Does your relationship with food have an effect on your overall health?
We all have struggled with food and have a love/hate relationship to it. The relationship to food can be a “sane” or a “healthy” one, and there are some examples to prove it.
Waking up, doing your daily affirmations, stretching, going out for a jog, going to work, being productive in the office, and all of this while doing a day-count to see how many days we can go eating “healthy” and not overeating our favorite foods, which are cakes, cookies, pizza, etc. “Eating healthy” is not just about the food you eat, but is also about the relationship you have with food.
So what does a healthy relationship with food look like?
A healthy relationship includes relaxed eating, choosing preferences over positions, and practicing balance and flexibility in your eating. A relaxed eating means eating in accordance with your hunger signals and understanding that these signals may change with your routine, moods, and physical demands. Preferences refers to foods you prefer to eat, while positions refers to rigid habits and a fear of choosing other options. Balance means everything in moderation, including all food groups. It also means eating for both pleasure and hunger.
In other words, a healthy relationship with food means the absence of obsession, restriction, anxiety, and guilt.
How to have a healthy relationship with what you eat?
Experts offer these tips to achieve and maintain healthy eating habits and avoid having food become an adversary or a too-close friend. It may seem hard at first, but you can change the way you feel as you improve your eating habits:
- Don’t label specific foods as good or bad- A cup of broccoli does not have angelic health powers, and a slice of pizza is not demonic. Some foods are better for your well-being than others, but no food is either evil or benevolent.
- Don’t deprive yourself- Trying to cut calories or not eating certain kinds of foods can trigger overeating, and that can make it harder for you to recover from the disorder. It can lead to a cycle of dieting and bingeing that’s hard to break.
- Minimize your opportunities to make bad choices- Don’t stock your fridge and pantry with foods high in sugar or fat, or with other treats that make you want to overeat. Just having them around can start a binge.
- Make Regular Meals a Habit- Don’t skip meals. Being very hungry can make you more likely to overeat. It also ups the odds you’ll choose foods that are high in fat and sugar, which can trigger a binge. A morning meal can help curb hunger all day long. Choose healthy foods for meals and snacks. You’ll get nutrients that your body needs.
- Don’t get too restrictive- Rather than cutting out certain foods completely, allow yourself one day a week to have a modest portion of your favorite treat. For example, instead of trying to banish donuts forever from your diet, consume it in moderation.
- Keep a food journal- Write down not only what you eat, but what you’re feeling at the time. Documenting your eating habits and emotions will help you detect patterns
You can strategize your shopping trips to avoid aisles loaded with unhealthy items. “The last thing you want to do is load up your cart with cookies, snack chips, crackers and other processed or refined foods that are high in carbohydrates.
Many people binge because it makes them feel less stressed, at least in the short term. You might not be able to avoid stress, but you can practice healthy ways to relax. Exercise, meditation, or a phone call with a friend can soothe you and help ease the urge to overeat.
Over time, you’ll be able to view food for what it really is: something to be enjoyed to its fullest.
Reference-
- https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/eating-disorders/binge-eating-disorder/binge-relationship-food
- https://health.usnews.com/wellness/food/articles/2017-01-04/6-strategies-for-maintaining-a-healthy-relationship-with-food
- https://eatwell.healthy.ucla.edu/2020/02/03/building-a-healthy-relationship-with-food/
