How to Call a Truce and Rebuild a Healthy Relationship With Food
For many people, their relationship with food is very complex. It's interesting that something so vital to life can evoke such an array of emotion. From love for some, to guilt and shame for others, our associations with food often feel as indispensable as food itself. So how do you rebuild your relationship with food to a create a space that feels whole, happy and full of gratitude? Here are some suggestions, and they start with asking a few important questions.
What does food mean to you? Though this question feels abstract, it allows you to harness the myriad emotions and concepts you may associate with food. Consider drawing a picture that expresses your feelings. It will be different for each person. Food many evoke feelings of joy and thankfulness, or feelings of sadness, obligation and deprivation. There is no right or wrong. This is merely a starting point that you can build on.
Why do you eat? There are many answers to this question, and it's important to embrace all of them. There are reasons that are routed in habits or emotion vs. necessity. You eat because you are hungry. You may eat socially. You may eat when you're sad, worried or bored. You may eat because it tastes good. There are many more. Though all these reasons have truth, the most important reason you need to eat is to nourish your body so you can thrive and live. When you simplify you reasons and focus on this concept it allows you to, more easily and with more motivation, create a nourishing plate.
Forget about food, and pay attention to your emotions. To change a trigger and/or habit, we have to recognize it with compassion. Once we recognize our triggers or habits we can make more clear decisions about how to act on them. If you give yourself the space to make a different decision than your norm, you just may. When a trigger arises, take a few minutes to breath and ground yourself, then always circle back to the reason you need to eat -- which is to nourish your body, not your emotions.
Breathe. In order to break a habit or recognize a trigger, you need to slow down -- a lot. Paying attention to your actions and reactions is important if you want to change them. Breathe with purpose -- be it before, during or after a meal, or all three. Breathe when you feel overwhelmed with emotion. If faced with a trigger, breathe to create space and clarity in your decision making. Yoga and meditation are other useful tools that can ground you and provide you with a more clear understanding of what is really going on. Mindfulness will allow you to feel present, without judgement. Continue to gently remind yourself why you eat -- to nourish your body.
Experience your body. When is the last time you engaged all your senses in a meal? Touch and smell your food before you even take a bite. When you do take a bite, take your time. Taste your food. Savor it like it's your only bite. Experience the flavor, and be aware of how it can change. Notice textures. Chew -- at least 20 times. Try it; it's really hard. This simple exercise can completely change the way you experience one bite of food. Mindfully chewing will also slow you down. When you take your time, you have a chance to engage with your body. How does your stomach feel? Are you satisfied? Overly full? Forget perfection and simply be present in your meal. Enjoy it and simply learn from your experiences.
Be grateful. When we focus on the concept of eating to nourish our bodies, it's natural to feel more reverent about food -- for without food, we would not have life. This gives us the space to love food, truly. Food is wholesome, but it can also be inspiring and delicious! When we're grateful for the nourishing nature of food, we're more likely to choose foods that are whole, pure and unprocessed, which crowds out those less nutrient-dense foods in a way that lacks deprivation. Create flavors that excite you so you don't feel deprived.
Focus on devotion instead of deprivation. Avoid your negative associations with food. Treat yourself and the food that nourishes you with devotion. If you have negative emotions around food, recognize them, be gentle with yourself and let it go. Replace negative thoughts with a positive, always remembering that food is nourishing. By nourishing yourself, you are loving your body.
Indulge. Celebrate the foods that nourish you. By focusing on the haves instead of the have nots, you'll avoid deprivation. Practice mindful eating along with joyful eating with abandon. Revel in the plenitude of wholesome food choices and rejoice them. They taste so good and are so good for you! Affirm your beliefs regularly to combat negative thoughts. "I am nourishing my body." "By eating this food, I will thrive." "This beautiful plate of food is life." "When I eat to nourish my body, I am loving myself."
