Is confirmation bias keeping you stuck in negative thought patterns around food? You’re not alone. In this episode, we’re diving into how our brains latch onto beliefs like “I always overeat during the holidays” or “I can’t control myself around treats”—and why they might not be true at all.

I’ll walk you through what confirmation bias is, how it shows up in your life (especially around holiday gatherings), and practical ways to start breaking free from it. You’ll learn how to challenge those automatic thoughts and shift your mindset to approach food with more freedom and ease this holiday season.

If you’ve ever felt trapped in the “overeat, feel guilty, repeat” cycle, this episode is for you. 

🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts 🎧 Listen on Spotify

HIGHLIGHTS

01:05 Confirmation Bias and the Holiday Food Struggle

05:00 How Confirmation Bias Affects Your Relationship with Food

12:30 Why Our Brains Love to Stick to Familiar Beliefs

20:00 How to Start Challenging Your Confirmation Bias Around Food

28:45 How to Make This Holiday Season Different 

RESOURCES + LINKS

⭐️ Starting October 9th, I’ll be offering free live group coaching every week in my Facebook group to support you through this journey. Don’t miss out!

Ryann: @itsryannnicole

Work with Ryann: BingeEatingUnchained.com

Join the IRN Community Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/itsryannnicole

Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes and is not a substitute for professional advice.

Transcript

Welcome back to another episode. My name is Ryann, and today we’re diving into a topic that can really mess with how we see things, confirmation bias. This one’s a biggie, especially when it comes to how we think about food, our bodies, and all those holiday gatherings. So let’s break down what confirmation bias is, how it shows up in our lives, why it’s so sneaky, and how we can start to break free from it.

Alright, so what is confirmation bias? Simply put, it’s our brain’s way of looking for evidence that supports what we already believe. Our brains love efficiency, and one of the ways they stay efficient is by taking mental shortcuts. Instead of constantly reevaluating everything we know, our brain prefers to stick to what it already thinks it’s true.

Here’s where confirmation bias comes in. It’s like a built in filter that helps our brain manage all the information that it’s taking. This filter makes it easier for us to process the world by focusing on things that fit with our current beliefs and ignoring anything that doesn’t quite match up. So we end up paying more attention to things that confirm what we already believe and dismiss things that challenge those beliefs.

Why does this happen? Well, our brains are designed to protect us and keep us safe. In a way, sticking to familiar beliefs help us feel more secure and less anxious because it creates a sense of predictability. It’s like your brain saying, okay, we know how this works, so let’s keep things simple. This can be helpful in some situations, but it can also trap us in certain patterns, especially when it comes to how we think about food and our body.

So confirmation bias isn’t about being stubborn or unwilling to change, it’s just our brain’s way of trying to make things easier by sticking to what it knows. The downside is that it can keep us locked into negative or unhelpful thought patterns, especially around food and eating. What might this look like?

Let’s say you have the belief that you always overeat during the holidays. Because of confirmation bias, you’ll probably notice every time you take an extra cookie or have a second helping of pie, thinking, See, I always overdo it. But you might not pay as much attention to the times when you do enjoy your food mindfully or choose not to go back for seconds.

Again, not saying that that’s wrong, but we’re looking at the belief here. It’s not that those moments don’t happen, they do, but confirmation bias makes you focus on the ones that match your existing belief. I always overdo it. Or how about this? You believe that you can’t be trusted around certain foods, so when you’re at a holiday party and you find yourself hovering around the dessert table, you think, yep, here I go again.

I knew I couldn’t handle this. You don’t notice the times when you’re enjoying yourself and not thinking about food at all. Your brain just skips right over that evidence because it doesn’t fit the story it’s been telling you. As I mentioned earlier, confirmation bias happens because our brains like to take shortcuts.

Your brain has a lot of information to process and wants to make sense of the world quickly. An easy way to do this is for the brain to ignore information that goes against your beliefs and hyper focus on information in alignment with your beliefs. It’s a survival mechanism. Our brain wants to be efficient.

And while we can appreciate our brains for trying to simplify things, right? This efficiency can really work against us, especially when it comes to things like food and body. It keeps us stuck in the same old thinking patterns because we keep reinforcing the same old beliefs. Now let’s talk about how this shows up during the holidays.

You know how stressful this time of year can be there’s all this pressure to enjoy indulge and be carefree But at the same time there’s this underlying fear of losing control around food It’s like there’s this tug of war constantly going on in your head confirmation bias comes into play when you start focusing on things that reinforce beliefs like The holidays are when I always gain weight or I can’t control myself around holiday treats When you go into the season with these beliefs, your brain is on high alert to find proof that they are true.

You might zero in on every instance where you feel you’ve overdone it and completely overlook all the times when you’ve made choices that align with how you want to feel around food. For example, you go to a family dinner thinking, I always eat too much of these things. If you end up feeling overly full, now your brain immediately is going to go into, See?

Told you so. But what about all the other moments, like when you enjoyed a meal without overthinking it, or when you honored your fullness and stopped eating when you felt satisfied? Those get filtered out because they don’t match the story your brain is trying to tell. Or, you walk into a holiday party with the belief, I can’t control myself around sweets.

As you glance at the dessert table, your brain is already on high alert, looking for proof. So if you end up eating a couple of cookies, your brain goes, see, I knew it, I have no self control. But what about the times when you were at similar parties and chose to have just one dessert or none at all because you genuinely didn’t want any?

Those moments get ignored because they don’t fit the narrative your brain is trying to support. Let’s say you believe that you are judged for what you eat. At a family dinner, someone casually comments, You’re going back for seconds. Your brain latches onto this as evidence, thinking, I knew it. I knew they’re judging me.

However, if someone else later says, that dish was delicious, I’m going for more too, your brain downplays or dismisses it because it doesn’t match the belief that people are focused on what you’re eating. Let’s keep going, one more. Let’s say you have the belief that eating certain foods is quote, bad. So when you have a slice of pie, your brain kicks in with, there I go again, I just can’t resist junk food.

You focus on the guilt and ignore the fact that you also ate a balanced meal earlier and that you chose to have the pie because you actually wanted to enjoy it. Your brain zeroes in on this moment to confirm the belief that eating these foods makes you bad or out of control. Now, if you’re anything like I was, you might be thinking, but wait.

I get that if I have the thought, I can’t control myself around holiday treats, I focus on every instance where I felt I’ve overdone it, and yes, maybe that means I’ve completely overlooked the times when I’ve made choices that align with how I want to feel around food. But doesn’t that show proof of my belief that I can’t control myself?

Any of you have that thought? Here’s the thing. Finding one thing or even several pieces of proof doesn’t necessarily mean the belief is universally true. Our brains are really good at selectively focusing on information that fits the story we already believe. For example, if you believe people are judging you for what you eat, you’re more likely to notice any comment or look that seems to confirm this belief.

But in doing so, you might be missing a lot of other interactions where people are not judging you or are simply not focused on what you’re eating at all. Even if someone makes a comment that sounds judgmental, like, you’re having another slice. it doesn’t automatically mean that they’re truly judging you.

Sometimes people make comments based on their own issues or without thinking about how it might come across. They might be projecting their own food rules or insecurities onto you. So while it might feel like proof, it’s not necessarily evidence that confirms a deeper truth about you or your behavior.

Also, confirmation bias works by making us interpret situations in a way that fits our existing beliefs. For example, a neutral or even positive comment can be twisted by our brains to fit our narrative of being judged. If someone says, wow, that dessert looks amazing. We might immediately think they’re watching what I’m eating, even if that’s not what they meant at all.

So yes, you might find proof, but it’s important to ask yourself a few questions. Is this the only way to interpret this situation? Could there be other explanations that don’t involve judgment? Am I dismissing evidence that goes against my belief? Have there been times when people haven’t commented on my eating or have been supportive but I’ve ignored it because it didn’t fit my narrative?

Am I projecting my own feelings onto others? Sometimes the judgment we perceive is more about our own internal feelings of guilt or insecurity than what others actually think. By asking these questions, you can start to see that what we often take as proof is really just selective focus on certain pieces of information.

It’s about challenging that automatic interpretation and opening up to different perspectives and beliefs. So how do you break this cycle? How do you stop the confirmation bias? It starts with awareness. I know boring, but first you need to become aware of when you’re engaging in confirmation bias.

Notice when you’re actively seeking out reinforcement for a belief that might not be serving you. You can’t change something if you’re not aware of it. Here’s a little exercise you can try next time you’re at a holiday event or even just thinking about food, pause and ask yourself, is this the only way to see this situation?

Challenge yourself to find evidence that goes against your belief. Your brain might not want to acknowledge it right away, but those moments are there. Recognize when you’re focusing on evidence that supports an unhelpful belief. Ask yourself, is this the only way to think about it? Challenge yourself to see if there’s another way to interpret the situation.

Then, look for counter evidence. Actively seek out instances that go against your belief. They’re there, even if your brain wants to overlook them. And then use this new evidence to create a more balanced and compassionate perspective for yourself. Let me show you what this might look like. You walk into a holiday party and immediately think, I can never control myself around dessert.

You’re eyeing the dessert table and feel that familiar anxiety creeping in. But before diving into that belief, pause and ask yourself, is this the only way to see this situation? Challenge yourself to find a different perspective. Remember the time at a friend’s birthday party where you had a cupcake, enjoyed it without guilt, and then moved on with your evening?

That’s proof that you can have a positive experience with desserts. Or you’re at a family gathering and a relative makes a comment like, oh, you’re having another serving? Instantly your confirmation bias kicks in, reinforcing the belief that people are always judging your food choices. But stop and consider.

What if this comment wasn’t about you at all? Maybe this person has their own issues with food or body image and projects those insecurities onto others. Can you think of a time where you ate freely at a family gathering and no one said a word? Use that as evidence that not everyone is judging you, even if it feels like they are in this moment.

Let’s go through another one. Let’s say you’re prepping to go to a holiday dinner and you catch yourself thinking, I always overeat at these things, so I might as well give up now. This thought is setting you up for a fulfilling prophecy. Instead, challenge this belief. Can you recall a time when you went to a similar event and made mindful choices that left you feeling good afterwards?

Maybe there was a time when you listened to your hunger cues and stopped eating when you felt satisfied. This evidence shows that it is possible to approach the situation differently. Last one. Let’s say after a meal you start to feel guilty and think, I always eat too much during the holidays. Pause here and question this belief reflect on the times that you’ve eaten exactly what you wanted and stopped when you were satisfied Maybe last weekend you had a festive dinner and felt full but not overly stuffed and enjoyed the entire experience without that looming guilt This is proof that you don’t always overeat during the holidays Sometimes you make choices that just feel right for you one last thing that I want to say on that if Going through all of those examples now has you thinking But I don’t have experiences like that.

Like I don’t have an experience where I was able to just eat the cupcake at a friend’s birthday party and enjoy it without guilt. I can’t think of a time where I ate freely at a family gathering. I can’t think of a time where I was able to stop eating when I felt satisfied. This might mean that it’s time for more help on healing your relationship with food.

And if you would like to take that a step further and work together, I have a group coaching program called Binge Eating Unchained where we can work through this together to get you experiences like that. Go to BingeEatingUnchained. com to get on the waitlist and get more information. So just to recap, confirmation bias is when our brains look for evidence to support what we already believe, often ignoring anything that contradicts it.

It can show up a lot around food, especially during the holidays when there’s so much going on to break the cycle. Start by noticing when it’s happening, challenge those automatic thoughts and practice reframing your beliefs to be more open and flexible for this week. I want you to try this out when you catch yourself falling into confirmation bias for not in a helpful belief.

Remember the first step is awareness. So you have to pay attention. Take a moment to pause and ask, is there any other way to see this? What evidence am I ignoring? Write it down if that helps you process it better. And remember, it’s not about getting it perfect. It’s about becoming more aware and giving yourself the opportunity to create a new narrative.

Like with everything else, breaking confirmation bias takes practice. It’s not about flipping a switch and suddenly having a whole new mindset. It’s about catching those automatic thoughts and gently challenging them over and over. Remember, your brain likes to stick to what it knows, so this is going to take some consistent effort.

But every time you catch yourself in the act of confirmation bias and choose to see things differently, You’re weakening that old pattern and making space for a new one. If you’re finding this tough and want some extra support, don’t forget about my free live coaching calls starting October 9th and my Facebook group.

We can work through these challenges together and find new ways to approach this holiday season with more peace and less stress around food. As always, thank you for being here and for doing the hard work of exploring these patterns. You’re making strides every time you challenge those beliefs. And that’s something to be really proud of.

Keep showing up for yourself, and I’ll see you next week.