Table of Contents
Last updated on September 5th, 2024 at 04:06 am
The food police are the internal and external voices with a negative narrative focused on food shaming.
Typical messages from the food police include:
- Which foods are good and bad
- That certain foods might make you fat
- You should watch your portions
- Food is fuel and nothing more
- You should avoid processed foods
- Certain foods will lead to chronic diseases
The messages from the food police come from diet culture, healthism and fatphobia.
Each participant of the food police is part of a larger group of food and body shamers. It’s important to know that when it comes to the food police YOU might be the dictator when it comes to toxic food ideas.
This idea explores what food policing is, the internal and external food police, and how to challenge the food police to improve your relationship with food.
What Is Food Policing
Food policing is the verbal or subconscious shaming that happens related to food.
Food policing originates from the idea that some foods are morally and nutritionally superior to other foods. Food policing might come in the form of wellness diets or healthy eating fads.
Food policing typically involves
- An existing belief about a certain food
- Eating the food
- The internal or external dialogue or emotions that happens related to the food
- An action that takes place as a result of how you feel about what you ate
For example, you may believe that you cake should only be eaten in moderation on special occasions. You eat cake at the birthday party but you eat two slices instead of the single slice of cake you had planned on. You feel terrible.
Your negative emotions around the food that you have eaten might lead to a binge on the cake or restricting your food the next day. This is an example of internal food policing.
While you are eating the cake someone in the room might say something like “wow! I can’t believe you’re going to eat all that sugar.” This would be an example of external food policing.
The Internal Food Police
The internal food police is the negative self talk you have when you think about or eat certain foods. Our negative self talk can quickly make eating feel like a chore.
Sometimes the internal food police is referred to as the eating disorder voice.
The internal food police probably say things like:
- You’ve had a rough day. You deserve a cookie.
- You can just work that cookie off.
- You can just fast after a cheat day
- If you eat that food you’re fat, lazy and undisciplined
- Becoming angry with yourself for not meeting a certain calorie goal
- Feeling guilty after you have eaten a food that goes against your food rules
The internal food police are kind of like your “dark” jiminy cricket. The narrative is always a firm “yes” or “no” answer when it comes to food with very little room for gray
The External Food Police
The external food police is the food shame or food pushing that you get from people around you.
External food policing might look like:
- Aunt betty telling you “you don’t need to eat that”
- Parents requiring kiddos to eat their veggies before they get dessert
- Mom telling you you have “had enough”
- Your friends saying “I could never eat that”
- Friends and Family saying “if you eat too much of that, you’ll get fat!”
While the external food critics usually give more leniency to people with thin privilege, no one is immune to the toxic messages that come from diet culture.
The inability to meet the unrealistic expectations of the external food shamers often leads to chronic dieting, constantly feeling fat, increased body checking and an overall decreased body image.
People that want to police what you’re eating and how your body looks are not advocates for your mental or physical wellbeing. Quite frankly, they are bullies that probably cause you to fear certain foods and question your self worth based on your body size.
Why Is It Bad To Police Food
Food policing can result in a decreased sense of self-worth, body dysmorphia or even eating disorders. The only way to true body freedom is by ditching the food police.
Food shaming yourself or someone else teaches you:
- That there are “right” and “wrong” foods
- That your body can’t be trusted to make decisions about food
- That smaller bodies are better bodies
- That you are worth more the smaller your body is.
Messages about what you should and should not eat and how your body should look can have lifelong negative consequences.
Responding To Food Policing
If someone is commenting on your food, it’s okay to challenge it with a witty body respecting comment or say nothing at all.
In order to challenge the food police you will need to:
- Acknowledge that the food police are present and say “no” firmly out loud
- Reframe all or nothing statements into permissive, flexible phrases
- Allow yourself unconditional permission to eat
- Respect your body honoring your hunger
- Honor all types of hunger
- Ditch the scale
The sooner you break up with the food police for good, the better you’ll feel about your body and nourishing it. Sometimes, learning to challenge your inner critic can take some time. Be gentle with the process and know that it is possible to enjoy food without all of the rules.
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