15/09/2026
I hear this a lot. And in the moment,
it *does* feel true:
it gives you relief
it gives you a dopamine hit
and yeah, it tastes good
But there’s more going on underneath. “It’s tasty, so I binge” is often just the surface of something deeper.
There are like 100 questions I want to ask, but here are the 5 I always come back to:
1️⃣ Have you been eating 3 meals + 2-3 snacks a day?
Undereating is one of the biggest drivers of “losing control” around food.
Your body will naturally reach for energy-dense food to make up the deficit.
2️⃣ Are you following a meal plan or cutting calories/food group?
You can still be undereating even while eating “regularly” — if you’re skipping food groups, under-portioning, or filling up on volume food (hi, salad with 0kcal dressing).
You can’t trick your brain. It knows exactly how much energy it’s getting.
3️⃣ Is there any rule around the food you find tasty
Maybe it’s labelled “bad.” Maybe there’s a limit on it. Maybe you feel like you need to “balance it out” after.
Is there a mental tax to eating it? One that makes it feel more precious than it really is?
4️⃣ What feelings or memories does eating this food bring up for you?
Sometimes the “taste” is doing double duty — comfort, nostalgia, self-soothing.
The goal isn’t to label the food as bad. It’s to recognise these things are what you’re needing at the moment.
5️⃣ Do you usually eat this food alongside something else — TV, a book, scrolling?
Strong flavours, textures or temperatures can become a gateway into disassociation and numbing.
And once you’re there, you’re disconnected from fullness and satisfaction cues. So you keep eating, even when it doesn’t taste or it’s hurting your mouth
More often than not, “tasty” is doing a lot of heavy lifting for ****restriction, food morality, or using eating to soothe/distract
And none of these get fixed by another diet, discipline or banning the food.
Want the 5 simple shifts I actually work through with clients to kickstart feeling more in control around food?
Comment “5CHANGES” and I’ll send it over.
