Changing Your Relationship With Food
We’ve all been there, trying multiple diets and not being able to stay consistent. We want immediate results when we attempt to change how we eat but if that’s the goal, we need to start with altering our relationship with food FIRST.
Learning to Listen to Your Body
Some of us believe we have a healthy relationship with food, but we are often mistaken. I used to say, “I eat well, I don’t eat a ton of junk food.” But my body was telling me a different story. I didn’t necessarily have the poorest diet, but I wasn’t feeding my body the nutritious food it needed to function.
When we listen to our bodies and tune inward, we can evaluate our relationship with food. Check-in with yourself and consider how your body is feeling in general. Do you have aches and pains? Swelling? Allergies? Are you constantly tired? How does your body feel after you eat certain foods? Bloated? Does your stomach ache?
There are some foods that aren’t compatible with everyone’s bodies. You can ask your doctor for allergy and food sensitivity tests to determine which foods are safe for you to eat. The food eat eat either ENERGIZES our bodies, or it DEPLETES our energy. Determining our bodies’ needs allows us to provide it with the right fuel.
Eating Habits
To begin changing your relationship with food, it helps to look at your habits. When do you eat? Why are you eating? There are times when we eat out of boredom or we partake in emotional eating or binging. Also, consider what you’re consuming. Most of the time we don’t know what’s even in our food.
What did you eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner yesterday? When do you start to eat unhealthy food? When you’re pressed for time, or is it part of your standard diet? Sometimes we need to look at our routine and change it to fit our diet needs. Meal prepping and planning out meals for the week (even if you don’t cook them in advance) can help you become more conscious about eating nutritiously.
Our bodies are AMAZING and do amazing things when we give them the right nutrients. Instead of trying to force ourselves to diet, we can try adding nutritious meals to our routine instead.
Thirst Vs. Hunger
Another major factor that most people don’t know affects our eating habits is whether or not our bodies are thirsty. The part of our brain that determines if we’re hungry is the same part that determines if we’re thirsty. Sometimes we get mixed messages and we think we’re hungry when our bodies really need water. If you’re like me and get hungry between meals, try drinking a glass of water and waiting 15-20 minutes before deciding if you actually want food.
Food Addictions
Many of us have addictions to foods that contain sugar, caffeine or salt. The reason for this is because some foods release large amounts of dopamine, the pleasure hormone, and consistently eating those types of foods create pleasure seeking habits in our brains.
Once we eat enough of the food that creates dopamine, we get cravings. If you’ve ever had a craving that came out of nowhere, it’s likely because you experienced a trigger (ie. walking into a movie theater and smelling the popcorn, seeing someone eat ice cream). You can also experience cravings based on your emotional state (depression/anxiety). These types of cravings seek to satiate our brain’s need for dopamine, while true hunger seeks to satisfy our body’s need for nutrients.
Changing Your Eating Habits
After you’ve explored your relationship with food, you can begin to change your eating habits by starting small. When we drastically alter how we eat and what we eat, our MINDS rebel. Determine ONE goal for the week and try to stick to it.
One goal I set for myself when I started changing my eating habits was to eat ONE nutritious meal a day. It didn’t have to be super healthy, just nutritious. When we hear the word healthy, our brains usually shut down, LOL.
Once I was consistently eating one nutritious meal a day, my goal became adding something green to lunch and dinner. When I could stick to that habit, I addressed my sugar weakness (Oreos in particular). I would only allow myself 3 Oreos on the day I was having some. Then I challenged myself to eat one vegetarian meal per day and it became so easy that it turned into vegetarian days. If you like to eat meat, challenge yourself to only eat organic meat.
With each goal I achieved, I moved on to the next and became empowered when I realized I had full control over what I was eating, Further down the line I was even able to kick my coffee habit by substituting with matcha. If you have a coffee habit, chai tea is also a great substitute.
As you set each goal and attain it, you can begin to address each area of your relationship with food that needs changing. Explore nutritious substitutes for your favorite foods to help you stay on track. KEEP YOUR FRIDGE STOCKED! We cheat when we lack options.
Stay focused. It only takes 21 days to form a habit, and 66 days for it to become automatic. You won’t have to convince yourself to do anything if you can stick to your goals for about 2 months.
You Got This!
My BIGGEST piece of advice as you embark on this journey, is to be GENTLE with yourself. If you give in to a craving, don’t beat yourself up about it. Ask yourself why that craving was so strong; was it emotional, or environmental? Be kind to yourself, address your needs and what you can do when you’re feeling that way so you can make a better decision for your future self.