“I’ve been so good all week, I’ve earned a treat…”

Hey! Stop that! Food is not a reward, and you are not a dog. Food is not a treat or a punishment or a crime or a friend or a foe. Food is food. And one of the most important parts of improving your relationship with food is to stop looking at it like a relationship.

But if you’re anything like me, you can’t just snap your fingers and wipe away the residue of so many years of hyper-vigilance. That’s why it takes six months to get to sanity. Six months of relinquishing control, letting your body reset, listening to the ridiculous ways we talk about food every single day, and learning to love yourself along the way.

All you have to do is eat — freely, joyfully, unrestrictedly — and let your brain chemistry do the rest. And I promise you, the real treat is on the other side.