We all have a constantly evolving relationship with food. Whether it’s good or bad, this isn’t a relationship you can break up or walk away from. However, it is one that you should nurture and take care of. This relationship will make or break your energy levels, your mental well-being, and your long-term health.
Your relationship with food refers to how you think, feel, and behave around food. While many people believe they have a neutral relationship with food, it is common to unknowingly engage in unhealthy habits like restrictive eating, emotional eating, food guilt, or neglect.
When you want to learn how to have a good relationship with food, sometimes it takes rewiring your thought process and completely wiping your preconceived notions about nutrition and mealtime. In this blog, we’ll address some of the common factors of a healthy relationship with food and how to break up with some of those toxic habits!
Understanding Your Relationship With Food
The first step to maintaining a productive relationship with food is to identify what your current relationship looks like. Be honest with yourself! Whatever your starting point is, it doesn’t reflect the potential progress you could make. To understand your own relationship with food, consider these factors:
- Eating patterns: Would you say that you eat more when you are physically hungry or do you rely on external cues like boredom and indulgent cravings? One of the most common habits that can restrict the formation of a healthy relationship with food is emotional eating. Instead of focusing on your environmental cues, practice intuitive eating by questioning where your hunger comes from.
- Thoughts about food: When you think about food, do you label things as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ and make choices based on those associations? Do you neglect thoughts about food altogether? Honestly, both extremes can be detrimental to your relationship with eating. Thinking about food isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as understanding your cravings can actually help you interpret nutritional needs in some cases. On another note, your bag of chips isn’t a violent criminal, it isn’t as ‘bad’ as you might think.
- Mealtime environment: What does your eating environment look like? Do you practice mindful eating by living in the present moment with your meal, or do you prefer to eat while distracted by work or entertainment? It may make time fly by, but mealtime is actually more enjoyable when you tune in to the moment, as researched by the Nutrition Source from Harvard.
Identifying a Good Relationship With Food
When you want to learn how to change your relationship with food, you first need a solid understanding of what that looks like. It’s important to preface this by highlighting the fact that ‘healthy’ will look different for everyone. There are no specific tips like calorie amount or protein intake that will be universal, especially across gender, activity level, and physical capabilities. However, there are some tips and habits that can facilitate a healthy relationship with food regardless of what your specific diet looks like.
Here are some signs of a healthy relationship with food:
- You eat when you are hungry and stop when you feel fully satisfied.
- You don’t label foods as ‘off-limits’.
- You don’t feel guilty after eating.
- You eat mindfully and enjoy mealtime.
- You don’t use food as a coping mechanism.
- You trust your body.
How to Start Having a Good Relationship With Food
Building a better relationship with food is a journey that is expected to take time, patience, self-love, and understanding. When you want to learn how to heal your relationship with food, focus on listening to your body, letting go of food guilt, and embracing what you love! You can start rekindling your relationship with food by focusing on comfort foods that leave you feeling nourished and nostalgic. This optimistic approach can help you shift your mindset, focusing on building trust with your body.
Signs You Might Have an Unhealthy Relationship With Food
A relationship with food may need a little work, and that’s okay! There is nothing wrong with acknowledging that your unhealthy relationship with food may need a bit of love and nurturing to get back on track. Some habits, even those that feel beneficial, can be harmful if not looked at with clear introspection. Mindfulness is essential when it comes to facilitating a more sustainable relationship with food. Neglecting to understand your body can be a prime contributor to a bad food relationship.
Some signs that may express a negative relationship with food include:
- Shame: If you feel anxiety after meals or guilt (like you ate something wrong), this shame is actually a sign of an unstable relationship with food. A delicious meal should make you feel happy, full, and satisfied. These mixed signals are a sign that your relationship with food may need some extra TLC.
- Constant food thoughts: Are you always thinking about your next meal? Or your last one? If food occupies the majority of your thoughts, leaving you incapable of focusing on your day-to-day, you may have an unhealthy relationship with mealtime. Even the most loving and committed of partners will give you some independence, and the same goes for your relationship with food!
- Restrictive dieting: When you restrict entire food groups (outside of religious, medical, or ethical reasons), you further limit your options to mealtime which can increase feelings of anxiety or dread around the task of feeding yourself. Furthermore, setting strict restrictions will only make it more likely to binge later, as the temptation only grows with time.
- Avoidance: Do you have a habit of avoiding social gatherings or parties that revolve around food? It’s okay to be picky or unnerved about the cuisine, but it is important to accept social experiences. If food prevents you from being social, you may have an avoidance concern in your relationship with food.
- Lack of control: Binge-eating a lack of control around indulgences is a sign of a negative relationship with food, likely due to heavy restrictions or food anxiety. When you deliberately suppress a craving, you may find it all the more tempting when you get the chance to eat it again.
Ways to Reset Your Relationship With Food
If you’re looking into how to change your relationship with food, the truth is that the best strategy for success may look different for everyone. It is important to identify the specific struggles you deal with, and work with mirroring habits that flush out the negative pattern. For example, if you have a problem with restrictive dieting, try ordering small dishes with the ingredient out at a restaurant so you can experiment with the flavors and textures before committing to buying it for your at-home fridge. A healthy relationship with food is one where you can confidently enjoy delicious meals and get away from mealtime thoughts every once in a while!
