Eating Without Overthinking: A Midlife Reset
If you grew up in the diet culture haze of the 80s, 90s, or 2000s, chances are food feels more complicated than it needs to. For many of us Gen Xers and older millennials, even deciding what to eat for breakfast can stir up anxiety and guilt.
I went as far as doing a three-year nutrition degree (that cost way too much) to try to fix myself and my hang-ups around food. Spoiler: it didn’t magically cure anything.
I don’t have it all figured out, but I’m learning how to eat with more calm and less overthinking. Here’s what’s helping.
Go back to basics
Not every meal needs to be a gourmet 10-step creation filled with expensive “superfoods.”
These are some of my go-tos when I need a feed, not a self-imposed guilt trip:
Soft-boiled eggs and rocket on corn thins
Half a bag of kale-slaw or green goddess salad with a can of tuna, beans, or shredded roast chicken (the supermarket one in a bag is totally fine)
A tub of yoghurt with frozen raspberries and some nuts
Simple meals like these still tick plenty of nutritional boxes, but what I love most is how they reduce decision fatigue and uncomplicate my day. These are the foods I always keep on hand to make a quick, calm meal.
Put the phone down and turn off the telly
In last week’s blog I wrote about finding mindful moments in everyday tasks, and eating is one of the best ones to reclaim as a moment of calm and ritual.
When we’re not distracted by our devices, eating becomes a sensory experience—slower, more satisfying, and actually better for digestion. I’m no saint, but most mornings I do manage to put my phone away, play some chilled music, and enjoy my eggs on toast or an omelette with a pot of Earl Grey.
Hypnosis for binge eating
Food noise and overeating have been part of my relationship with food for as long as I can remember. I used to constantly think about my next meal, fear hunger, and dull uncomfortable emotions through binge eating.
Last year clinical hypnotist, Rachel Crethar, who I’ve followed on Instagram for years put out a call for participants in a pilot program for emotional eating. My whole body said yes. And I’m glad it did.
Since working with Rachel, I’ve noticed a huge quietening of the food noise. The binge eating that once felt impossible to break? Pretty much gone.
Like I said at the start, I don’t have it all figured out. But if you too are carrying the weight of what we were exposed to over the past 40-plus years, this is what’s helping me reclaim peace with food.
Quite frankly, it pisses me off that through cultural conditioning and misogyny, I’ve wasted so much of my precious mind on dieting and self-criticism.
In midlife, I’m taking that back.
Food shouldn’t be another thing to master, just something to meet yourself in… one simple meal at a time.