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…..