basics app today - try it FREE for 7 days here. The customisable app helps you create a healthier relationship with food—no rigid rules or diet plans required!
Get my Free 5 Day Course to help you stop binge and emotional eating.
Want to feel more in control around food? Check out my Stop Struggling With Food Guide, currently on sale for 40% off.
You’ll also find 50 of my favourite recipes to get you inspired!
Looking for more support to feel in control around food? I'd love to support you in my Binge Free Academy.
Come follow me on the gram at @nude_nutritionist (no nude pics, sorry).
Want to share some feedback or have an idea for an episode, I'd LOVE to hear from you - hit me up at hello@lyndicohen.com
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hey everyone, before you dive into today's episode,
let's chat.
Do you struggle with overeatingor turning to food when big
emotions hit?
Do you wonder how you will everstop raiding the pantry when
everyone else has retreated tobed?
Well, I have something new toshare with you.
I have created a StopStruggling With Food Guide to
(00:23):
help you let go of the strictdiet rules and impulsive eating
habits With practical tools toembrace eating more mindfully
and intentionally.
Plus, it's loaded with 50 of myfavorite easy recipes.
It will bring you some hope onthose days when you feel like a
failure.
No woo-woo BS, but expertdesign strategies that work.
From me, one of Australia'smost renowned nutritionists and
(00:45):
dietitians, sounds good.
Then check the link in my shownotes and let's get started on
this journey together.
Last night I got home fromdinner and no one was in the
kitchen.
I had the house to myself,which, honestly, that never
happens and I love when thathappens.
(01:09):
But anyway, in the past thissituation would have absolutely
triggered me to lose controlaround food.
In fact, the cycle I was stuckin is I would be so good with my
eating all day.
You know I'd follow the mealplan.
I would take those low calorieoptions, those recipes.
I'd create them, I'd stick tothem all day and then inevitably
(01:33):
I would come home in theafternoon and if no one was home
I would lose control aroundeating.
And even when it got to dinnertime it felt like I couldn't
quite fill the hole.
I'd lie in bed at night tellingmyself I was going to do better
tomorrow.
I felt so guilty and, honestly,a bit pathetic.
I thought I really did thinkthat there was something wrong
(01:55):
with me and I'd say okay, lindy,today you're going to do better
, we're going to start againfrom scratch.
And then that basically meantthat I would restrict the next
day.
And so I was stuck in thispattern of being good all day
quote unquote.
But then I'd lose control atnight.
And maybe this is you Do youdiet during the day and secret
(02:16):
eat at night?
Or maybe not even secret eat,but you feel that sense of out
of control on this.
Perhaps you're restricting yourportions during the day or
eating plain, boring salads.
Perhaps you have rules aboutwhat is an acceptable thing to
eat, whether it's for your mainmeals or your snacks.
Perhaps you have a calorieamount.
You inadvertently think I haveto stick within this for my
(02:37):
allotted snack.
You know I'm allowed fruit ornuts and I'm only allowed this
many.
And I remember when you readthose Cosmo magazines that give
you great snack ideas under ahundred calories, great snack
ideas under 150 calories, and sothe idea of eating something
that was meal-sized for a snackwas wild and can be a bit of a
(02:59):
hard thing.
Maybe you feel like you getmid-afternoon hunger cravings
and at night you rampage and youfeel like you can't be
satisfied and then you get thatsame guilt cycle that I talked
about at the beginning.
In this episode we're going tobe talking about why you feel
out of control around food atnight.
And hint, it's not aboutwillpower or whether or not
(03:21):
you're counting calories or not.
We're going to talk about howdaytime habits can very much
affect your nighttime eating andI'm going to be giving you some
very key strategies.
So we're going to talk aboutthe last supper mentality, the
three packet principle.
So stick around, it's going tobe a goodie.
Hey everyone, and welcome tothis week's episode of the no
(03:44):
Wellness Wankery podcast.
I am your host and yourdietitian and your nutritionist,
lindy Cohen, who does notbelieve that you just need
better willpower or that youneed to try harder on your diet.
In fact, what I think is you'veprobably spent your entire life
dedicated to dieting, and wherehas it gotten you?
It's probably gotten you to thepoint where you never feel like
(04:05):
you're at the right weight andyou feel like food is a struggle
.
Food doesn't have to be astruggle, and when you learn a
new approach to eating somethingwe talk about in this podcast,
along with the research and verypractical tips to help you make
it happen, you will become oneof those people who feel relaxed
and in control around food.
Let's get into today's episode.
(04:27):
Starting off, let's explore thisidea of diet burnout.
Have you ever heard of thatterm?
Diet burnout?
If you are a frequent flyerdieter, you are probably very
familiar with diet burnout, evenif you don't know the name.
So diet burnout is when younotice that each diet attempt
has become less and lesseffective.
(04:48):
When you first started dieting,perhaps you were really good at
sticking to your plan, and thenthe second diet rolled around
and you were still pretty good,but maybe you didn't last quite
as long before you foundyourself feeling a bit out of
control with food.
And as each diet attempt hascome along, you're noticing that
your ability to fall off.
(05:08):
The bandwagon has becomequicker and quicker and quicker.
This was very true for me.
I was very much deep with dietburnouts, where I would start my
fresh diet that day and byafternoon I would be totally out
of control and at my worst, thecycle was repeating itself
multiple times a day.
So if you are stuck in thisvicious diet cycle restricting
(05:31):
during the day, feelingcompletely overwhelmed then
there is a way out.
Remembering this, you gasp forair when you've been holding
your breath and youp for airwhen you've been holding your
breath and you binge on foodwhen you've been restricting.
Just to repeat that again, yougasp for air when you've been
holding your breath and youbinge on food when you've been
restricting.
I talk about this idea of dietburnout in my book your Weight
(05:52):
Is Not the Problem and I suggesta solution.
So if you have not actuallyread your Weight Is Not the
Problem, please, there arethousands of people who would
say please go read that book.
I would say please go read thatbook.
It's such a brilliant introinto intuitive eating, into this
philosophy and giving you realtools that you can take away to
help get out of diet burnout.
(06:13):
But just to give you a cliffnotes, because I'm not expecting
you to have read the bookstraight away.
To get out of diet burnout, youneed to clear your headspace of
all of these diet rules, dietrules that are making you
restrict, and that is what'sleading you to binge on food,
just like that person holdingtheir breath and then gasping
for air.
So when you're able to unpeelall these years and all these
(06:37):
accumulated diet rules out ofyour brain, what you find is
that you're able to make foodchoices from a different place,
instead of feeling like, oh, Ishouldn't be eating this.
You might go, I'm going to havea few bites of something and go
, I don't really feel like it.
For example, I was just makingmy husband a birthday cake Well,
not really a birthday cake.
I'm terrible at baking,something I document on my
(06:58):
Instagram.
If you do not follow me.
I'm at nude underscorenutritionist.
So instead of baking, I was like, okay, I'm going to make a
parfait, which involves mecreating a beautifully sweet
cream, getting Oreos popping itin.
And I was just licking the bowljust before coming to record
and you know what I thought nah,this is good, but it's making
me feel a little bit full, alittle bit rich, I'm good for
(07:21):
now.
My body communicated with meand it said you know what You're
good.
This is making me feel a littlebit like it's too rich, it's
too much and I'm actually goodto stop eating now.
Now, back in my dieting days, Iremember I'd be eating a
dessert with my mom and shewould say something like oh my
goodness, this is so rich, I canbarely eat this.
(07:42):
That's my impersonation of mymom and I would look at her
blank stare, going I don't knowwhat you mean.
I'm eating this and it doesn'ttaste that rich to me.
I'm not getting that cue frommy body to say this is so
filling.
Nothing in me is telling me tostop.
Because I was restricting, Ididn't get the same hunger
(08:03):
fullness cues that I was before.
So by shedding all of thesediet rules and this is something
that does take a long time youstart to become someone who can
eat intuitively, who starts toget those hunger and fullness
receptors firing a little bitmore accurately, where you might
become one of those people whogoes this is rich.
I understand what everyone wastalking about.
(08:24):
I can self-moderate because Igenuinely don't want any more,
but if you feel like you don'teven know what something too
rich feels like.
As I said, I've been there.
I know that you're not crazy,you're not delusional.
It might be accurate that yougenuinely don't even notice if
something is rich, because it'slike you've been holding your
(08:45):
breath and now you're gaspingfor air.
In other words, because you'vebeen restricting, you're now
binging on the very foods youhaven't allowed yourself to have
, and by giving yourselfpermission to do that, you will
get out of diet burnout.
You will start to regain thatsense of satisfaction and
fullness around food, and thisis something you learn over time
(09:05):
by practicing intuitive eating.
And, of course, I teach youmore about intuitive eating
inside my book.
Your Weight Is Not the Problem,so just another reason for you
to get your paws on it.
I will leave a link in thedescription so you can go get a
copy if you don't already.
Now let's talk about the lastsupper mentality.
(09:26):
Now, this is when you feel like, oh, you know what?
I've been so bad already.
I may as well just finish thisbag of chips now so that I don't
eat more later.
Perhaps you're going.
I'm eating my chocolate and ohmy goodness, I've been so bad
today.
I may as well just eat the restof the ice cream, finish the
tub, drink everything that I caneat as much as I possibly can,
(09:46):
because the diet starts freshtomorrow.
In other words, you're kind ofgiving yourself permission to
binge on something because youthink you'll do better once it's
all finished, because thenyou'll have a clean slate.
Now the last supplementality isproblematic because it's very
much rooted in restriction.
In other words, by saying toyourself I'm going to finish it
(10:08):
so I can be good tomorrow,you're almost setting yourself
up for yet another binge.
You're sending the message toyour brain that food is
restricted, that there isn'tplentiful, that you have to
hurry up and eat as much as youpossibly can before the famine
or AKA the diet.
Your body can't really tell.
The difference is about tostart, and so you're kind of
(10:29):
creating much more of this hugebinge and then the more of a
restrictive phase, instead offinding that healthy, balanced
middle ground.
You're kind of creating muchmore of this huge binge and then
the more of a restrictive phaseinstead of finding that healthy
, balanced middle ground.
Now, if this feels like you andyou're going, okay, yeah, I'm a
last supper mentality person.
Yes, I have diet burnout If youhaven't yet done my free
five-day course.
This is a very good place tostart.
(10:49):
I give you free tips that Idon't really share anywhere else
, that I would love you to goand learn about.
I once again, I will leave thelink to that in the description.
But let's talk about a simplesolution for the last supper
mentality, and that is somethingcalled the three packet
principle.
Now, what is that?
So nowadays, rather thanremoving the foods I feel the
(11:10):
most out of control with and say, oh no, I'm not allowed to have
them in the house, I'm tryingto be good, which is very much
that last supper mentality andsomething I very much used to do
.
I mean, all the time I wasprofessional at it.
Now I always have three packetsof whatever it is that I feel
is my go-to food in the house.
(11:31):
So for me, chocolate is.
I will be a chocolate lovertill the day I die.
I used to binge eat onchocolate.
I've always had this real thingfor chocolate.
For some people I know thatthing is chips, or maybe it's
peanut butter, or Biscoff, orcereal or bread.
There's lots of these foods.
Very often, the foods we feel abit out of control with tend to
(11:51):
be carbohydrate foods, and Ithink that is due to the fact
that we live in a diet cultureworld that is currently
demonizing carbohydrates, so thevery foods we tell ourselves
we're not allowed to have wefeel the most out of control
with.
I don't think that's acoincidence.
I think that's a very clearlink.
Now you pick the food that youfeel most out of control with,
that you want to regain controlover whether it's chocolate or
chips, and you go all right, I'mgoing to implement the three
(12:13):
packet principle in our house,and that is when I finish the
packet, I vow to myself that Iwill replenish it.
What this does is it removesthe fear of that last supper
mentality, that idea of I willstart fresh tomorrow If I finish
this packet.
It means there'll be a cleanslate.
It doesn't, because what weknow is that that bag will keep
(12:35):
reappearing because you havevowed to keep purchasing it.
Now, I know this can be a littlebit scary and I have to say
this isn't just eat whatever youwant whenever you want.
I do want you to be mindfullyeating these foods when you are
eating them, and so one thing Iwant you to do is to start to
take the food whatever it is forme chocolate.
I'll use that as an example andgo and put it onto a plate and
(12:57):
go and sit down and go and eatit or at least sit down, because
I think so often the out ofcontrol eating happens when we
are standing in our pantryputting the food in and, all the
while feeling guilty andpromising ourselves to do better
, we're not actually enjoying itand simply saying to ourself
there's always more, there'salways going to be more.
The chocolate is never going torun out.
(13:17):
It's always here for me andtruly knowing that and truly
believing that using this threepacket principle can help to,
over time, reduce how stimulatedyou feel by whatever food it is
you feel out of control with.
So by using the three packetprinciple, with time you start
to feel more immune to thesefoods.
(13:38):
You stop feeling as out ofcontrol around them because you
truly trust and know thatanytime you want more, you can
have more.
This also really helps withdiet burnout, because you're
helping to prove to your bodythat food isn't going to be
restricted and therefore thereisn't the strong need to binge
at night, particularly if secreteating is your thing.
(13:58):
I think this is a really goodthing to be doing.
Now perhaps you're saying, allright, well, I've got a partner
who doesn't let me have certainfoods in the house, or I'm a
child and I live at home and Idon't get to choose what foods
are in the house.
What I would say to you is areally smart way to do this.
You can kind of do thethree-packet principle in a
different way, where you chooseto go out to eat the food that
(14:21):
you feel a little bit out ofcontrol with.
Maybe you say to yourself ifyou're a child, you go okay,
every day after school, I'mgoing to go get myself a piece
of chocolate on my way home andI'm going to be able to eat that
with enjoyment.
And if I finish it, I know thattomorrow I will always be able
to come back and have thatchocolate if I want to have it.
Or maybe you're going into acafe and you're eating a pan of
(14:41):
chocolate, or maybe you'reordering some Nutella on toast
and you're eating it mindfully.
The key to the three packetprinciple working is this idea
that anytime I want more, Itruly am allowed.
It is the exact opposite of thelast supper mentality, which is
once I've finished this, I needto start fresh tomorrow.
(15:05):
The second solution is somethingI'm calling pigeon-sized
portions, and this is whenyou're not eating enough during
the day, and this can lead tobinging at night.
If you go back to episodenumber 85, why French women
don't get fat we're talkingabout that old school diet book,
but we are actually justtalking about the things that we
can take away from that bookthat were useful, and one of
those things is prioritizingeating, satisfying and filling
lunches.
(15:25):
If you feel like most of yourfood is getting consumed at
nighttime, it is a very obviousclue that you are not eating
enough during the day.
Ideally, I'd love you eatingyour breakfast as according to
your hunger, and eating yourlarger meals during the daytime,
so by the time it's getting tonighttime, you can taper off
what you're eating and have afew hours without eating before
(15:49):
you go to sleep.
Of course, this is impossibleto do if you are not eating
enough during the day.
And when you eat, I want to seea mix of macro and
micronutrients.
What do I mean?
I just want to see carbs, Iwant to see protein and I want
to see fat, and I want to seelots of veggies or fruit,
whatever's relevant, and eatingfood that is substantial enough
(16:09):
is going to be the key to notfeeling out of control around
food when it comes to nighttime.
And the third solution is tospend calories to save calories.
Now, I don't actually ever talkin calorie terms, but for your
dieting brain perhaps it makessense to you.
I think that, as I said, we havean idea of how much we are
(16:29):
allowed to eat.
Sometimes that is tied tosomething like points or
calories.
I used to think that I couldn'thave a snack that was more than
150 calories, and you know whatit used to do to me.
It used to mean that I couldn'thave a snack that was more than
150 calories, and you know whatit used to do to me.
It used to mean that I couldn'tstop eating when it came to my
mealtime because I was so hungry.
I'd do something calledsnowball snacking, which is when
I'd start with a handful ofnuts, trying to be good, then
(16:53):
I'd go oh, I'll just have a fewmore crackers.
Then I'd have a yogurt, then Ihad an apple, then I crackers,
then I'd have a yogurt, then Ihad an apple, then I'd have some
chocolate, then I had somechips, and you know, the
snowball would go out of control.
Next thing, I know I've eatenabout, you know, a thousand
calories, all because I wasn'tgoing to allow myself the
privilege, not even theprivilege, just the basic need
(17:16):
of eating enough because I washungry.
So if I had eaten somethinglike a piece of toast with
avocado probably more like 250calories you could see how
spending those calories wouldactually help me save so much
more.
So what I'm saying is eat moreto eat less.
If eating food that is moresatisfying and, yes, it might
have a few more calories in it,or maybe it's got a little bit
more sugar, a little bit moresalt but if this means you're
(17:37):
going to enjoy it, you're goingto actually feel full, you're
going to feel satisfied then youabsolutely win.
And if you're going I don'teven know how to do this what
does a satisfying meal look like?
What kind of things am Iallowed to eat?
Then, of course, my app Back toBasics is a really, really good
resource with hundreds of easyrecipes, and I've basically done
(17:59):
all the calculations and thehard work for you so that you
don't have to mull over calories, you don't have to mull over
micronutrients or macronutrientsor whether or not it's good or
it's bad.
So by using an app like Back toBasics.
It takes the food thoughts outof it.
You can just go.
Okay, I feel a little bit morerelaxed Now.
The point of Back to Basics isto teach you a new way of
thinking about food.
Give you those ideas, thatinspiration to get you out of
(18:22):
your food rush so that in thefuture you won't need to rely on
an app to eat.
You'll have your body, you'llknow how to eat intuitively and
you'll have those go-to optionsready for you.
But Back to Basics can play abig role in the relearning how
to eat and I think it's a greatresource.
If you want to try it, free,I'll leave a link in the
description down below.
And lastly, I just want to leaveyou with this idea Even if you
(18:45):
have been dieting for years, fordecades, even if you are so
entrenched in this cycle ofbeing so good during the day and
overeating at night, you canbecome someone who eats when
they're hungry, who stops whenthey feel full and doesn't
obsess over food.
Become someone who eats whenthey're hungry, who stops when
they feel full and doesn'tobsess over food.
I promise it is possible.
I have seen it happen with somany clients and myself.
I was binge eating multipletimes a day, and now I'm the
(19:08):
kind of girl who goes nah, I'mfull, that is rich and I can
taste it, and that is possiblefor you too.
I hope you've enjoyed today'sepisode.
If you have a topic you wouldlove to hear about, or you've
got some feedback, some thoughtsor something nice to say,
please do reach out.
You can find me at hello atlindycohencom and I'd love to
(19:30):
hear from you.
All right, I'll see you nexttime on the no Wellness Wankery
podcast.
Bye.
Hey everyone, before you dive into today's episode,
let's chat.
Do you struggle with overeatingor turning to food when big
emotions hit?
Do you wonder how you will everstop raiding the pantry when
everyone else has retreated tobed?
Well, I have something new toshare with you.
I have created a StopStruggling With Food Guide to
(00:23):
help you let go of the strictdiet rules and impulsive eating
habits With practical tools toembrace eating more mindfully
and intentionally.
Plus, it's loaded with 50 of myfavorite easy recipes.
It will bring you some hope onthose days when you feel like a
failure.
No woo-woo BS, but expertdesign strategies that work.
From me, one of Australia'smost renowned nutritionists and
(00:45):
dietitians, sounds good.
Then check the link in my shownotes and let's get started on
this journey together.
Last night I got home fromdinner and no one was in the
kitchen.
I had the house to myself,which, honestly, that never
happens and I love when thathappens.
(01:09):
But anyway, in the past thissituation would have absolutely
triggered me to lose controlaround food.
In fact, the cycle I was stuckin is I would be so good with my
eating all day.
You know I'd follow the mealplan.
I would take those low calorieoptions, those recipes.
I'd create them, I'd stick tothem all day and then inevitably
(01:33):
I would come home in theafternoon and if no one was home
I would lose control aroundeating.
And even when it got to dinnertime it felt like I couldn't
quite fill the hole.
I'd lie in bed at night tellingmyself I was going to do better
tomorrow.
I felt so guilty and, honestly,a bit pathetic.
I thought I really did thinkthat there was something wrong
(01:55):
with me and I'd say okay, lindy,today you're going to do better
, we're going to start againfrom scratch.
And then that basically meantthat I would restrict the next
day.
And so I was stuck in thispattern of being good all day
quote unquote.
But then I'd lose control atnight.
And maybe this is you Do youdiet during the day and secret
(02:16):
eat at night?
Or maybe not even secret eat,but you feel that sense of out
of control on this.
Perhaps you're restricting yourportions during the day or
eating plain, boring salads.
Perhaps you have rules aboutwhat is an acceptable thing to
eat, whether it's for your mainmeals or your snacks.
Perhaps you have a calorieamount.
You inadvertently think I haveto stick within this for my
(02:37):
allotted snack.
You know I'm allowed fruit ornuts and I'm only allowed this
many.
And I remember when you readthose Cosmo magazines that give
you great snack ideas under ahundred calories, great snack
ideas under 150 calories, and sothe idea of eating something
that was meal-sized for a snackwas wild and can be a bit of a
(02:59):
hard thing.
Maybe you feel like you getmid-afternoon hunger cravings
and at night you rampage and youfeel like you can't be
satisfied and then you get thatsame guilt cycle that I talked
about at the beginning.
In this episode we're going tobe talking about why you feel
out of control around food atnight.
And hint, it's not aboutwillpower or whether or not
(03:21):
you're counting calories or not.
We're going to talk about howdaytime habits can very much
affect your nighttime eating andI'm going to be giving you some
very key strategies.
So we're going to talk aboutthe last supper mentality, the
three packet principle.
So stick around, it's going tobe a goodie.
Hey everyone, and welcome tothis week's episode of the no
(03:44):
Wellness Wankery podcast.
I am your host and yourdietitian and your nutritionist,
lindy Cohen, who does notbelieve that you just need
better willpower or that youneed to try harder on your diet.
In fact, what I think is you'veprobably spent your entire life
dedicated to dieting, and wherehas it gotten you?
It's probably gotten you to thepoint where you never feel like
(04:05):
you're at the right weight andyou feel like food is a struggle
.
Food doesn't have to be astruggle, and when you learn a
new approach to eating somethingwe talk about in this podcast,
along with the research and verypractical tips to help you make
it happen, you will become oneof those people who feel relaxed
and in control around food.
Let's get into today's episode.
(04:27):
Starting off, let's explore thisidea of diet burnout.
Have you ever heard of thatterm?
Diet burnout?
If you are a frequent flyerdieter, you are probably very
familiar with diet burnout, evenif you don't know the name.
So diet burnout is when younotice that each diet attempt
has become less and lesseffective.
(04:48):
When you first started dieting,perhaps you were really good at
sticking to your plan, and thenthe second diet rolled around
and you were still pretty good,but maybe you didn't last quite
as long before you foundyourself feeling a bit out of
control with food.
And as each diet attempt hascome along, you're noticing that
your ability to fall off.
(05:08):
The bandwagon has becomequicker and quicker and quicker.
This was very true for me.
I was very much deep with dietburnouts, where I would start my
fresh diet that day and byafternoon I would be totally out
of control and at my worst, thecycle was repeating itself
multiple times a day.
So if you are stuck in thisvicious diet cycle restricting
(05:31):
during the day, feelingcompletely overwhelmed then
there is a way out.
Remembering this, you gasp forair when you've been holding
your breath and youp for airwhen you've been holding your
breath and you binge on foodwhen you've been restricting.
Just to repeat that again, yougasp for air when you've been
holding your breath and youbinge on food when you've been
restricting.
I talk about this idea of dietburnout in my book your Weight
(05:52):
Is Not the Problem and I suggesta solution.
So if you have not actuallyread your Weight Is Not the
Problem, please, there arethousands of people who would
say please go read that book.
I would say please go read thatbook.
It's such a brilliant introinto intuitive eating, into this
philosophy and giving you realtools that you can take away to
help get out of diet burnout.
(06:13):
But just to give you a cliffnotes, because I'm not expecting
you to have read the bookstraight away.
To get out of diet burnout, youneed to clear your headspace of
all of these diet rules, dietrules that are making you
restrict, and that is what'sleading you to binge on food,
just like that person holdingtheir breath and then gasping
for air.
So when you're able to unpeelall these years and all these
(06:37):
accumulated diet rules out ofyour brain, what you find is
that you're able to make foodchoices from a different place,
instead of feeling like, oh, Ishouldn't be eating this.
You might go, I'm going to havea few bites of something and go
, I don't really feel like it.
For example, I was just makingmy husband a birthday cake Well,
not really a birthday cake.
I'm terrible at baking,something I document on my
(06:58):
Instagram.
If you do not follow me.
I'm at nude underscorenutritionist.
So instead of baking, I was like, okay, I'm going to make a
parfait, which involves mecreating a beautifully sweet
cream, getting Oreos popping itin.
And I was just licking the bowljust before coming to record
and you know what I thought nah,this is good, but it's making
me feel a little bit full, alittle bit rich, I'm good for
(07:21):
now.
My body communicated with meand it said you know what You're
good.
This is making me feel a littlebit like it's too rich, it's
too much and I'm actually goodto stop eating now.
Now, back in my dieting days, Iremember I'd be eating a
dessert with my mom and shewould say something like oh my
goodness, this is so rich, I canbarely eat this.
(07:42):
That's my impersonation of mymom and I would look at her
blank stare, going I don't knowwhat you mean.
I'm eating this and it doesn'ttaste that rich to me.
I'm not getting that cue frommy body to say this is so
filling.
Nothing in me is telling me tostop.
Because I was restricting, Ididn't get the same hunger
(08:03):
fullness cues that I was before.
So by shedding all of thesediet rules and this is something
that does take a long time youstart to become someone who can
eat intuitively, who starts toget those hunger and fullness
receptors firing a little bitmore accurately, where you might
become one of those people whogoes this is rich.
I understand what everyone wastalking about.
(08:24):
I can self-moderate because Igenuinely don't want any more,
but if you feel like you don'teven know what something too
rich feels like.
As I said, I've been there.
I know that you're not crazy,you're not delusional.
It might be accurate that yougenuinely don't even notice if
something is rich, because it'slike you've been holding your
(08:45):
breath and now you're gaspingfor air.
In other words, because you'vebeen restricting, you're now
binging on the very foods youhaven't allowed yourself to have
, and by giving yourselfpermission to do that, you will
get out of diet burnout.
You will start to regain thatsense of satisfaction and
fullness around food, and thisis something you learn over time
(09:05):
by practicing intuitive eating.
And, of course, I teach youmore about intuitive eating
inside my book.
Your Weight Is Not the Problem,so just another reason for you
to get your paws on it.
I will leave a link in thedescription so you can go get a
copy if you don't already.
Now let's talk about the lastsupper mentality.
(09:26):
Now, this is when you feel like, oh, you know what?
I've been so bad already.
I may as well just finish thisbag of chips now so that I don't
eat more later.
Perhaps you're going.
I'm eating my chocolate and ohmy goodness, I've been so bad
today.
I may as well just eat the restof the ice cream, finish the
tub, drink everything that I caneat as much as I possibly can,
(09:46):
because the diet starts freshtomorrow.
In other words, you're kind ofgiving yourself permission to
binge on something because youthink you'll do better once it's
all finished, because thenyou'll have a clean slate.
Now the last supplementality isproblematic because it's very
much rooted in restriction.
In other words, by saying toyourself I'm going to finish it
(10:08):
so I can be good tomorrow,you're almost setting yourself
up for yet another binge.
You're sending the message toyour brain that food is
restricted, that there isn'tplentiful, that you have to
hurry up and eat as much as youpossibly can before the famine
or AKA the diet.
Your body can't really tell.
The difference is about tostart, and so you're kind of
(10:29):
creating much more of this hugebinge and then the more of a
restrictive phase, instead offinding that healthy, balanced
middle ground.
You're kind of creating muchmore of this huge binge and then
the more of a restrictive phaseinstead of finding that healthy
, balanced middle ground.
Now, if this feels like you andyou're going, okay, yeah, I'm a
last supper mentality person.
Yes, I have diet burnout If youhaven't yet done my free
five-day course.
This is a very good place tostart.
(10:49):
I give you free tips that Idon't really share anywhere else
, that I would love you to goand learn about.
I once again, I will leave thelink to that in the description.
But let's talk about a simplesolution for the last supper
mentality, and that is somethingcalled the three packet
principle.
Now, what is that?
So nowadays, rather thanremoving the foods I feel the
(11:10):
most out of control with and say, oh no, I'm not allowed to have
them in the house, I'm tryingto be good, which is very much
that last supper mentality andsomething I very much used to do
.
I mean, all the time I wasprofessional at it.
Now I always have three packetsof whatever it is that I feel
is my go-to food in the house.
(11:31):
So for me, chocolate is.
I will be a chocolate lovertill the day I die.
I used to binge eat onchocolate.
I've always had this real thingfor chocolate.
For some people I know thatthing is chips, or maybe it's
peanut butter, or Biscoff, orcereal or bread.
There's lots of these foods.
Very often, the foods we feel abit out of control with tend to
(11:51):
be carbohydrate foods, and Ithink that is due to the fact
that we live in a diet cultureworld that is currently
demonizing carbohydrates, so thevery foods we tell ourselves
we're not allowed to have wefeel the most out of control
with.
I don't think that's acoincidence.
I think that's a very clearlink.
Now you pick the food that youfeel most out of control with,
that you want to regain controlover whether it's chocolate or
chips, and you go all right, I'mgoing to implement the three
(12:13):
packet principle in our house,and that is when I finish the
packet, I vow to myself that Iwill replenish it.
What this does is it removesthe fear of that last supper
mentality, that idea of I willstart fresh tomorrow If I finish
this packet.
It means there'll be a cleanslate.
It doesn't, because what weknow is that that bag will keep
(12:35):
reappearing because you havevowed to keep purchasing it.
Now, I know this can be a littlebit scary and I have to say
this isn't just eat whatever youwant whenever you want.
I do want you to be mindfullyeating these foods when you are
eating them, and so one thing Iwant you to do is to start to
take the food whatever it is forme chocolate.
I'll use that as an example andgo and put it onto a plate and
(12:57):
go and sit down and go and eatit or at least sit down, because
I think so often the out ofcontrol eating happens when we
are standing in our pantryputting the food in and, all the
while feeling guilty andpromising ourselves to do better
, we're not actually enjoying itand simply saying to ourself
there's always more, there'salways going to be more.
The chocolate is never going torun out.
(13:17):
It's always here for me andtruly knowing that and truly
believing that using this threepacket principle can help to,
over time, reduce how stimulatedyou feel by whatever food it is
you feel out of control with.
So by using the three packetprinciple, with time you start
to feel more immune to thesefoods.
(13:38):
You stop feeling as out ofcontrol around them because you
truly trust and know thatanytime you want more, you can
have more.
This also really helps withdiet burnout, because you're
helping to prove to your bodythat food isn't going to be
restricted and therefore thereisn't the strong need to binge
at night, particularly if secreteating is your thing.
(13:58):
I think this is a really goodthing to be doing.
Now perhaps you're saying, allright, well, I've got a partner
who doesn't let me have certainfoods in the house, or I'm a
child and I live at home and Idon't get to choose what foods
are in the house.
What I would say to you is areally smart way to do this.
You can kind of do thethree-packet principle in a
different way, where you chooseto go out to eat the food that
(14:21):
you feel a little bit out ofcontrol with.
Maybe you say to yourself ifyou're a child, you go okay,
every day after school, I'mgoing to go get myself a piece
of chocolate on my way home andI'm going to be able to eat that
with enjoyment.
And if I finish it, I know thattomorrow I will always be able
to come back and have thatchocolate if I want to have it.
Or maybe you're going into acafe and you're eating a pan of
(14:41):
chocolate, or maybe you'reordering some Nutella on toast
and you're eating it mindfully.
The key to the three packetprinciple working is this idea
that anytime I want more, Itruly am allowed.
It is the exact opposite of thelast supper mentality, which is
once I've finished this, I needto start fresh tomorrow.
(15:05):
The second solution is somethingI'm calling pigeon-sized
portions, and this is whenyou're not eating enough during
the day, and this can lead tobinging at night.
If you go back to episodenumber 85, why French women
don't get fat we're talkingabout that old school diet book,
but we are actually justtalking about the things that we
can take away from that bookthat were useful, and one of
those things is prioritizingeating, satisfying and filling
lunches.
(15:25):
If you feel like most of yourfood is getting consumed at
nighttime, it is a very obviousclue that you are not eating
enough during the day.
Ideally, I'd love you eatingyour breakfast as according to
your hunger, and eating yourlarger meals during the daytime,
so by the time it's getting tonighttime, you can taper off
what you're eating and have afew hours without eating before
(15:49):
you go to sleep.
Of course, this is impossibleto do if you are not eating
enough during the day.
And when you eat, I want to seea mix of macro and
micronutrients.
What do I mean?
I just want to see carbs, Iwant to see protein and I want
to see fat, and I want to seelots of veggies or fruit,
whatever's relevant, and eatingfood that is substantial enough
(16:09):
is going to be the key to notfeeling out of control around
food when it comes to nighttime.
And the third solution is tospend calories to save calories.
Now, I don't actually ever talkin calorie terms, but for your
dieting brain perhaps it makessense to you.
I think that, as I said, we havean idea of how much we are
(16:29):
allowed to eat.
Sometimes that is tied tosomething like points or
calories.
I used to think that I couldn'thave a snack that was more than
150 calories, and you know whatit used to do to me.
It used to mean that I couldn'thave a snack that was more than
150 calories, and you know whatit used to do to me.
It used to mean that I couldn'tstop eating when it came to my
mealtime because I was so hungry.
I'd do something calledsnowball snacking, which is when
I'd start with a handful ofnuts, trying to be good, then
(16:53):
I'd go oh, I'll just have a fewmore crackers.
Then I'd have a yogurt, then Ihad an apple, then I crackers,
then I'd have a yogurt, then Ihad an apple, then I'd have some
chocolate, then I had somechips, and you know, the
snowball would go out of control.
Next thing, I know I've eatenabout, you know, a thousand
calories, all because I wasn'tgoing to allow myself the
privilege, not even theprivilege, just the basic need
(17:16):
of eating enough because I washungry.
So if I had eaten somethinglike a piece of toast with
avocado probably more like 250calories you could see how
spending those calories wouldactually help me save so much
more.
So what I'm saying is eat moreto eat less.
If eating food that is moresatisfying and, yes, it might
have a few more calories in it,or maybe it's got a little bit
more sugar, a little bit moresalt but if this means you're
(17:37):
going to enjoy it, you're goingto actually feel full, you're
going to feel satisfied then youabsolutely win.
And if you're going I don'teven know how to do this what
does a satisfying meal look like?
What kind of things am Iallowed to eat?
Then, of course, my app Back toBasics is a really, really good
resource with hundreds of easyrecipes, and I've basically done
(17:59):
all the calculations and thehard work for you so that you
don't have to mull over calories, you don't have to mull over
micronutrients or macronutrientsor whether or not it's good or
it's bad.
So by using an app like Back toBasics.
It takes the food thoughts outof it.
You can just go.
Okay, I feel a little bit morerelaxed Now.
The point of Back to Basics isto teach you a new way of
thinking about food.
Give you those ideas, thatinspiration to get you out of
(18:22):
your food rush so that in thefuture you won't need to rely on
an app to eat.
You'll have your body, you'llknow how to eat intuitively and
you'll have those go-to optionsready for you.
But Back to Basics can play abig role in the relearning how
to eat and I think it's a greatresource.
If you want to try it, free,I'll leave a link in the
description down below.
And lastly, I just want to leaveyou with this idea Even if you
(18:45):
have been dieting for years, fordecades, even if you are so
entrenched in this cycle ofbeing so good during the day and
overeating at night, you canbecome someone who eats when
they're hungry, who stops whenthey feel full and doesn't
obsess over food.
Become someone who eats whenthey're hungry, who stops when
they feel full and doesn'tobsess over food.
I promise it is possible.
I have seen it happen with somany clients and myself.
I was binge eating multipletimes a day, and now I'm the
(19:08):
kind of girl who goes nah, I'mfull, that is rich and I can
taste it, and that is possiblefor you too.
I hope you've enjoyed today'sepisode.
If you have a topic you wouldlove to hear about, or you've
got some feedback, some thoughtsor something nice to say,
please do reach out.
You can find me at hello atlindycohencom and I'd love to
(19:30):
hear from you.
All right, I'll see you nexttime on the no Wellness Wankery
podcast.
Bye.
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