Eating · Cognitive
Challenging Food Rules
List the rules, predict the catastrophe, run the experiment
Food rules feel like control — and they drive the disorder. Each rule narrows the window of "safe" eating, raising the odds of restriction, binge, and shame. List the rules. Test them. Watch what actually happens.
Common rules — circle any that fit
No carbs after 6pmOnly eat if I've exercisedNo food off someone else's plateMust finish everything I serve myselfNo 'fear foods' in the houseOnly one snack a day
My rules
The rule
What it promises
What it actually costs
Test this week
One rule I'll break this week
Smallest meaningful step. Not the hardest one — the first one.
What I predict will happen
Catastrophe? Weight change? Loss of control?
What actually happened
Bring this back next session. Predictions vs. reality is the data that loosens the rule.