For most of her adult life, Alexis thought about food all the time. She didn’t call it an obsession. She didn’t call it disordered eating. She didn’t think she needed “food freedom”. Nope. She called it “being disciplined.”
But behind the meal prep spreadsheets, the apps, the fasting windows, and the constant internal dialogue (“Was that too much? Did I ruin it?”), there was exhaustion.
Not from a lack of willpower (Alexis had plenty of that!), but from trying to control her body through every new rule that promised peace.
Before: the constant, debilitating diet noise
When Alexis first joined The Mantra Method, she described herself as “a professional dieter who forgot how to eat.” She had tried every “balanced” plan on the market (low carb, clean eating, mindful eating, intuitive eating; she tried detoxes, tracking macros, intermittent fasting) and yet she still felt anxious around food.
Her mornings began with coffee and a mental checklist of what was “allowed.” By noon, she was either over-restricting or overthinking. By dinner, her willpower had run dry, and she’d swing between guilt and relief as she ate something off-plan.
The hardest part wasn’t the eating itself. It was the shame that followed.
Every time she “broke” a rule, she blamed herself for being undisciplined, emotional, or “addicted to food.”
She told me in our welcome session, “I know what to eat. I just can’t seem to do it.”
What she didn’t know yet (and what The Mantra Method helps uncover) is that “not doing it” isn’t a failure of logic. It’s a signal from the nervous system.
Food freedom happened EASILY after shifting one thing
In The Mantra Method, we don’t start with “rules.” We start with centring.
Modern nutrition culture focuses heavily on information. Raise your hand if you, too, are burdened with overload of information: calories, macros, meal timing. But research shows that even the most educated eaters struggle to implement what they know when the nervous system is dysregulated.
When stress hormones are high, self-control mechanisms (especially in the prefrontal cortex) go offline. The body seeks comfort, familiarity, and fast energy.
For Alexis, that looked like reaching for food at 4 p.m. after a tense workday, not because she “lacked discipline,” but because her brain was trying to self-soothe.
The three interrelated modules of The Mantra Method taught her how to interpret that signal differently:
- Instead of “I blew it,” she started asking, “What does my body need right now?”
- Instead of suppressing hunger cues, she practised grounding and gentle movement before eating.
- Instead of fearing fats or carbs, she began balancing them to stabilise blood sugar and mood, creating safety through nourishment, not restriction.
This is the nervous system work that many “intuitive eating” plans overlook.
It’s not about ignoring structure. It’s about building physiological safety so the mind can make balanced choices again.
Useful to know: the 3 Ps of food freedom
Even before finishing the second module, Alexis noticed something subtle but profound: the noise in her head was much, much quieter.
She still thought about food, but it wasn’t frantic. Meals felt like pauses instead of problems.
A big part of that shift came from three core principles of The Mantra Method:
1. Protein to regulate blood sugar and the nervous system
Balanced blood sugar isn’t just about metabolism. It’s a direct signal to the nervous system. When glucose levels swing sharply (as they do when we skip meals or run on coffee and snacks), cortisol and adrenaline surge to keep us alert. The brain interprets this as stress, which can drive anxious thoughts and compulsive eating later in the day.
By starting her day with a protein-forward breakfast instead of just coffee, Alexis steadied her energy, reduced afternoon cravings, and softened her evening urge to self-soothe with food. Steady protein intake also supports neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine, which regulate mood and motivation. That biochemical steadiness told her body, “You’re safe. You’re fed.” And safety is what quiets the impulse to binge, restrict, or ruminate about food.
2. Pause Before Policing
Through guided somatic practices in the workshop — breathwork, tapping, and micro-mindfulness exercises, along with an entire Google Drive of practical exercises — Alexis learned how to interrupt the stress loops that drove her food behaviours. By pausing to feel before trying to fix, she discovered that what looked like a willpower issue was often just her nervous system seeking regulation. This step is supported by research in psychology showing that interoceptive awareness (our ability to sense internal states) improves self-regulation far more effectively than cognitive restraint alone.
3. Permission as a pathway to peace
The third P, and often the hardest, is permission. Not permission to eat everything mindlessly, but permission to let go of the belief that your worth depends on control. Once Alexis stopped labeling foods as “good” or “bad,” her body stopped rebelling. The constant mental tug-of-war (I shouldn’t, I deserve, I’ll start over Monday, etc.) lost its grip.
Her choices began to align naturally with what felt nourishing, not punishing. And there’s science behind that too: studies in behavioural nutrition and social psychology show that when moral judgment is removed from food, decision fatigue decreases and self-trust increases. Permission, as it turns out, is not indulgence. It’s integration.
Her biggest “aha”: “it was never about the food”
By the third module, Alexis said something that stopped me in my tracks:
“I realized it was never about the food. It was about how unsafe I felt in my own body.”
She shared that most of her restrictive habits began during a stressful chapter of her life: a demanding job, a breakup, a sense of uncertainty about ageing. Dieting gave her a sense of control when everything else felt chaotic.
Once she learned to anchor her body through nervous system regulation, instead of calorie counting, that need for control softened.
Food became nourishment again, not a coping mechanism.
She still plans meals and pays attention to nutrition, but from a place of care rather than fear.
And that’s what food freedom actually looks like: not eating whatever, whenever, but finally having choice again.
One year later: what food freedom looks like now
Today, Alexis describes her relationship with food as “peaceful, flexible, and kind.”
She eats three satisfying meals most days, with snacks when she’s hungry. She enjoys dining out without “earning” or “undoing” it.
Her weight has stabilised naturally- not because she’s trying to manage it, but because her stress hormones and appetite cues have rebalanced. She trusts her body again. (And she’s regained her body’s trust!)
More importantly, she reports sleeping better, fewer mood swings, and a surprising byproduct: clarity.
She said,
“My brain feels quieter. I have more energy for my actual life instead of managing what I eat.”
That’s the part many women don’t expect: that when the mental bandwidth previously spent on food anxiety is freed up, creativity, joy, and presence rush in to fill the space.
I promise you: You can learn food freedom
I’ve been in this field for a while now. I know that you can do this. Food freedom is a learnable skill.
Through my own experience (healing from anxiety, hormone imbalance, and compulsive eating habits) and through hundreds of clients like Alexis, I’ve seen the same pattern:
When the body feels unsafe, the mind reaches for control.
When the body feels safe, the mind can trust.
The Mantra Method is built on that bridge, combining:
- Social psychology: understanding behavior and motivation
- Nervous system science: regulating the physiological roots of anxiety and compulsion
- Ayurvedic nutrition: using food as medicine for balance and vitality
Together, they create a framework that’s both practical and sustainable.
Participants don’t just learn what to eat; they learn how to listen and how to respond from a calm, grounded state.
As supported by current research, food freedom is not about “perfect balance” but about nervous system flexibility, the ability to return to equilibrium after stress.
That’s the missing piece in most diet approaches: the part that teaches your body how to come back home to itself.
If you’re where Alexis once was…
If you’ve spent years trying to “figure food out,” only to end up more confused, you’re not broken. You’re likely just overloaded- by rules, by pressure, by noise.
You can unlearn that noise.
You can build a calm, resilient body that knows how to eat and rest without punishment.
And you don’t have to do it alone.
The Mantra Method is a 3-month online workshop designed to help you quiet food anxiety, stabilise your energy, and restore self-trust. We do this through social psychology, nervous system regulation, and the wisdom of Ayurveda.
It’s not about another plan.
It’s about remembering what it feels like to be free again.
Enrollment for the next round opens soon.
If you’re ready to make food peaceful again and spend your energy on Life itself, instead of what to eat or not, you can learn more here.
Editor’s note: The information in this article, as well as all content produced and shared by Ivy Chan Wellness, including programs, memberships, and downloadables, are provided for informational and educational purposes only. They are not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
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