The definition of a trigger food – food that causes you to lose control; binge eat.

Some people feel it is best to avoid foods that cause the urge binge eat. Some will say to keep all trigger foods out of your house. I tend to disagree. I am a huge believer in exposing yourself to said food as much as possible. Basically, you want to desensitize yourself to those foods. For example, if you cannot trust yourself around chips, eat them daily, in a controlled situation, when you are not starving and can measure out a proper portion. Plan a serving to two of chips into your day and one day they will no longer control you.

On a recent podcast by Felicia Romero (Diet Dropout), I learned experts call this “exposure therapy”. This is simply what worked to help heal my relationship with food, to help heal my binging episodes. There was a time I would eat 100% perfect Monday through Friday, then lose all control on the weekends. This was not a healthy way to live and I hated the way I felt come Monday. I eventually found macro counting. Once I started counting macros, I began incorporating my “trigger” foods into my diet everyday. Before I even realized it those foods lost all their power over me, I could easily eat a chip or two and be good. I have been binge free since starting macro counting over 3 years ago.

Find what works for you, but truly try to find freedom in food. Remember no food is off limits.

Find freedom in living a life without fear.

I am still working on trusting myself to be able to stop counting every macro I eat, but I no longer feel like a slave to my trigger foods. I no longer feel as though I cannot control myself around said food. The journey to a healthy relationship with food takes time. Remember give yourself some slack.