What Would Happen If You Only Ate Ice Cream?
Intuitive eating is simple, but that doesn't mean it's easy.
In the study of psychology there is a fascinating phenomenon called “habituation.” Habituation is the reason that once we learn to swim we're usually no longer as fearful of the water. Swimming can be enticing on a hot day, or off-putting when it's negative 5 degrees, but generally speaking, when the conditions are right, swimming can be a positive experience. Same goes for food. An enormous part of repairing your relationship with food is done through the habituation process: the more you practice giving your body a wide variety of foods, the less enticing (read: intimidating) those foods become.
For some the habituation process happens rather quickly. For others it happens slowly. Think about how long you've been restricting yourself or setting rules around food. You didn't learn those behaviors over night, so chances are it'll take longer than a few days to challenge and overcome them too.
Here’s a helpful visualization practice you can use in order to practice dismantling arbitrary food rules.
Imagine going to the grocery store and stocking up on all the ingredients, and utensils necessary to make the perfect ice cream sundae. As you venture into the grocery store keep in mind this one principle: you can pick absolutely anything you like and in quantities that may very well be absurd. Dream big here.
Some ice cream flavors might be; phish food, rocky road, cookie dough, pumpkin spice, mint, chocolate, salted caramel, etc, etc.
Some toppings you might select; sprinkles, M&Ms, gummy bears, mini candies, peanuts, coconut flakes, slivered almonds, chocolate chips, etc, etc.
After you've carefully selected all of your ingredients and you've returned home it's time to start putting it all together. You can make it as big, decadent, and over the top as you want. Once it's put together, take a minute to draw it out in a notebook, or describe it in a journal. What kind of bowl did you use to assemble your sundae? What are all the flavors you scooped, and in what order? How many toppings did you put on? What kind of spoon are you using?
Here's the fun part: on this ice cream sundae day, it's all about you. There are no interruptions, no other people, no external sources of judgement raining on your parade. The only must for this activity is that you build the ice cream sundae of your dreams.
Imagine taking your first bite (what time is it? where are you in your house? what are you wearing?) and notice all the different flavors, toppings, sauces, etc.
Try and bring attention to how fast are you eating.
What are some thoughts you’re experiencing as you imagine taking your first bite?
Try and call attention to your body - what are you noticing in your physical self?
Do you notice any physical sensations coming up for you such as mouth watering or hunger cues?
Return to your imaginary "no responsibilities" day doing all the things you love. After a few hours, you start to feel hungry again, so you go back to the kitchen and build yourself another ice cream sundae. Then you do it again for dinner, and again the following day for breakfast/lunch/snacks, etc.
Once you've done this visualization in your mind, take a moment to reflect on the following questions.
How did you feel after that FIRST bowl of ice cream?
Was it satisfying?
Did you feel full?
How would you describe how you physically felt?
Was it pleasant? Unpleasant? Neutral?
How many meals or days do you think you could get cream for without getting bored?
How long would it take you to feel a bit sickly? Do you think you might start craving other foods?
There isn't a right (or wrong) way of to answer any of the questions above. The opportunity for growth comes when you recognize that when you truly open yourself up to the idea that you have unconditional permission to eat all foods, all day, everyday, no matter how much you love (or may even believe you're addicted to) that food, eating only that food item might not be the most pleasant way to experience that food.
Laura Thompson in her book, Just Eat It, writes, "sure, those things taste good, and there's no reason for us to exclude or restrict. We also don't have to arbitrarily put them on a pedestal; if we allow ourselves to have them when we want them, we realize that they're just not that big a deal. If we experience a few days of eating more sweet foods than usual, the chances are, we'll gravitate back towards a balance of foods that feels good in our bodies."
The process of taking food off the proverbial pedestal is called habituation. It's impossible to be addicted to food, and while certain foods may have a lot of anxiety around eating them, doing the work of challenging that fear is the only way you can begin to make peace with all foods so that those foods DON'T have any intensity behind them.
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