Friday, 2 July 2021, 9:09 amPress Release: Weightless
Food is important. It is a necessity for all of us. Itprovides us with energy to go about our day, supports ourimmune system to keep us healthy, regulates our hormones tokeep us happy and provides everything we need to heal andkeep our bones strong. Objectively, it is easy to understandthe vital role it plays in our lives. We are biologicallywired to enjoy food in order to sustain a healthy lifestyle- the consequences of chronic undereating are just asserious as overeating.
Modern day conveniences havemade food highly accessible. It is now easier than ever toindulge in foods from different cultures and convenientsources such as fast-food restaurants. The world has becomea literal smorgasbord of delicious options.
Readyaccess to convenience foods have however had a drasticeffect on lifestyle. Many of us are more sedentary thanprevious generations. This has resulted in many peoplegaining excess weight. Excess weight affects not only ourphysical health, but mental health too.
We may try tolose weight to improve our lifestyle, but if we are notcareful, we can end up vilifying food along theway.
At the end of the day food is ALWAYS going to bepart of life. As such it is important that we develop apositive relationship with it. If we develop badrelationships with food through dieting, we place ourselvesin a position to have to continually fight it. This canimpact our mental health. A good relationship with food isnot just about diet quality, the types of food you eat, oreating protocols you have chosen to implement, but ratherhow and why you choose the foods that you eat. If you canimprove your relationship with food, eating will become amore enjoyable and stress-free behaviour.
Food shouldbe an enjoyable part of life, even when losingweight.
There are a few behaviours that we need to beaware of that can be indicative of a bad relationship withfood. You might feel guilty about eating and you avoid orrestrict foods that you have deemed bad. People maydevelop a list of rules that isolate allowed foodswhich can make eating at social events stressful and asource of great anxiety. Yo-yo dieting and bouncing betweenrestricting and binging, while being drawn towards fad dietsor reliance on calorie counting apps are all signs of a badrelationship forming with food.
By building a healthyrelationship with food you can experience food freedomwhile reducing weight to a healthy level. Developing apositive relationship with food isnt an overnight fix, ittakes time and patience. Here are some steps you can take toimprove your relationship with food.
Humans arethe only creatures that dont eat food purely forsurvival, we eat to celebrate, for enjoyment and culturalreasons. However, this often means food becomes entangledwith emotional responses. We eat when were happy, we eatwhen were sad. Our reliance on food to curb emotionalresponses is further muddied by the fact that many of us areconditioned from childhood to eat everything on ourplate. Overtime, these factors disconnect us with ourability to autoregulate our hunger. We eat when we think weshould eat, rather than taking a few moments to considerwhether or not we are actually hungry. We are also moreinclined to eat everything we have served ourselves, ratherthan stopping eating once we aresatiated.
Spend some time learning tofeel your hunger levels before eating, and whilsteating take note at what point you are actuallyfull.
Modern life is full ofdistractions. When was the last time you ate withoutwatching TV or looking at your phone? These distractions doexactly that, distract us from our natural hunger andsatiety signals. Mindful eating involves removingdistractions and being present in the moment whilst eating.Take the time to focus on tasting your food, taking note ofthe texture as you chew and how the experience makes youfeel. Be present in the moment. Consciously question howfood is affecting your appetite, is the food the solution tothe reason you chose to eat? Does eating bring you joy,guilt, or something else? By staying in the moment andconsciously evaluating the experience, not only will youform a healthier connection with the reasons behind yourfood choices, but youll also be more conscious of satietycues.
When you createrules around when you can and cant eat you are likely toexperience feelings of deprivation, further fuelling a fearof food. Having a healthy relationship with food meansallowing yourself unconditional permission toeat.
Overeating at lunch or indulgingin a few snacks doesnt mean you should deprive yourselfwhen youre hungry later. This behaviour reinforces thenotion that food is bad. Eating when youre hungry andmindful eating are skills that develop over time. Try not topunish yourself if you feel you may have taken a meal toofar. Be kind to yourself.
Some foods are morenutritious than others. Some are more nutrient dense, andsome are more calorie dense. None of them should beconsidered bad. Labelling them as good orbad gives them an undeserved power over your emotionalwellbeing. Just as the grass is always greener on the otherside of the fence, the foods that you cant have mayappear more tempting. No one single food will affect youroverall health. When we eventually break our self-imposedrestrictions we are more likely to overindulge as aconsequence and feel as if we should make the most ofit!
By allowing yourself to consumeforbidden foods in moderation rather than restrictingthem, you are far more likely to regulate your intake as youknow that they are alwaysavailable.
We understand thatyour relationship with food is a complex issue with manynuances that cant always be solved on your own. It can bea challenge to overcome lifelong habits and detangle youremotional relationship with food without professionalguidance. Weightlessis a team of experienced dietitians, nurses, psychologistsand gastroenterologists who take a holistic approach toweight loss, helping you lose weight and keep it off. Weunderstand that everyones reason for coming to us isunique, and we provide services that are tailored to eachindividual to help them reach a healthy, lifelong,sustainable transformation.
If yourelooking to build a strong, healthy relationship with yourfood, our first piece of advice is to be kind to yourself.Give yourself time to work towards goals that will make youhappy and take pride in the small steps that lead you onyour journey to health. To find out about all of theservices our expert team of health professionals have tooffer, contact Weightlesstoday!
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Losing Weight By Changing Your Relationship With Food. | Scoop News - Scoop.co.nz
