Restriction Vs Restraint

If you are working with us at Creating Peace with Food (CPF), we are or will be talking about balance at some point. One balance related topic we will talk about today is understanding restriction vs. restraint when it comes to food.

Here is an example for our discussion:

• You are trying to eat better.
• Let's say you really enjoy and may even emotionally eat sweets or salty treats.
• Your dietitian at CPF says that these foods can be part of your food intake, but you may wonder- how? "How can these be part of my meal plan when I can't just have "a few"? Isn't it this what is keeping me from attaining my goals in the first place? Don’t I need to cut it out completely?" Your dietitian's answer is no (because this would be restriction)  and you leave with a goal of trying to enjoy a smaller amount of these foods, although you are not sure how this is going to work.
• You sit down with your meal  and decide to also include one of your favorite treats with your meal. 

After having a seemingly small portion of your treat, compared to what you usually have, a dialogue begins: 

• So….I want more, of course.
• I can't have more.
• Well actually, I CAN have more.
• I am choosing not to have more.
• Isn't this a form of restricting myself, to tell myself that I can't have any? 
• But I CAN have more. I can choose to have more or choose to not have more.
• I can't get my mind off this food! Doesn't that mean I should have more? If I just have a little more I will be satisfied…..

Have you ever experienced something along these lines? When am I acting from a place of restriction and when am I acting from a place of restraint? The goal is to be acting from a place of restraint when needed. And restraint in the context of feeling total freedom is the ultimate goal. Today we will focus on just the restricting and restraining part. Read more here…..

Restriction Vs Restraint Continued

Here are some thoughts and situations that can help you identify when you are acting or thinking  from a place of restriction:

• I can't have those foods
• I had that already this week so I can't have it again
• I ate that so I should eat less at this meal
• I didn't eat breakfast so I can surely have this treat
• I'm having this treat and I will just work it off tomorrow or I won't have (you put something in the blank here) tomorrow.

Here are some thoughts and situations that can help you identify when you are acting from a place of restraint:

• I ate a nourishing meal. I am not going to have more because I am satisfied or full.
• I am eating all my meals and snacks and nourishing myself well. Even though I know I can have more of this treat, I am not going to because I feel it becoming more triggering. I've had sweets the past couple days and I am starting to feel again like I have to have a sweet after my meal. I'm going to take a break and readjust how I am relating to this food again.
• I am very used to having a large portion of this food. I am choosing to have less. I know I can have more if I want to. Part of me wants to, but what I really want is to focus on the fact that I am nourishing myself well and I CAN have these things. I am choosing to not have them, but I am not choosing to not have them because I  can't or because they are bad. Once I feel like I can have these foods without them being so triggering, I will have them. In the meantime, I am going to continue working on nourishing myself faithfully.

Weekly Challenge:

1. What are your thoughts moments like these?
2. Are you thinking or acting from a place of restriction or restraint?
3. Join our forum to discuss the topic further. See our website for directions to the forum.