Reframing ‘restriction’ in food addiction recovery

Vanessa Kredler Author

Restriction is not a popular word. What do you feel when you hear the word restriction; or other words such as control, limitation, and restraint?

Viewed from the perspective of Internal Family Systems (IFS), a philosophy that enables us to experience the different parts of us, experiencing a sense of restriction often brings out our rebel parts. Those are the parts of us that want freedom, expansion, fun and don’t like boundaries. They often carry some teenage energy in them, desiring to break out of norms and constraints to gain autonomy.

When it comes to food, attempts from some parts to restrict and limit food intake often results in a rebellious part taking back any perceived constraint and going for a big binge. That can bring a seesaw effect, a polarisation, in our internal family system, and behaviours can escalate and get extreme. This causes an immense deal of internal tension, conflict and suffering.

Viewed from the perspective of eating disorder professionals, restriction (often called dietary restraint), is something to be avoided because of that seesaw effect. It’s important, from that lens, to promote balanced meals without eliminating any particular foods or food groups, without counting calories. Instead, it is suggested to focus on balance and moderation, intuitively following natural hunger signals and directing attention away from weight and shape concerns. That’s important especially when considering how those restricting parts of us can engage in extreme and harmful behaviours such as dieting and purging. This can have dangerous effects on our bodies.

Viewed through the lens of food addiction (and other addictions) we often talk about the concept of abstinence; entirely abstaining from a particular substance. In the case of food, that’s impossible because we have to eat. But many of us also find that it seems impossible to moderate food. Either, we find that we can’t stop eating once we take the first bite of specific foods (often ultra-processed food), or we find that we can’t stop eating once we start (we’re addicted to the process of eating as well as food substances).

That’s why in food addiction recovery some of us try to find a way of abstaining (once we have ascertained with trial and error that moderation isn’t possible for us). Often we seek the help of professionals and peer support groups to design a food plan and establish bottom lines that we don’t cross. Common bottom lines that people set are framed as a string of No’s. NO sugar, NO flour, NO binge foods, NO second helpings, and so on. It appears to be very restrictive yet often it can be a relief to have clear boundaries and to stop trying to moderate without success, which leads to so much demoralisation and hopelessness. For some people it helps to quieten the food obsession and brings more internal peace, once the initial withdrawal period has passed and the cravings subsided.

But the many NO’s are big red flags for our rebel parts who don’t like any form of restriction and limitation. They might feel deprived when they repeatedly hear those No’s. Often we find ourselves in cycles of knowing at a body level what we need on one hand but our rebel parts not being on board with it.

That’s where I wonder if it might be helpful to reframe the word restriction, restraint, limit and help those parts of us see things differently. Provided we are clear about the motivation for ‘restriction’ to gain freedom from addiction, it could be an experiment to change our language.

Caveat! It’s extremely important, in considering this, to be mindful of parts that want to make this another reason for doubling down on dieting behaviours because they will see this as an opportunity to engage in eating disorder-like behaviour. It’s important to practice rigorous honesty and explore our true motivation. This is best done with support from a counsellor or peer.

If we do gain relief from abstaining from certain foods and eating behaviours, is the discipline that we apply in fact freedom and liberation more so than restriction? Is the elimination of certain food or eating behaviours in that case a way of self-care? Could it be that we want to be conscious, mindful and discerning about how we feed our brains and bodies? Is it about being intentional, deliberate and purposeful, and eating in alignment with our personal values and body intelligence? Is being clear and having strong boundaries around our food and eating practices a spiritual practice?

Restriction, framed like that, turns into discernment. Clarity. Peace. Relief. Self-care. Intentionality.

This could be something for our parts to consider and for us to work with them to learn about and address their concerns, no matter whether or not they are on board with this idea or not.