Ending the Overeating Cycle: Taste Bud Analysis (with printable)

When you’re being “good” and “sticking to a diet” – terms I don’t like using because we’re focusing on a lifestyle here, not a quick fix – it may seem like you can’t have specific foods that you really like. Then, when your “diet” is “over” you go a little crazy and buy all those things that you “couldn’t have” and you overeat. With that overeating comes the weight that you just worked so hard to lose.

And there we have a vicious cycle of dieting – overeating – weight gain.

To stave off this situation, or at least limit the severity of it, try doing an analysis of your taste buds. Here’s how it works:

1. Make a list of all those foods that you “can’t have” when you’re on a “diet” (but seriously, stop using that kind of language), but end up eating when your “diet” is “over”.

2. Include any emotional connotations attached to the listed foods. Food can carry emotional baggage and it’s important to recognize that in yourself.

3. Buy small packages of the foods on your list. You don’t have to buy them all at once. In fact, I suggest spreading this analysis out over the course of 2-3 weeks so you don’t end up with a bunch of junk in your cabinets.

4. Try a bite or two of each food in isolation. Not when you’re emotional, not when you’re starving, but just at a normal state of being.

5. Analyze how the food tastes. Really decide if it’s good. If you actually like the taste. Be tough and do your best to leave the emotions out of it.

6. Create an action plan for each food. If you decide it truly tastes good, decide how you’re going to handle it rather than cutting it out completely. Are there substitutions? Can you find a way to eat it in moderation?

If you decide the food does not taste good, then you’ve just taken away that particular food’s power. Make an action plan for those foods you didn’t like as well so if you feel like you “can’t have” them, but want them, you’ll know how to handle it.

Here is what my taste bud analysis looks like:

There are more foods I could add to this list, but these are my main ones, the ones I know I have to be careful around because I would eat way too much in one sitting. These are the first ones I “cut” when I’m re-evaluating my healthy habits. But since I did this analysis, about 6 months ago, these foods have lost their power over me. They are just that: food. Yes, I eat them occasionally, but they don’t consume my thoughts or are the first things I grab when my habits get a little more relaxed.

If you want to give this analysis a try, you can download the printable here: TasteBudsAnalysisPrintable.

The bottom line here is to stop giving food power. To stop obsessing over what you can and cannot have, but instead to just eat because food tastes good and fuels your body to be it’s best.

Ready for the next step? Let’s talk about Food FOMO: Letting Go of the “Treat” Guilt. 

RQ: What foods do you label as “bad”? Have you found yourself in this type of cycle?