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What is Food Habituation?
To put it plainly, food habituation is the practice of normalizing previously off limit foods and ultimately experiencing food freedom. It is a type of exposure response prevention (ERP) therapy, in which you continuously expose yourself to a fear food 🍕, respond by making a choice not to pursue obsessive and anxiety fueled thinking patterns💬, and prevent further anxiety from occurring ✌🏽when exposed to the fear food.
Habituation is a universal phenomenon that applies in many situations, not just those related to food. For example, we can habituate to a favorite song we listen to on repeat, or a favorite restaurant that we get lunch at for a week straight. At first, it likely feels really exciting and new each time, but then the novelty wears off. Food habituation is described by researchers as a form of neurobiological learning (the mechanisms by which neurons and neural systems change their input and output functions). During repeated eating (exposure) of the same food, a decrease in behavioral and physiological responses is experienced. Essentially, the more you eat the food, the less you care about the food!
Who Would Benefit from Food Habituation?
Now that you know the basics of food habituation, you might be wondering if this is even something you can do. The answer is 💯 percent yesssss! Historically, Food Habituation has been used as a treatment modality for those with Binge Eating Disorder (BED). However, whether you have been diagnosed with an eating disorder, experience compulsive eating behaviors, or have ruminating and negative thoughts about food, food habituation can support you in experiencing a significant reduction in all of these behaviors after frequent and consecutive food exposures.
Anyone who wants to make peace with food, who wants to experience less compulsive eating behaviors, and who simply wants to enjoy and experience pleasure with eating would benefit from food habituation.
What is Exactly is a Fear Food?
Fear foods are any foods that you feel out-of-control around, that you experience a compulsive need to eat, that you feel shame and regret after eating, and that you obsessively think about and ruminate on. If you eat a food and immediately feel guilty or promise yourself "this is the last time," chances are that is a fear food!
Sometimes identifying a fear food can feel confusing, because it might also be one of your favorite foods. For example, maybe you love ice cream but also feel scared of gaining weight when eating it. Fear foods are usually foods that we don’t give ourselves permission to eat, that we judge heavily and that we experience anxiety or shame when eating. Fear food looks different for everyone and there are many different foods that trigger a fear response. In order to start the food habituation process, it is helpful to identify your fear foods. Writing a list is a great way to do this. You can also work with me (your trusted dietitian!! ❤️) in session to make this experience less stressful.
Is There Any Evidence on Food Habituation?
Yes! As mentioned before, food habituation is an eating disorder treatment modality and therefore has some evidence to back it up. Research helps us understand that by habituating to foods, there is a reduced urge to binge or overeat because the reward value of the food is decreased. Think about the way you feel after eating leftovers. For dinner, the food was delicious, for lunch the next day it was good, and by the third day you may want to toss it. This is food habituation! The physiological reward value of food decreases the more you eat the food. That is-the more you eat it, the less exciting it is. Dopamine, deemed the "feel-good hormone” also decreases when you eat the same flavors and textures repeatedly. So, if you give yourself permission to eat as many chocolate chip cookies daily 🍪 as you like, research tells us that eventually you will experience less satisfaction, and will grow tired of eating the cookies! This doesn't mean you never eat chocolate chip cookies again. It simply means that you eat them when you authentically want them, and stop when you are satisfied. Yay! 🎉
Now the Fun Part! Follow The Steps Below to Get Started With Food Habituation
Make a list of foods 📝 that you feel “out-of-control” around, that you feel shame or guilt when eating, or that you don’t ever give yourself permission to eat because of fear and anxiety. These tend to be highly palatable foods that you may have tried to restrict from your everyday diet in the past. Some examples of common fear foods I have supported my clients with include whipping cream, bagels, white bread, white rice, ice cream, cookies, pastries, potatoes, chips, pasta, pizza etc.
Review the list with me or a trusted loved one 👩👩👦 and decide what food you would like to habituate to first.
Together, we will decide a reasonable schedule for habituating 🗓 to your fear foods. It is important that you are gentle with yourself during this process, and that you go at a pace that feels safe. Remember, you are trying to trust your relationship with food, and not create more fear or discomfort.
Generally, starting with 1-3 servings after each meal or snack until the food becomes “boring” or you feel neutral toward it, is an ideal cadence. Challenging your fear foods after a meal or snack decreases the likelihood of engaging in compulsive eating or binge eating, which is common when eating foods that have previously been off limits. Having some food in your tummy allows you to feel more satisfied and full (read: safe and regulated), and less likely to overeat your fear food. Remember, the more the food is consumed, the quicker it will lose its neurological reward value (the dopamine effect) and in a relatively short amount of time, the food will become less interesting and simply won’t be a big deal.
For some people, the above method is too overwhelming. In that case, I recommend choosing to incorporate your fear food in a neutral, safe space 🏡 (such as at your dinner table with a trusted friend or family member) or in session with me, and only after engaging in nervous system regulation.
When the food feels neutral, it is time to move on and pick a new fear food 🍔. Feeling "neutral" about your fear food shows up in different ways. Perhaps you can bring a box of cookies home and not break into them for several days. Maybe you choose a new flavor of ice cream and it is so delicious you eat the whole thing, but you don't feel a lick of shame. Maybe you eat a couple slices of pizza for dinner on Monday, and then a friend invites you out for pizza on Tuesday. That is okay-you now trust that you can eat pizza two days in a row if you want, and it doesn't mean you will eat a whole pizza or that you will never eat pizza again.
Common Questions My Clients Ask About Food Habituation
Question:
Do I have to eat all of my fear foods to be successful with food habituation?
Answer:
For most people, you do not have to eat every single food on your list in order to experience food habituation to all foods. As a matter of fact, many people experience peace with food after eating just a handful of fear foods! However, it is important during this process to continue to allow unconditional permission to eat all foods, in order for them to be physiologically neutral. For example, if you habituate to cheese or bagels and are working on habituation to pasta, you will need to continue eating cheese and bagels when you authentically want them.
Question:
I feel like I overeat the same fear foods over and over again. Why haven’t I already habituated to these foods?
Answer:
During a binge or compulsive eating, you do not actually habituate to fear foods. If there is fear or negative thinking patterns during the eating of those foods, you are likely not building a new, more peaceful relationship with those foods. Instead, you may be continuing the fear cycle. This is because binging or "feeling out of control" with food is usually always as a direct result of calorie restriction throughout the day or week, and after a person overeats or binges, they will often make a promise to themselves to restrict again. Therefore, they are stuck in a binge-restrict cycle, making it impossible to experience food neutrality.
Question:
I am scared that if I practice food habituation, I will end up binging or overeating. Can I avoid this?
Answer:
It is totally understandable that this process is scary and uncomfortable! You are stepping into the unknown with a food that has historically caused a lot of grief, sadness, discomfort and anxiety in your life. I can understand why you are nervous about binge eating your fear foods. Trust the process and know that I wouldn’t recommend anything that I haven’t seen work time and again, and that isn’t backed by research. The truth is that there is no way to absolutely prevent a food binge while practicing habituation, but there are absolutely some things that you can do to help decrease that possibility if it feels like a barrier to food habituation.
Challenge your fear food after consuming a high protein meal or snack. Eating protein causes the body and brain to feel satisfied and reduces the likelihood of feeling out of control with eating.
Consider only purchasing single serving portion sizes of your fear foods while practicing the habituation process. You are less likely to feel out of control with eating if you have to take another trip to the grocery store.
You can also practice challenging your fear food with me while at your nutrition appointment. In this supportive setting, you can process any thoughts or feelings that come up while engaging with your fear food.
Question:
Is there a particular fear food from my list that I should start with?
Answer:
This is totally up to you! I have had clients choose the food they miss eating the most, or choose the food that feels the least scary. Regardless of which one you start with, you will experience more neutrality around that food and all of your fear foods. Many fear foods share common ingredients. Therefore, when challenging one fear food from the same category (say, donuts) you are also in a way challenging cookies or cake, which may also be on your list. This can sometimes make the process feel easier, and can also help with choosing which food to start with.
Question:
Considering these foods cause me so much anxiety, why can’t I just stay away from them forever?
Answer:
Forcing yourself to not eat food that you authentically like and enjoy doesn’t work in the long run. As mentioned before, when a person does not give themselves full permission to eat all foods, they often are caught in a binge-restrict or overeat-restrict cycle. Because of the dopamine response described before, it doesn’t work to abstain from eating foods that you actually enjoy, regardless of whether that food causes fear. When a person doesn’t eat palatable food, the body and brain will respond by increasing the reward value of that food. For example, there might be a change in hunger and fullness cues, or your brain might send a signal to your taste buds that it isn't satisfied and you should eat more.
Another important question you might ask yourself is: “Do I want to live like this forever?” You could totally abstain from eating your fear foods. But you may not be able to avoid the intense shame, anxiety, and fear that permeates your day to day life. The process of food habituation can be uncomfortable and scary, but it brings the gift of ✨ food freedom ✨. When a person is able to experience less pressure around their eating patterns and habits as a result of food freedom, they can start to feel more joy, pleasure, presence, celebration, satisfaction and so much more!
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