What Is Your Relationship With Food?
By Melanie Kiss
In today’s world people tend to grab, eat and go, without giving much thought to food. Some people use food as a reward or instant gratification. What is your relationship to food?
Food is a source of energy. At least it should be. A way to nourish the physical body which in turn feeds our emotions and soul. But in today’s world it can be anything but that.
Ask yourself these questions and see whether food is adding value and health to your life…or the opposite.
- Do you find time to create a beautiful meal, sit down and enjoy every bite?
- Do you find yourself eating based on what your emotional state is? For example, I feel super lonely and sad and will treat myself to a triple mousse cake to feel better
- Do you reward yourself with your favorite 3 scoop gelato after a stressful meeting or even a strenuous workout?
- Do you shovel down a fast food meal in order to save time and work all day?
- Do you eat out at fancy 5 course restaurants with co-workers only to keep up with your status and reputation?
- Do you find yourself eating only for the sake of fueling your body without any thought as to what goes in?
- Does boredom strike you to eat a couple bags of chips or whatever is in your cupboard?
These questions can make you stop and think about the relationship you have with your food. Being honest and truthful with yourself is the first step. We have all developed habits over the years and stopping to take a look at what we have created is a great way to make a change if need be.
The old saying from Hippocrates “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food” isn’t popular for nothing. This is a wonderful quote that targets the main ingredient. Food should be a source of life, energy that is given to the body. Eating healthy meals mindfully is essentially medicine to the body. So how can we have a healthy relationship with food?
Most changes we bring to our lives starts with being mindful. Quieting the hustle bustle not just in our surroundings but also in our minds. Really asking ourselves why exactly we feel the need to reward ourselves with food, what void we feel we are filling by eating certain things and why exactly we are choosing to eat fast food vs a healthy meal. Sure most superficial answers are that “there’s only fast food available close by”, or “why can’t I eat half a jar of Nutella after I did a hard workout, I worked it off” or “but it tastes so good and I only eat it once a week”. There is nothing wrong with eating something that satisfies you completely. But ask yourself why you are doing that. It’s mainly the reason behind the food that connects you to it.
Here are some easy tips to creating a healthy relationship with food:
- Take the time to prepare a healthy meal you enjoy. Put your focus and attention into it. Do you ever notice that the same Buddha Bowl in one franchise tastes different then the Buddha Bowl in another? It is the same recipe, yet two very different people make it. Perhaps one has had a rough year and is working there because of the paycheck. Perhaps the other loves to put every single item together with joy. They say the love you put into your cooking you taste. So take the time to prepare a nice meal. Once you have made it, sit down and enjoy it. Chew each bite and feel the texture and taste the flavors. Mindfully eating a meal can really bring about a nice connection with your food.
- The next time you want to reward yourself with a tub of ice cream see if there is a way for you to be grateful for your hard work in other ways. It is ok to crave certain things but rewarding yourself for something you went through should not be the reason.
- Choosing to slow down and make time to eat healthy meals is a huge start. Finding healthy restaurants of grocery stores around you can really make a difference in what you are eating.
- Introducing healthy items into your diet without the use of heavy dressings, dips, sauces and heaps of salt is a good way to getting your taste buds back to basics. It might take some time but eventually you can even enjoy the taste of chewing on a carrot. Fresh meals are so tasty and delicious. Eating is such a pleasurable experience, so enjoy it!
- When reaching for that bag of chips, are you really hungry or are you just bored? Do you need to mindlessly eat a bowl of popcorn in front of the television, when you are so tuned into the movie you don’t even remember eating the entire bowl?
- Having appreciation for a meal is something most of us are lacking. Blessing our meal can alter our physical world. Dr. Emoto explained that your thoughts and vibrations alter water molecules. He also said “To give your positive or negative attention to something is a way of giving energy. The most damaging form of behavior is withholding your attention.” So why not say a small blessing before a meal to show your appreciation?
When you are mindful you can really look past the greasy pizza and soft creamy dulce de leche cheesecake. When I stop and feel hungry, I look for healthy meals to nourish my body. When I feel “peckish” I ask myself why that is. When I want to turn to food to make myself feel better, I recognize that something is bothering me and find other solutions. Mindfulness is a way of turning inwards. To get to know oneself and pay attention to the habits we have created. If we begin that inner journey, we can make drastic changes with our relationship to food. We support you in our weightloss camp to take a new, healthy approach to food.
