When Alexis came to me, she described her relationship with food as “exhausting.” She’d spent years cycling through plans, tracking apps, and willpower strategies, only to find herself standing at the fridge at 9 p.m., defeated and confused. “I know what to eat,” she told me. “But I can’t seem to do it. And I’m tired of feeling like I’m failing. I just want peaceful eating, where food doesn’t feel like a battle anymore.”
The truth? Alexis wasn’t failing. Her nervous system was stuck in a stress loop that no amount of nutrition knowledge could fix.
If you’ve tried everything to feel peace around eating but still find yourself anxious, controlled, or caught in restrict-binge cycles, you’re not broken. You’re likely just working with the wrong tools. Here are the three practices that have helped my clients finally find relief.
Tool #1: Structured meal rhythms (Not meal plans)
The word “meal plan” can trigger a visceral reaction in people who’ve been trapped in diet culture. Peaceful eating needs something different. It needs structure, with flexibility. Structured meal rhythms aren’t about rules. They’re about safety.
Your nervous system thrives on predictability. When your body doesn’t know when the next meal is coming, stress hormones rise. Research shows that irregular eating patterns increase cortisol, disrupt glucose control, and amplify cravings later in the day. Your brain interprets scarcity as a threat, which activates the very circuits that drive compulsive eating behaviours. This is one of the hurdles preventing peaceful eating.
What structured meal rhythms look like in practice:
Rather than “eating clean” or tracking calories, my clients focus on rhythm and reliability. Here’s a simple framework:
Morning anchor (within 1-2 hours of waking):
- Protein + fat + fibre
- Example: Two eggs with avocado and spinach, or coconut yoghurt with nuts and berries
- This steadies blood sugar and signals safety to your nervous system
Midday nourishment (4-5 hours after breakfast):
- Balanced plate: protein, complex carbs, vegetables, healthy fats
- Example: Grilled tofu over quinoa with roasted vegetables and peanut sauce drizzle
- Eating at consistent times reduces the mental load of “should I eat now?”
Evening meal (before 7 p.m. when possible):
- Satisfying and complete, not restrictive
- Example: Salmon with sweet potato and sautéed greens
- Late dinners disrupt glucose metabolism; earlier eating supports better sleep and metabolic health
Intentional snacks (if genuinely hungry):
- Protein-rich options between meals
- Example: Hummus with vegetables, cheese with apple slices
- These prevent blood sugar crashes that trigger urgent cravings
Client note from Maria: “For years, I ate whenever guilt allowed it. I’d skip breakfast, graze all afternoon, then binge at night. When Ivy taught me about meal rhythms (not rules, but rhythm), something clicked. My body finally felt safe. The urgency around food just… softened. I honestly didn’t think that was possible.”
The shift here is subtle but profound: you’re not controlling food, you’re creating a container that lets your nervous system relax.
Tool #2: Sensory-based eating practices (Beyond mindfulness)
You’ve probably heard about “mindful eating.” Maybe you’ve even tried it. But if you’re like most of my clients, sitting with a raisin for five minutes felt performative, not peaceful.
Sensory-based eating is different and might be especially helpful for my fellow ADHD’ers. It’s not about slowing down to an unnatural crawl or forcing gratitude (which would absolutely not bring peaceful eating!) It’s about reconnecting with the actual experience of eating: texture, temperature, satisfaction! This way, your body knows when it’s truly fed.
When we eat while stressed, distracted, or emotionally dysregulated, the brain doesn’t register nourishment. You can finish an entire meal and still feel empty because your nervous system never received the “I’m satisfied” signal. Research on interoceptive awareness shows that people who can accurately sense internal cues (like hunger, fullness, and pleasure) have better self-regulation and fewer compulsive eating patterns.
Sensory-based eating in action:
Before you eat, pause. Not to judge or analyse, but to arrive. Place one hand on your belly. Take three slow breaths. Ask yourself: What does my body need right now? Not what you “should” eat, but what would feel genuinely nourishing.
During the meal:
- Notice temperature: Is it warm and comforting, or cool and refreshing?
- Notice texture: Crunchy, creamy, chewy?
- Notice flavour: Sweet, savoury, tangy?
- Notice satisfaction: Does this feel like enough, or does your body want more?
This isn’t about eating slowly for the sake of control. It’s about giving your nervous system permission to fully receive the meal. When satisfaction is present, cravings decrease naturally.
After eating: Take a brief walk, even for five minutes. Research shows that post-meal movement improves glucose metabolism and reduces the likelihood of emotional eating later. But more importantly, it signals to your body: We’re done. We’re safe. We can move on.
Client note from Sally: “I used to eat standing at the counter, scrolling my phone, barely tasting anything. Then I’d be hungry again an hour later, and I would especially crave greasy, oily, crunchy things. Ivy taught me how this might be a sensory-based need! Now I actually enjoy food, and I eat less because I’m actually satisfied. It sounds so simple, but it changed everything.”
Tool #3: The craving companion checklist for peaceful eating
Cravings aren’t the enemy, they’re like…communication. But when your nervous system is in survival mode, that message often gets distorted into urgency or guilt.
Most advice tells you to resist cravings or distract yourself until they pass. But that only fuels the same stress cycle that drives compulsive eating. The goal isn’t to silence cravings, it’s to decode them.
That’s where the Craving Companion comes in.
It’s not another “how to stop eating” checklist. It’s a nervous-system tool that helps you pause, listen, and respond with care instead of control.
Here’s the essence of it:
- Pause. When a craving hits, take one conscious breath and name what’s happening.
- Get curious. What kind of need is this: physical, emotional, or sensory?
- Respond, don’t react. Eat if you’re hungry. Rest if you’re tired. Regulate if you’re stressed.
- If the craving remains, honor it mindfully. Sometimes your body just wants the cookie. Eat it slowly, without guilt. Permission breaks the urgency cycle.
Inside your Craving Companion folder in the Mantra Method, you’ll find a full version of this framework, with simple prompts and sensory-based alternatives drawn from real client work.
Examples include things like:
- Regulating stress: five deep exhalations, stepping outside for two minutes, or pressing your palms together until you feel grounded.
- Sensory redirection: holding an ice cube, brushing your skin, or listening to a song that moves the body instead of reaching for food.
- Emotional nourishment: journaling one sentence of truth, texting someone safe, or doing something playful or tactile for 3–5 minutes.
These aren’t meant as replacements for food, but as ways to give your body what it’s actually asking for.
When you start meeting those signals directly, cravings lose their urgency and turn into information. That’s the beginning of trust.
Client note from Rachel:
“At first, I thought it was silly. But I started seeing patterns right away. Every time I felt anxious about work, or when I wanted to “reward” myself, I’d reach for snacks. Once I paused and asked what I actually needed, sometimes it was a break, not food. Now I have options, not just impulses.”
How these tools work together: The art of Peaceful Eating
These three tools aren’t random. They work together to regulate the brain circuits involved in compulsive eating.
Research on the neuroscience of eating behaviour identifies three core dysfunctions in compulsive patterns:
- Habitual overeating driven by striatal circuits (the “habit brain”)
- Stress-driven eating to relieve negative emotions, mediated by the amygdala and stress hormones
- Loss of executive control, where the prefrontal cortex (the “stop system”) becomes less effective
Structured meal rhythms stabilise blood sugar and reduce stress hormone surges, which quiet the amygdala’s alarm signals. Sensory-based eating strengthens the prefrontal cortex’s ability to make intentional choices instead of reactive ones. And the Craving Companion helps you interrupt habitual loops by creating space between impulse and action.
Together, they shift your nervous system from a state of threat (where food feels urgent and out of control) to a state of safety (where food is just… food). Aka peaceful eating.
The missing piece in most food freedom approaches
Here’s what most nutrition advice misses: you can know all the “right” foods to eat and still struggle if your nervous system is dysregulated.
When stress hormones are chronically elevated—whether from external pressures (work, relationships, financial strain) or internal ones (perfectionism, shame, self-criticism)—the prefrontal cortex goes offline. That’s the part of your brain responsible for impulse control, planning, and rational decision-making.
This isn’t a personal failing. It’s biology. And it’s why willpower alone doesn’t work.
The path to peaceful eating isn’t more rules. It’s nervous system regulation, which allows your brain to access the executive function required for self-trust. These three tools provide that regulation.
Start where you are (Not where you think you should be)
If you’re reading this and feeling overwhelmed, start with just one tool. Pick the one that feels most doable right now:
- If mornings are chaotic, begin with a simple breakfast anchor.
- If you eat while distracted, practice one sensory-based meal this week.
- If cravings feel urgent and confusing, print the Craving Companion Checklist and keep it visible.
You don’t have to do everything perfectly. In fact, perfectionism is often the thing keeping you stuck. These tools work best when approached with curiosity, not control.
A note on compassion:
If you’ve been battling food for years—decades, even—it makes sense that it would take time to rebuild trust. The patterns you’re working with were likely formed early (research shows that girls internalize food and body messages from childhood) and reinforced by a culture that profits from your insecurity.
Be gentle with yourself. Every small shift—every breakfast eaten on time, every craving decoded, every meal savored—is rewiring your brain. Literally. Neuroplasticity research confirms that consistent, compassionate practice creates new neural pathways that eventually become your new default.
Learn the full framework: The Mantra Method
These three tools are just the beginning. In my 3-module online workshop, The Mantra Method, we go deeper into the science of nervous system regulation, blood sugar balance, and the psychology of peaceful eating.
The Mantra Method combines:
- Social psychology to understand behavior change and motivation
- Nervous system science to regulate the physiological roots of anxiety and compulsion
- Ayurvedic nutrition to use food as medicine for balance and vitality
Peaceful eating is not another diet. And The Mantra Method is a framework that teaches your body how to feel safe again—so your mind can finally trust it.
Participants learn how to:
- Build meal structures that stabilize mood and energy without restriction
- Decode cravings and emotional eating patterns with compassion
- Regulate their nervous system through somatic practices (breathwork, tapping, mindfulness)
- Restore their body’s natural hunger and fullness cues
- Navigate social situations, holidays, and life stress without falling back into old patterns
You don’t have to figure this out alone. If you’re ready to make food peaceful again—not by forcing it, but by healing the systems underneath—learn more about The Mantra Method 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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