5 ways to improve your relationship with food

Albert Rosales

April 4, 2022

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  Chew on this: You still need to maintain a healthy relationship with your food.

  Having a healthy relationship with food is something most people might find odd. Most of us think that having a relationship only works for living things. However, consuming food is a basic human need that we need to satisfy multiple times a day. Hence, we need to maintain a balanced insight when it comes to the food we consume.

  With that being said, here are some tips on how to develop a good relationship with food:

  1. When it comes to food, there is no black and white.

  We often hear that foods are either good or bad in our system. This usually happens when someone is on a strict diet. They often see it as a “moral obligation” not to consume certain foods as it might affect their overall physique. 

  However, when you start to limit yourself towards some foods, there’s a tendency that you might crave for it even more since these are no longer part of the options. Another thing that could happen is that you might not be able to enjoy it once you decide to give in since the guilt factor is there.

  2. NEVER punish yourself for the food you ate yesterday.

  Another stereotype after we take foods we restrict ourselves from is that it is necessary to exercise harder to lose the weight we might gain. However, study shows that while exercising provides great benefits to our health, it only contributes to 20% of our total weight loss.

  Having the right mindset when consuming foods provides better results when we’re trying to lose or gain weight. Punishing yourself after eating too much food will only result in stress and anxiety which are not good for our system.

  3. Having a strict diet regimen shouldn’t stop you from having a social life.

  Don’t beat yourself up if you’re in a gathering and the foods available aren’t part of your healthy diet. Just choose the most appealing food and let your body enjoy it for a while. Again, rewarding yourself once in a while could motivate you further with your diet regimen.

  Of course, don’t be an all-or-nothing kind of person where you either consume every food at the table or none at all. Having a steady mindset when it comes to eating is still the best way to have a better relationship with food. Just take a bit of everything if you want to try all of them

  4. Mind your own plate.

  Comparing yourself to others is in no way healthy under any given circumstances. Same goes when you’re at a dinner party and you keep on observing others’ plates. Remember that different individuals have unique body types therefore, vary with their food intake.

  On top of that, you’re the only one who knows how much food your body can consume. Your goal should be to listen to what your body needs.

  5. If you’re trying to reach for food when you’re not hungry, always check your mood.

  Craving food doesn’t always mean you’re hungry. There are times when we want to eat our comfort food whenever we feel anxious or unwell. There are also some stress-eaters who wolf food down when they’re feeling certain pressure.

  So, always try to find some avenue to release this tension instead of consuming too much food. You can always try walking or do some leisure activities to veer away your mind from overeating.

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