Over the years, our nutrition practice has witnessed countless people discovering three valuable lessons over Lent, and wishing they had internalized them sooner.
Lesson 1: The loss is temporary.
Giving up a favorite junky food (for Lent or any time) is hard….but only for a few weeks. Once a processed food loses its hold on your brain and taste buds, it often stops appealing at all. Taste buds change to love whatever feeds you when you are most hungry, so no food is the permanent love of your life. You move on to healthier things that are just as beloved.
But then, after Lent, you eat the old treat again and…
Lesson 2: The old infatuation comes back shockingly fast.
Upon trying the treat again, many people don’t even enjoy the first few bites. The food seems over-flavored and over-processed. But habit, curiosity, or a quest for that old “hit” make them finish the treat and before they know it, they are having fresh cravings.
Lesson 3: Next time you do all the work to break free, don’t go back!
When you work hard to give up a junky food, and reach that wonderful place of no longer wanting it, don’t try it again out of curiosity! Instead, value the hard work you invested and feel like a rockstar for breaking free from junk-food-want.
Nutrition for POTS, MCAS, dysautonomia, autoimmunity and related conditions 