Do You Have an Unhealthy Relationship With Food?
An excerpt adapted by Pauline Hanuise:
I used to feel very confused about my relationship with food. I was never sure of what was good or not, and used to worry about the quality and nutritional value of everything I ate. Most of the time I felt guilty immediately after eating and used to overthink my choices. This was painful and totally useless! After recovering from 15 years of full-blown bulimia, I can tell you that your relation to food shouldn’t be so complicated. Now I'm able to choose easily without any concerns about what’s good for me or not. I feel perfectly comfortable around food and am not scared of eating something I'll regret. I'm not using food to fill something missing or to numb my emotions, either, and that’s the way it should be for everyone.
Food shouldn’t be a source of worry and discomfort. If it is, this is not part of your personality; it's not your destiny. This is something that can be improved, like most things in life!
Can you improve your relationship with food? Here are five questions that will help you determine whether your relationship with food is unhealthy, or if it could be improved.
1. Do you feel uncomfortable around food?
Many people tend to feel uncomfortable at social events where lots of food is available. However, it’s not a normal reaction. If you have a peaceful relation to food this shouldn’t be the case.
2. Do you lack of self-confidence regarding your food or eating choices?
Do you feel uncertain about making the right choice and experience difficulties trying to decide what’s good for you? If that’s the case, your relationship with food is definitely not as good as it could be. Being able to listen to your body's signals is vital to having a healthy relationship with food.
3. Are you controlling and over-concerned about what you eat?
Do you follow extreme rules you’ve read in books and magazines? Even if you do that to be as healthy as you can, this type of behavior will often lead to binge eating. People who try to be as healthy as possible, at any cost, often aren’t the healthiest. Being healthy is a balance.
4. Are you afraid of a certain food or food group?
Don’t worry, the food you are afraid of isn't going to eat you or make you become obese if you touch it! I used to feel this way and have this type of phobia about putting on weight, but you shouldn’t avoid certain foods or food groups for fear of getting heavier.
5. Does your relationship with food impact your social life?
This is quite sad to experience, and you shouldn’t have to. If you experience this, know that you can fix it. I did it for myself and am now successfully helping women all over the world to do the same.
Issues in your relationship with food can be very painful and destructive. Unfortunately, people don’t always know it can be improved quickly and easily with the right help and support!
This is a small follow up blog post from our compulsive exercise and body image blog from April 15th. Remember that you are not alone and if you do need help, please reach out. If you need direction or just to talk, you can always email me at brandon@yogalifestudios.ca