How Childhood Food Rules Drive Weight Regain
- Bronwyn Fletcher
- Mar 25
- 2 min read
Most women believe their weight problems started in adulthood.
They think the issue began when they started dieting, when their metabolism changed, or when life became stressful.
But when you look closely, many eating patterns begin much earlier, with the food rules learned in childhood.
In this episode I tell the stories of Katherine and Fiona.
Katherine grew up with a strict rule that she was not allowed to eat between meals.
Fiona grew up with a different rule, but the effect was the same. In her family you didn’t ask for food, because there might not be enough.
Both girls were often hungry. Both followed the rules. Both learned to solve their hunger in secret.
Sneaking food, eating at friends’ houses, taking money to buy something to eat. These were not acts of greed. They were solutions to a problem.
When a child learns that food is not always available, the brain builds a system to make sure that feeling of hunger never happens again.
Years later the situation changes.
There is food in the cupboard. There is money. There are no rules.
But the eating system is still there.
Now it shows up as overeating. Now it shows up as emotional eating. Now it shows up as weight regain.
This is why diets often fail.
Diets change the food. They do not change the system.
Until the food rules learned in childhood are understood, the eating pattern built around them will keep running in the background. This is why solving weight problems with Food Rules is the first step.
That is why solving weight regain problems starts with the food story, not with another diet.
You can visit the Podcast Episode Page here to listen and read the show notes
You can listen to Katherine and Fiona's full story on my Podcast, Before Dieting...
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