The Whole30's Food Freedom Forever: Letting Go of Bad Habits, Guilt, and Anxiety Around Food

To retain your food freedom, successfully manage cravings, and stay in control, the most important thing you can do is manage your stressors. All of them. And no, I’m not going to tell you to “just relax,” because never in the history of relaxing has anyone ever relaxed by being told to just relax.

Food freedom is realizing I can have anything I want, any time I want it . . . and in the moment, simply honoring whether or not I really want it.

Since most of the micronutrients, fiber, water, protein, and fat have been processed out of these foods, your body gets lots of calories but still doesn’t feel nourished—so you overconsume.

and everything changes. You used to feel guilty about the treats you ate because it felt like you were “cheating” on your diet, or you mindlessly ate it up so fast it barely registered, or you lost control and overconsumed,

Food freedom happened when I took the time to ask myself what I really wanted and made a conscious, deliberate decision in the moment.

sleep is your biggest issue, try an all-natural supplement like Dr. Kirk Parsley’s Sleep Remedy (docparsley.com), which contains magnesium and other micronutrients designed to promote deep, natural sleep.

Robert Sapolsky, professor of biology and neurology at Stanford University, proposes that 80 percent of stress reduction can be attributed to the first 20 percent of effort. It’s why you feel so relieved just by making an appointment with a counselor, signing up to join a gym, or ordering that book on meditation. You haven’t actually done anything

Reduce your stress. (Aside: It’s featured last because if you do all the other stuff that comes before it, this one is going to be way easier.)

The Night Before Improving your willpower for any given day starts the night before. Take as many decisions out of tomorrow as possible—especially the ones involving food. Lay out your clothes; prep your coffee, breakfast, and lunch; pre-pack your work bag. Try to predict ahead of time whether you’ll be feeling rested enough to hit the gym, or whet