If you have a history of food insecurity, dieting and food restriction are holding you back and making things worse. Here's why.
Food insecurity is defined as a lack of consistent access to enough food for an active and healthy life. Food insecurity can be experienced in several different ways.
Growing up (and even now), your family may not have had the financial means to provide enough food. You may have been hungry at times, or just never quite full enough. You may have had enough food some days or weeks and not enough on others.
Or, growing up a parent or guardian may have been withholding certain types of foods from you. You weren't allowed to have treats, sugary foods, or "junk" foods. You may not be calling this food insecurity. You may be seeing this as a way to be healthy by trying to avoid bad foods.
Whether the food insecurity was due to financial or "health" reasons, both experiences of food scarcity were well out of your control.
When someone with past food insecurity tries to control their weight and restrict food, experiences of "not having enough" continue. Dieting and restricted eating leads to overeating and binging. For those with a history of food insecurity, they may have even more intense experiences of overeating because of their unmet need of having enough food available to eat.
Folks with a history of food insecurity feel unsafe in their body when they don't have enough food.
Purposeful, voluntary food restriction will only activate past food insecurity responses: anxiety, worry, fear of not having enough. Feeling helpless and out of control.
To heal past food insecurity, let your mind and body know that you will be offering yourself enough food consistently. Reassure yourself that food is available to you and that you will not need to experience the discomfort and trauma of hunger.
When you notice that you've had enough food, be clear with yourself that this is what you're experiencing. Note it to yourself by saying "I have enough food. I'm safe." File it away so your body can identify what enoughness feels like.
What do you notice in your body when you've had enough food?