4 Simple Mindsets to Improve Your Relationship with Food
Key Points
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Among the 4 simple mindsets explained in this article—rather than counting calories, practicing mindful eating is one of the best ways to improve your relationship with food.
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Eating whatever you want in moderation, vs. using it as a punishing tool is another way to regain a healthier relationship with food. (Unless, of course, your allergy requires you to avoid certain foods.)
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By focusing on body neutrality, you could also pay attention to how your body feels and functions instead of obsessing over what it looks like before and after eating.
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To stop relying on food to make you feel better when you're stressed, depressed or upset, try viewing it as an energy source rather than a form of comfort. Learn more ways of dealing with negative emotion in this article.
Simple Mindsets to Improve Your Relationship with Food
Struggling to have a good relationship with food? I hear you. Thanks to the Western culture, most of us have lost the true meaning of food. We see it as a way to get a nicer body. We use it as a reward. We use it as punishment. Some of us, even use it as a coping mechanism.
Does this sound familiar to you? Keep reading to see these 4 mindsets you need to learn (and unlearn) if you want to improve your relationship with food.
@thetwentiesdetox 4 Simple Mindsets to Improve Your Relationship with Food. 🦋 ~ on the blog at www.thetwentiesdetox.com~ ✨01. MINDFUL EATING: Pay attention to food, moment to moment, without judgment. ⚙️02. BODY NEUTRALITY: Focusing on how the body feels and functions vs. how it looks. ⚖️03. ALL IN MODERATION: Get out of a restrictive diet with food. This only creates a shame-based relationship with food. ⛺️04. FOOD = BASIC NEED: Viewing food as a basic need (as fuel) makes you understand it’s required to become your highest self. 💗WHAT IS SELF-WORTH?💗: @Bianca | Advice for 20s #lifeadvice #advicefor20s #lifelessons #mindsetshift #selflove #healingjourney #foodrelationshiprecovery ♬ building a better relationship with food. - Bianca | Advice for 20s
01. Calorie-Focused → Mindful eating
Photo: From the article, Mindful Eating: The Art of Presence While You Eat.
The first mindset to improve your relationship with food includes paying attention to hunger cues vs. how much you’re supposed to eat. Now, if you're a hardcore fitness fanatic who likes counting your calories and macros to stay on track with "bulking" and "cutting", then I guess I get it.
But...if you find yourself becoming obsessive—or feeling guilty if you are not following the plan perfectly, you need to take a step back. These are warning signs that something is off balance (in your mind or body), and you need to slow down.
Stop watching the clock, and start listening to when your body is hungry. If you're not careful enough, it can turn into something more...
Photo: Just me, enjoying a kale salad haha.
A little bit about me— I have never been diagnosed with an eating disorder but I definitely struggled with restrictive eating during my university years. Now, I am pleased to say I’ve (almost) overcome a bulk of the issues around having a negative body image, critical self-talk, and poor eating habits.
It takes time, of course. But I’m getting there. The first thing I stopped during my recovery was counting calories. Just stop it. Each body is so complex in what works and doesn’t work with them.
Plus, a huge part of healing is tuning into what you need. When you’re hungry. Not how much you’re supposed to eat.
02. Restrictive Diet → All in Moderation
This mindset shift is all about allowing yourself to eat whatever you want—in moderation, vs. restricting what you can and can’t have.
Of course, there are allergy restrictions and preferences in diet based on how you want to live (vegetarian, paleo, vegan, pescatarian, raw vegan etc..)
But there is an issue when you start restricting within those fields as a way to keep you in-line. If you haven't guessed it yet, penalizing yourself with food is incredibly damaging.
Food is a basic need, and I promise your body will do everything in its power to get more food into your starving body. Start loosening the reigns a bit. A slice of cake won't kill you ok? Life is too damn short to worry about how you look all the time...
Photo: Made a vegan strawberry shortcake for Canada day!
Although I am not vegan, I make sure to add in some plant-based meals throughout the week. This cake was super yummy but me 3 years ago would be dealing with a lot of shame for eating even one slice… This year I had 2!
03. Aesthetics → Body Neutrality
This mindset shift is all about focusing on how the body feels and functions vs. how it looks. Eating for aesthetics can make you become hyper-aware of what your body looks like before and after eating.
Maybe it’s over-analyzing about your bloating, how much muscle you're gaining, how much fat you're losing—all of which can create a shame-based relationship with food if you're not careful.
When you start focusing on how your body functions with the food you're ingesting, you may begin to realize a few things.
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It could be, your dietary restrictions and allergies are more a fabrication in your head than a true issue.
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Maybe you notice fasted workouts don’t work well with your body.
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Maybe, drinking coffee after 12:00pm affects your sleep schedule more than you thought.
As you can see, this shift in thinking not only helps your relationship with food, but also how you view and use your body.
Photo: Freshly sliced watermelon on a summer day :)
I’ve always found that fruits and vegetables work really well with my body so I always try to incorporate a lot of them in my diet to stay alert and energized!
04. Coping Mechanism → Fuel
Sometimes, people resort to food when trying to suppress certain emotions like anxiety or sadness. Others may have the same habit for the purpose of receiving more emotions (dopamine) that they do not receive enough in their day-to-day life.
The last of the 4 mindsets to improve your relationship with food is to encourage people to view food as fuel vs. a coping mechanism. If you feel like you're stuck in the trap of emotional eating, start by asking these questions:
(1) What feeling am I trying to repress or receive when drinking/eating?
(2) What triggered this initial feeling of discomfort?
(3) How can I replace this bad habit with a healthier one whenever I’m faced with the same trigger?
Photo: Picture of me (well, my legs) after a hike at Metcalfe Rock in Collingwood, Ontario.
I’ve always been an active gal, but due to perfectionism and social media I lost sense in the function of my body and fell into the trap of aesthetics. I worked out for a better looking body, not for a healthier body…It took a while to shift this mindset, but once I did— I felt so free. I love hikes for its grounding aspect. I love weightlifting for the strength it gives me. And, I love food for the energy it provides for me.
I hope you see that using healthier options of coping with negative emotions, can not only promote a more balanced lifestyle physically—but also mentally.
Have you tried any of these mindsets? If so, which one really moved the needle for you in your healing journey with food? Comment below!
