Sometimes even our “gray” thoughts disguise black-and-white thinking
WEall know what black-and-white thinking around food looks like. The feeling of being “good” or “bad,” on track or off, in control or totally lost.
Many women share that they feel frustrated and exhausted with black-and-white thinking and want to feel more balanced around their eating patterns, so they attempt to be “gray.” But often I hear, “I thought I was being balanced, but I still felt so restricted. It doesn’t make sense.”
Usually this comes from what I refer to as rigid gray thinking — a disguised version of black-and-white thinking that is still rule-based. Rigid gray thinking borrows the language of balance, but still carries the pressure to “get it right.”
It’s key to remember that if following intuitive eating guidelines turns into a reason for self-judgment, it stops being a gentle guideline and becomes another rigid rule.
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