Hi friends! If you have been following the kickstart serious than you know that
this month we are focusing on our redefine health campaign and I couldn't
let this series happen without having a video where we talked about having a
healthy relationship with food. Because that is in a lot of ways just as
important as what food you choose to eat. So what is a healthy or unhealthy
relationship with food? It's gonna differ a little bit for everyone just like our
healthy relationships in life will differ.
Let's touch on 3 bigger themes that I have personally experienced to
contribute to an unhealthy relationship with food. There are many other points so
feel free to tactfully add your food for thought in the comments below.
So first up is feeling anxious or guilty about eating or going out to eat. This is
super common. Anyone who has ever been on a diet has probably felt this. If
you've ever tracked your macros you've probably felt this. Going out to eat can be
stressful. We're trying to be good and then we go out to eat we either feel
obligated to enjoy a salad that we don't want or we feel like we can't enjoy the
burger that we do want or we feel the pressure that others are going to judge
us for our decisions or choices. Oh she's eating something healthy today or oh
she's gonna eat something terrible that's just so bad for you. Isn't that just the
worst? Feeling like we have to defend ourselves and our choices there's so
much negativity and anxiety and it's just easier to not go out to eat and that is
so unfortunate because going out to eat is great it can be fun and enjoyable and
delicious. But it doesn't have to mean ordering the most healthy or the least
healthy item on the menu every time. So just like any relationship it's about
compromise. Sometimes we can allow ourselves a little bit more if we want
than others,
and compromise is ok. So next up is thinking that there are good and bad
foods. We are all on a journey and at some point most of us feel we've learned that these
foods are good and these foods are bad. But this is a pretty destructive idea
Once I was able to accept that food is food there are some foods that are
better fuel from my body and some foods that aren't without the stigma of them
being good and bad. I was really able to let myself not feel that anxiety or
guilt so much. It's more about acceptance and giving yourself permission to enjoy
those foods that aren't fuel on occasion but also recognizing that they
aren't fuel and not being dishonest with yourself. And the third point is the
feeling that food gives us control. So this is the root of so many eating
disorders. Whether it's related to under eating or overheating it is so easy to
turn to food for control. The truth is once we start trying to control our food
too much it can start to control us. So that's when we start to feel like we can't
go out to eat or we can't enjoy dessert ever or unless we are counting our calories.
Sometimes we let ourselves indulge and then we feel like we lost control when
that happen and we try to make up for it by eating less or maybe we give into
feeling awful about ourselves and then we eat more.
This is dangerous territory although not uncommon. Being aware of your diet and
lifestyle and being concerned with the food you put your body is one thing but
letting it control your life and lifestyle is another and those are just
some of the main themes that I came up with when I wrote out a list of things
that I've struggled with when it comes to food. There are many other points we
could go on about emotional eating, comfort eating,
dieting, overthinking food, it can go on and on but those are just the 3 that I
thought kind of umbrellaed over everything else. If you feel like you're struggling
with any of these issues or others you're not alone. I encourage you to
share them with someone you trust
find a community whether it's here, a group of friends, family, where you can work
through some of these things because support will make all the difference and at
the same time don't freak out if you watched this and thought 'oh my god that's
me what do I do now?' because the truth is these are all parts of the journey. Coming
from where a lot of us have come culturally, how we've eaten our whole lives, how we've been
educated or not educated about food and nutrition, we really all have to learn on
our own and it's normal to go through some of these thoughts and stages. But if
you feel like they're starting to consume your life maybe it's time to
take a step back and reevaluate. What can you do to start focusing on that healthy
relationship with food and learn as much as you can about food and nutrition and
what feels right with your body. For me personally that meant stopping counting
my macros, stopping counting calories. It was to consuming for me. It might not be
the case for everyone but once I stopped worrying about those numbers and started
thinking about you know the colors of my food and where the ingredients come
from and what they were doing for my body. Once I started thinking I wanted to
fuel my body and not just give it a number of calories my mentality started
to shift and it's a process and it's still happening.
The journey doesn't end but as you learn more and you get smarter you'll feel more
confident in that relationship. If you feel like you've gone on a journey of
finding that healthy relationship with food please share some of the tips
of what helped you along the way in the comments because you could really help
someone else who is going through right now. I hope you enjoyed this type of video. If
you did and you want more chats like this please give it a thumbs up and don't
forget to tag me on social and tell me what being healthy means to you. Don't
forget to use the tag #redefinehealth there is no wrong answer and of course
remember it's all a matter of Mind Over Munch.