Hello Food…
You’ve been a constant in my life. You’ve comforted me in my lowest of lows and celebrated the highs as well. I’ve loved you. I’ve loathed you. I literally cannot live without you and we need to have a talk.
We all have a relationship with food. What does yours look like and how is it working for you?
We can spend a lot of time assessing our relationships...with friends, family, co-workers, our significant other, but when’s the last time you examined your relationship with food? Like the others, this relationship can take some work to be successful.
When we’re born we have the biological drive to eat when we are hungry. It’s part of our survival instinct. It’s our body signaling us that we need nourishment. Our relationship with food starts out very simple. For most of us, it doesn’t stay that way for a variety of reasons and food is no longer merely a part of survival.
As kids, many of us were raised to ‘clean our plates’ so as not to waste food. While I certainly advocate for minimizing the wasting of food, this rule can be counter productive when it comes to our health. The good news is we are no longer kids, and most of the time we are preparing our own plate so we have control over what and how much goes on it. Whether served up to you or you miscalculated, try giving yourself permission to leave food on your plate if you are full.
For many of us food can be tied to emotion. We turn to food for comfort, to avoid a difficult feeling, to self-soothe or because we’re bored. Emotional eating is often linked to negative emotions, but we also look to food when we are happy. We celebrate with it. Happy, sad, stressed, tired, worried, anxious, ecstatic—whatever we might be feeling, food is often there for the occasion. A favorite childhood meal can be comforting and we’ve all enjoyed a piece of cake celebrating a birthday, or a decadent meal to celebrate a success. Being aware of how we lean into food can be extremely powerful in understanding our relationship with it.
As you think about your relationship with food, rather than focusing on whether it is ‘good or bad’, a more powerful question to consider might be ‘Who is in control?”. Are you making conscious choices when it comes to food or is the food calling the shots? This was an incredibly empowering shift in my relationship with food. This doesn’t translate to always eating the ‘right foods’. It means I’m fully aware of why I’m eating and making a conscious decision in what I’m eating. I like to eat to fuel my body and nourish it. I want to remain healthy and active and feel good. AND I like to eat for the sheer fun of it, because something sounds comforting or it just tastes really good! The shift from choosing to indulge with control, versus giving food all of the power, allows me to create a balance around food. So dear, sweet, glorious food, let’s be friends and let’s be clear...I’m in charge.