WEBVTT
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Hello there and welcome back to the Binge Eating Dietician Podcast.
00:00:11.169 --> 00:00:15.650
It's Joe here, registered dietitian, here to help you smash your binge eating.
00:00:15.890 --> 00:00:17.089
How is everything going?
00:00:17.329 --> 00:00:20.689
It is now the 20th of February 2026.
00:00:21.250 --> 00:00:24.850
How is it all going with your relationship with food?
00:00:25.330 --> 00:00:28.609
With your quest to stop binge eating.
00:00:28.690 --> 00:00:29.649
I know it's a journey.
00:00:29.730 --> 00:00:31.649
It doesn't happen overnight, sadly.
00:00:31.890 --> 00:00:34.929
So if you are on that journey right now, you can always let me know.
00:00:35.090 --> 00:00:40.130
My email address is Joe at antidietanswers.com and I absolutely love hearing your stories.
00:00:40.289 --> 00:00:41.729
So please don't hold back.
00:00:41.890 --> 00:00:42.530
Share away.
00:00:42.609 --> 00:00:44.450
My inbox is always open.
00:00:44.770 --> 00:00:48.130
In today's episode, I'm going to be talking about Lent.
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Because we're at that time of year now.
00:00:50.689 --> 00:00:54.369
It was Pancake Tuesday on Tuesday just past, and then it was Ash Wednesday.
00:00:54.450 --> 00:01:00.210
So that means we are into the period now of religious fasting for Lent.
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And I'm speaking about this topic because I grew up in Catholic Ireland.
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I followed Lent for a long time, probably until I was a teenager.
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I haven't followed it in quite a number of years because I don't really associate myself with religion much at the moment.
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Maybe I'll go back to it, but right now it's just not my thing.
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So I haven't done it in a long time.
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But I can remember the memories like they were yesterday of eating as many pancakes as you could possibly fit into your mouth and into your stomach, only to start on Ash Wednesday, finally, the opportunity to fast, to cleanse yourself of all of the sugar, the nastiness, the that feeling like uh feeling that you get with eating so much sugar.
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And when Ash Wednesday comes, you have that relief of been able to finally instigate your fast.
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And whether you are very much a practicing Catholic or you're a bit like me, where you used to, but not really, you don't really associate with it anymore, but you still always feel the pull, the draw to fast when it comes to the beginning of Lent.
00:02:14.210 --> 00:02:25.250
I want to talk a little bit more about that and how you can navigate it in a way that feels safe and sustainable and isn't going to worsen your eating disorder.
00:02:25.489 --> 00:02:26.530
So let's get into it.
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Firstly, I want to hold space for how ingrained this is in our culture.
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You might be fasting this year, giving up something like chocolate or sweets or crisps or something else.
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But for the purpose of this episode, let's just assume that you're giving up chocolate for Lent.
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You might automatically just assume, well, of course I'm going to give up chocolate for Lent because that's what I do every year.
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And if that's you right now, where you have just kind of slept walk walked into starting Lent because that's what you've done every year.
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I really hope that you'll take on board what I'm going to say in this episode.
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So Lent is something that certainly if you grew up in Ireland, it's kind of just assumed that you are going to do.
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And now that you're older in your 20s or 30s or 40s or older, you're thinking, well, actually, why am I doing this?
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So the first thing I want you to do is just reflect on your why for doing Lent.
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And I know that sounds like such a woo thing to say.
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Reflect on your why.
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But it is important.
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And we're not coming at it in a woo-woo sense.
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I'm not asking you to do any deep work here.
00:03:31.729 --> 00:03:35.169
I just want you to take a minute to ask yourself, why am I doing this?
00:03:35.489 --> 00:03:40.849
Is it actually important to me for religious reasons to give up chocolate for Lent?
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Be honest with yourself.
00:03:42.689 --> 00:03:43.889
Truly honest.
00:03:44.209 --> 00:03:47.090
And if it is truly important to you, then that is okay.
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And I'm not going to stand in the way of that.
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I'm not going to say, no, that you shouldn't fast.
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If you are doing it for a good reason that is important to you, then that's fine.
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But maybe for you, after reflecting on your why, you've realized, well, actually, yes, I might be a bit religious, or I might not be, but actually, there is a big part of me that's doing this because I want the challenge of fasting, or I want the goal at the end of maybe having lost some weight because I've given up chocolate, or I want to prove it to myself that I have the control that I can do it.
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In a way, and forgive me for saying this if I'm incorrect, in a way, Lent has just become another diet, hasn't it?
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Or another socially acceptable reason to cut out foods.
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And I want to be sensitive here because I know some of you listening will be religious, but for many of you, this is exactly the situation.
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You are giving up chocolate for Lent because it's a really good excuse for you to not eat chocolate, therefore lose weight, therefore feel really empowered and in control and on top of the world because you've been able to get through 40 days without thinking of a bar of chocolate.
00:05:05.730 --> 00:05:09.649
So now that you've reflected on your why and you've asked yourself, why am I doing this?
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Is it genuinely important to me, or is it just that I have given myself permission to take part in this socially sanctioned reason to cut out one of my favourite foods for 40 days?
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Let's look at what has happened in previous years because you've been here before, just like I had been.
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I gave up chocolate every year for Lent and I never ever made it until the end of the 40 days ever.
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I would try my very best.
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I would give it my all.
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I would do everything that you're supposed to do, like plan out alternative snacks, and don't take money with you when you're going to school or college so that you don't have the opportunity to pop into the shop.
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Or I would make sure that I didn't get hungry so that I wouldn't be craving chocolate as bad.
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I did everything right, and yet I still could never make it past.
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I'll be completely honest that I can't remember any binges specifically related to Lent.
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I think by the time I started binge eating, which was in my early 20s, I probably had given up on Lent at that point.
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So I'm not going to say that giving up chocolate for Lent led to me binge eating, because that's just not true.
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But having said that, I have spoken to many of you for which that is true.
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And you have tried to give up chocolate for the 40 days only to find yourself really craving it either halfway through or even maybe close to the end of Lent.
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You're craving it so badly that you do give in.
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Maybe you've had a crappy day at work, someone's giving you a gift of some chocolate, or the colleagues in the office are passing around a packet of chocolate biscuits.
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For whatever reason, you haven't made it until the end of Lent.
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You got a taste of the chocolate and it just urged you to eat more and more and more and more until it passed into full-blown binge territory.
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Am I speaking to you right now?
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Is that how it's been for you in the past?
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I want you to think about how it's gone for you in the past when you've done Lent.
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Is it that you just substituted out chocolate?
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So, okay, yes, you were able to give up chocolate, but now you have this habit of eating haribo jellies instead, or you're eating ice cream instead, or maybe something savory like crackers.
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So even though you are not binging on chocolate anymore, you're not eating chocolate anymore, and you can be proud of that you have substituted the chocolate with something else, which I'm guessing is not fully congruent with you working towards a better, healthier relationship with food.
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So I want you to take a second to ask yourself what has happened in previous year years and I've given up chocolate.
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Has it been a nightmare?
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Because I've just craved it so much and I ended up eating so many jellies, and really I got through it, but I was white knuckling through it.
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And when I came out the other end, I didn't even feel like I had achieved anything or sacrificed in the way that Lent is supposed to represent.
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So you've reflected on your why, you've asked yourself now what has happened in previous years, and now I want you to think about what has happened at the end of Lent, even if you have gone through it, or maybe if if you haven't, either way, what has happened at the end?
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How is your relationship with chocolate at the end of Lent?
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Is it good?
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Do you feel like take it or leave it?
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Do you feel like, yeah, I'm past that now?
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I used to be quote unquote addicted to chocolate, and now I've given it up for 40 days and I feel in a much better place with it.
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I'm on top of the world.
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I got this, I'm cured.
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Is that how you felt?
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I'm guessing not.
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And this is just from personal experience and from professional experience too.
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Cutting out chocolate for 40 days does not mean your relationship with chocolate is healed.
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And sadly, even after Lent is finished, you are entering into a world where chocolate is everywhere.
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I told a story before about how it wasn't for Lent, but I had basically dieted coming up to a wedding for about six or eight weeks, heavily, heavily restricted.
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And at the end of the wedding, it was close to Easter, and I remember been so fixated by chocolate, been so enamoured by chocolate.
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Like chocolate was the best thing ever.
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It was my queen, it was my it was my everything, it was my lord, it was my religion, I suppose.
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And I ordered myself an Easter egg that cost like 40 pounds or something crazy.
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And this was back in you know, pre-pandemic where chocolate prices were normal, not astronomical like they are today.
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So you giving up chocolate for 40 days does not mean that you're going to have a peaceful relationship with it afterwards.
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How are you feeling after me sharing all that about Lent and maybe planting a seed that cutting out chocolate is not the best approach for you?
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Remember, you're listening to my podcast and you're listening to my podcast for a reason.
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You're listening to my podcast because you don't have a peaceful relationship with food, you don't have a peaceful relationship with chocolate.
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That is what you are striving for.
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You would do anything to be able to just walk into a supermarket, see the chocolate on the shelves, and just be able to pass it by.
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And I'm here to help you with that.
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But starting off with a 40-day restriction on chocolate is not the best approach because that pendulum is going to swing in the other direction.
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Imagine you take a grandfather clock and you hold the pendulum over to one side, and the second you let it go, that pendulum is going to swing right over to the other side into binging for who knows how long.
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And if you're like, yeah, but I do want to do something, I feel the urge to do something for Lent, that's fine.
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I'm not going to stop you from doing something, but let's not cut out a food that you're trying to heal your relationship with.
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It's setting up that all-or-nothing mentality, that black and white approach.
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So if you're feeling like you want to do something, you want to redo something for Lent, and like maybe something that's health focused because you, you know, you are just feeling that pull to doing something.
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Let's not cut out anything.
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What about adding in?
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Maybe this is a good place to add in something like five minutes of movement in a day.
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If you're not moving your body at all right now, let's add in five minutes for 40 days.
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Let's do that.
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Or you could add in like trying out new foods.
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Like, I'm going to try eating more fruit and veg in my diet over the next 40 days, maybe one extra piece in a day.
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I know that you're feeling the urge to do something, but please try to add something in rather than taking something away.
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Remember, you are healing your relationship with food.
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And that includes your relationship with chocolate too.
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Give it the space and the time that it deserves.
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Alright, I wish you the very best for Lent.
00:11:54.530 --> 00:11:55.490
Let me know how it goes.
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You can email me at any time, Joe at antidietancers.com.
00:11:58.850 --> 00:12:02.370
And remember, I truly love hearing your stories, so please don't hold back.
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I will see you in the next episode.
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But until then, please take care of yourself.
00:00:07.730 --> 00:00:11.089
Hello there and welcome back to the Binge Eating Dietician Podcast.
00:00:11.169 --> 00:00:15.650
It's Joe here, registered dietitian, here to help you smash your binge eating.
00:00:15.890 --> 00:00:17.089
How is everything going?
00:00:17.329 --> 00:00:20.689
It is now the 20th of February 2026.
00:00:21.250 --> 00:00:24.850
How is it all going with your relationship with food?
00:00:25.330 --> 00:00:28.609
With your quest to stop binge eating.
00:00:28.690 --> 00:00:29.649
I know it's a journey.
00:00:29.730 --> 00:00:31.649
It doesn't happen overnight, sadly.
00:00:31.890 --> 00:00:34.929
So if you are on that journey right now, you can always let me know.
00:00:35.090 --> 00:00:40.130
My email address is Joe at antidietanswers.com and I absolutely love hearing your stories.
00:00:40.289 --> 00:00:41.729
So please don't hold back.
00:00:41.890 --> 00:00:42.530
Share away.
00:00:42.609 --> 00:00:44.450
My inbox is always open.
00:00:44.770 --> 00:00:48.130
In today's episode, I'm going to be talking about Lent.
00:00:49.009 --> 00:00:50.609
Because we're at that time of year now.
00:00:50.689 --> 00:00:54.369
It was Pancake Tuesday on Tuesday just past, and then it was Ash Wednesday.
00:00:54.450 --> 00:01:00.210
So that means we are into the period now of religious fasting for Lent.
00:01:00.689 --> 00:01:05.009
And I'm speaking about this topic because I grew up in Catholic Ireland.
00:01:05.090 --> 00:01:09.890
I followed Lent for a long time, probably until I was a teenager.
00:01:10.210 --> 00:01:15.889
I haven't followed it in quite a number of years because I don't really associate myself with religion much at the moment.
00:01:16.050 --> 00:01:18.930
Maybe I'll go back to it, but right now it's just not my thing.
00:01:19.090 --> 00:01:20.770
So I haven't done it in a long time.
00:01:21.090 --> 00:01:49.889
But I can remember the memories like they were yesterday of eating as many pancakes as you could possibly fit into your mouth and into your stomach, only to start on Ash Wednesday, finally, the opportunity to fast, to cleanse yourself of all of the sugar, the nastiness, the that feeling like uh feeling that you get with eating so much sugar.
00:01:49.969 --> 00:01:55.330
And when Ash Wednesday comes, you have that relief of been able to finally instigate your fast.
00:01:55.889 --> 00:02:13.810
And whether you are very much a practicing Catholic or you're a bit like me, where you used to, but not really, you don't really associate with it anymore, but you still always feel the pull, the draw to fast when it comes to the beginning of Lent.
00:02:14.210 --> 00:02:25.250
I want to talk a little bit more about that and how you can navigate it in a way that feels safe and sustainable and isn't going to worsen your eating disorder.
00:02:25.489 --> 00:02:26.530
So let's get into it.
00:02:26.769 --> 00:02:34.049
Firstly, I want to hold space for how ingrained this is in our culture.
00:02:34.370 --> 00:02:39.650
You might be fasting this year, giving up something like chocolate or sweets or crisps or something else.
00:02:39.810 --> 00:02:43.329
But for the purpose of this episode, let's just assume that you're giving up chocolate for Lent.
00:02:43.650 --> 00:02:50.849
You might automatically just assume, well, of course I'm going to give up chocolate for Lent because that's what I do every year.
00:02:51.009 --> 00:02:58.209
And if that's you right now, where you have just kind of slept walk walked into starting Lent because that's what you've done every year.
00:02:58.449 --> 00:03:02.209
I really hope that you'll take on board what I'm going to say in this episode.
00:03:02.689 --> 00:03:08.609
So Lent is something that certainly if you grew up in Ireland, it's kind of just assumed that you are going to do.
00:03:08.769 --> 00:03:16.849
And now that you're older in your 20s or 30s or 40s or older, you're thinking, well, actually, why am I doing this?
00:03:17.169 --> 00:03:21.250
So the first thing I want you to do is just reflect on your why for doing Lent.
00:03:21.329 --> 00:03:23.329
And I know that sounds like such a woo thing to say.
00:03:23.569 --> 00:03:25.169
Reflect on your why.
00:03:25.729 --> 00:03:26.849
But it is important.
00:03:27.009 --> 00:03:29.090
And we're not coming at it in a woo-woo sense.
00:03:29.169 --> 00:03:31.650
I'm not asking you to do any deep work here.
00:03:31.729 --> 00:03:35.169
I just want you to take a minute to ask yourself, why am I doing this?
00:03:35.489 --> 00:03:40.849
Is it actually important to me for religious reasons to give up chocolate for Lent?
00:03:41.169 --> 00:03:42.449
Be honest with yourself.
00:03:42.689 --> 00:03:43.889
Truly honest.
00:03:44.209 --> 00:03:47.090
And if it is truly important to you, then that is okay.
00:03:47.169 --> 00:03:48.849
And I'm not going to stand in the way of that.
00:03:48.930 --> 00:03:51.329
I'm not going to say, no, that you shouldn't fast.
00:03:51.889 --> 00:03:57.650
If you are doing it for a good reason that is important to you, then that's fine.
00:03:58.289 --> 00:04:23.490
But maybe for you, after reflecting on your why, you've realized, well, actually, yes, I might be a bit religious, or I might not be, but actually, there is a big part of me that's doing this because I want the challenge of fasting, or I want the goal at the end of maybe having lost some weight because I've given up chocolate, or I want to prove it to myself that I have the control that I can do it.
00:04:26.290 --> 00:04:34.050
In a way, and forgive me for saying this if I'm incorrect, in a way, Lent has just become another diet, hasn't it?
00:04:34.370 --> 00:04:39.969
Or another socially acceptable reason to cut out foods.
00:04:41.250 --> 00:04:47.810
And I want to be sensitive here because I know some of you listening will be religious, but for many of you, this is exactly the situation.
00:04:48.050 --> 00:05:04.930
You are giving up chocolate for Lent because it's a really good excuse for you to not eat chocolate, therefore lose weight, therefore feel really empowered and in control and on top of the world because you've been able to get through 40 days without thinking of a bar of chocolate.
00:05:05.730 --> 00:05:09.649
So now that you've reflected on your why and you've asked yourself, why am I doing this?
00:05:09.730 --> 00:05:22.930
Is it genuinely important to me, or is it just that I have given myself permission to take part in this socially sanctioned reason to cut out one of my favourite foods for 40 days?
00:05:23.569 --> 00:05:28.769
Let's look at what has happened in previous years because you've been here before, just like I had been.
00:05:29.170 --> 00:05:36.610
I gave up chocolate every year for Lent and I never ever made it until the end of the 40 days ever.
00:05:37.170 --> 00:05:39.810
I would try my very best.
00:05:39.969 --> 00:05:40.849
I would give it my all.
00:05:41.089 --> 00:05:53.170
I would do everything that you're supposed to do, like plan out alternative snacks, and don't take money with you when you're going to school or college so that you don't have the opportunity to pop into the shop.
00:05:53.409 --> 00:05:59.569
Or I would make sure that I didn't get hungry so that I wouldn't be craving chocolate as bad.
00:05:59.649 --> 00:06:03.810
I did everything right, and yet I still could never make it past.
00:06:04.129 --> 00:06:10.370
I'll be completely honest that I can't remember any binges specifically related to Lent.
00:06:10.529 --> 00:06:16.209
I think by the time I started binge eating, which was in my early 20s, I probably had given up on Lent at that point.
00:06:16.290 --> 00:06:22.129
So I'm not going to say that giving up chocolate for Lent led to me binge eating, because that's just not true.
00:06:22.370 --> 00:06:26.370
But having said that, I have spoken to many of you for which that is true.
00:06:26.529 --> 00:06:35.730
And you have tried to give up chocolate for the 40 days only to find yourself really craving it either halfway through or even maybe close to the end of Lent.
00:06:35.810 --> 00:06:39.569
You're craving it so badly that you do give in.
00:06:39.889 --> 00:06:47.649
Maybe you've had a crappy day at work, someone's giving you a gift of some chocolate, or the colleagues in the office are passing around a packet of chocolate biscuits.
00:06:47.730 --> 00:06:51.089
For whatever reason, you haven't made it until the end of Lent.
00:06:52.290 --> 00:07:02.290
You got a taste of the chocolate and it just urged you to eat more and more and more and more until it passed into full-blown binge territory.
00:07:02.529 --> 00:07:03.889
Am I speaking to you right now?
00:07:04.050 --> 00:07:06.129
Is that how it's been for you in the past?
00:07:06.610 --> 00:07:10.529
I want you to think about how it's gone for you in the past when you've done Lent.
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Is it that you just substituted out chocolate?
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So, okay, yes, you were able to give up chocolate, but now you have this habit of eating haribo jellies instead, or you're eating ice cream instead, or maybe something savory like crackers.
00:07:26.370 --> 00:07:42.449
So even though you are not binging on chocolate anymore, you're not eating chocolate anymore, and you can be proud of that you have substituted the chocolate with something else, which I'm guessing is not fully congruent with you working towards a better, healthier relationship with food.
00:07:42.610 --> 00:07:46.849
So I want you to take a second to ask yourself what has happened in previous year years and I've given up chocolate.
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Has it been a nightmare?
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Because I've just craved it so much and I ended up eating so many jellies, and really I got through it, but I was white knuckling through it.
00:07:58.209 --> 00:08:06.129
And when I came out the other end, I didn't even feel like I had achieved anything or sacrificed in the way that Lent is supposed to represent.
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So you've reflected on your why, you've asked yourself now what has happened in previous years, and now I want you to think about what has happened at the end of Lent, even if you have gone through it, or maybe if if you haven't, either way, what has happened at the end?
00:08:24.129 --> 00:08:26.769
How is your relationship with chocolate at the end of Lent?
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Is it good?
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Do you feel like take it or leave it?
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Do you feel like, yeah, I'm past that now?
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I used to be quote unquote addicted to chocolate, and now I've given it up for 40 days and I feel in a much better place with it.
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I'm on top of the world.
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I got this, I'm cured.
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Is that how you felt?
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I'm guessing not.
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And this is just from personal experience and from professional experience too.
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Cutting out chocolate for 40 days does not mean your relationship with chocolate is healed.
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And sadly, even after Lent is finished, you are entering into a world where chocolate is everywhere.
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I told a story before about how it wasn't for Lent, but I had basically dieted coming up to a wedding for about six or eight weeks, heavily, heavily restricted.
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And at the end of the wedding, it was close to Easter, and I remember been so fixated by chocolate, been so enamoured by chocolate.
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Like chocolate was the best thing ever.
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It was my queen, it was my it was my everything, it was my lord, it was my religion, I suppose.
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And I ordered myself an Easter egg that cost like 40 pounds or something crazy.
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And this was back in you know, pre-pandemic where chocolate prices were normal, not astronomical like they are today.
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So you giving up chocolate for 40 days does not mean that you're going to have a peaceful relationship with it afterwards.
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How are you feeling after me sharing all that about Lent and maybe planting a seed that cutting out chocolate is not the best approach for you?
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Remember, you're listening to my podcast and you're listening to my podcast for a reason.
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You're listening to my podcast because you don't have a peaceful relationship with food, you don't have a peaceful relationship with chocolate.
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That is what you are striving for.
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You would do anything to be able to just walk into a supermarket, see the chocolate on the shelves, and just be able to pass it by.
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And I'm here to help you with that.
00:10:15.730 --> 00:10:25.410
But starting off with a 40-day restriction on chocolate is not the best approach because that pendulum is going to swing in the other direction.
00:10:25.570 --> 00:10:38.050
Imagine you take a grandfather clock and you hold the pendulum over to one side, and the second you let it go, that pendulum is going to swing right over to the other side into binging for who knows how long.
00:10:40.450 --> 00:10:46.129
And if you're like, yeah, but I do want to do something, I feel the urge to do something for Lent, that's fine.
00:10:46.290 --> 00:10:53.730
I'm not going to stop you from doing something, but let's not cut out a food that you're trying to heal your relationship with.
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It's setting up that all-or-nothing mentality, that black and white approach.
00:10:57.730 --> 00:11:07.090
So if you're feeling like you want to do something, you want to redo something for Lent, and like maybe something that's health focused because you, you know, you are just feeling that pull to doing something.
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Let's not cut out anything.
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What about adding in?
00:11:11.170 --> 00:11:16.450
Maybe this is a good place to add in something like five minutes of movement in a day.
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If you're not moving your body at all right now, let's add in five minutes for 40 days.
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Let's do that.
00:11:22.210 --> 00:11:25.810
Or you could add in like trying out new foods.
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Like, I'm going to try eating more fruit and veg in my diet over the next 40 days, maybe one extra piece in a day.
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I know that you're feeling the urge to do something, but please try to add something in rather than taking something away.
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Remember, you are healing your relationship with food.
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And that includes your relationship with chocolate too.
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Give it the space and the time that it deserves.
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Alright, I wish you the very best for Lent.
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Let me know how it goes.
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You can email me at any time, Joe at antidietancers.com.
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And remember, I truly love hearing your stories, so please don't hold back.
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I will see you in the next episode.
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But until then, please take care of yourself.
