Week 2: Stop Reinforcing Inaccurate Food– Illness Associations

Sometimes the smallest step in the right direction ends up being the biggest step of our life.

Naeem Callaway

The next step in rebuilding food and body trust is recognizing your Food-Illness associations that have formed—and starting to gently question the ones that might not be accurate.

These associations are a big part of what keeps the C-FAST cycle going. They form when your Protector links certain foods with feeling unwell, creating a strong (often subconscious) expectation that those foods will lead to symptoms—even if they’re not actually the cause.

These connections can develop through experiences like:

  • Hearing scary messages about “unsafe” or “trigger” foods.
  • Participating in online support groups that promote strict or fearful attitudes toward food.
  • Getting mixed or worrying messages about food from health professionals.
  • Repetitive, fear-based thoughts such as “I can’t eat ____ because it’s inflammatory.”
  • Automatically blaming food for symptoms, for example, “It must have been the ____.”
  • Cutting out foods and feeling “better,” which strengthens the belief they were the problem.

Do any of the above experiences resonate with you? Might they have contributed to getting caught in the C-FAST? Is there anything you can change right now to stop reinforcing inaccurate Food-Illness associations?  

Ready to go deeper?

Week 2 (Group Program) will help you:

  • Understand how your Food-Illness associations developed (i.e. how you got stuck in the C-FAST cycle).
  • Critically examine your Food-Illness Associations and let go of those that no longer serve you.
  • Change factors in your life that continue to reinforce inaccurate associations.
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