So many of us have a negative mindset toward food. You might not even think you feel negatively toward food until you stop to think about it. Which I encourage you to do. Ask yourself these questions:
- Do you have a “cheat day”?
- Do you sometimes feel guilty after you eat something?
- Do you have foods that are off-limits?
- Do you overeat without realizing it?
- Do you use food as a reward?
If you answered yes to any of the above then you might not have as great a relationship with food as you think. You might not think that there is anything wrong with having a cheat day but the issue lies in the mindset. Because when you think about it, cheating on anything isn’t exactly positive. And feeling guilty about eating something doesn’t project a positive relationship with food either. But our relationship with food doesn’t have to be that way.
This post contains affiliate links. See Disclosure for details. Opinions are my own.
Is Food The Enemy?
Do you often feel like you’re at war with food? Or like there is no winning when it comes to eating? I completely understand. I used to feel like that every day of my life.
At my heaviest weight, I was 249lb. And you don’t get to be that weight without having a terrible relationship with food. I used to use food as my primary problem solver. Food was there for me whether I was having a good day or bad day, or whether I was happy or lonely, it didn’t matter because the food was the answer to my problems.
For the longest time, I felt like a slave to food and my emotions. Overcoming how I ate and my “addiction” to food felt like an impossible task. How was I, this person who would eat to the point where she was dipping marshmallows into peanut butter, supposed to get to a mindset where I could eat without bingeing?
It took a while but eventually, I came to realize that food wasn’t the problem. Food wasn’t my enemy.
Changing Your Food Mindset
Back then, food wasn’t just food. Again, food was my problem solver. And being a problem solver isn’t the role that food is supposed to play in anyone’s life.
Food can be enjoyable, fun and fuel, but not a problem solver. And certainly, it’s not meant to comfort or soothe emotions. But unfortunately, that is how so many of us use food and we become trapped in that negative food mindset.
Part of changing how we think about food is changing how we think about ourselves.
Here are my top 4 ways to take food from enemy to friend:
Identify Where Your Food Beliefs Come From
Often times, although not always, we inherit our food beliefs from other people. And the most influential people in our lives, and who shaped our early relationship with food, are our families. I’m not trying to place blame anywhere but if we truly want to change our food mindset then we have to learn how that mindset developed in the first place.
Ask yourself the following questions:
- Who were my food “role models” growing up?
- How did food get presented in my home?
- What messages were sent to me about food (both intentionally and unintentionally)?
- What is my parents’ relationship with food like?
- How were problems solved growing up?
These are just some questions intended to get you thinking about why you have a negative relationship with food in the first place. See where these questions take you, I’m sure you’ll be surprised to learn where your food beliefs stem from. Once you learn where the negative mindset originated, you can start to take the steps to change your food story.
Learn Your Food Triggers
Changing how we think about food means identifying what triggers us to eat emotionally or to unnecessarily overeat. It can take some time to identify exactly what our triggers are but it’s very important to do so. By identifying our triggers we can learn to deal with the trigger without involving food. But by ignoring triggers we accept being a slave to our emotions and in turn, a slave to food. I recommend keeping a food journal (not the calorie counting kind) to track your emotional eating habits. In your journal track the following:
- What conversations are you having before a food binge?
- What people typically surround a food binge or emotional eating episode?
- What emotions am I feeling?
- Where am I when feel triggered to eat emotionally or binge?
These questions are, again, simply intended to get you started.
Focus On Food As Fuel
Creating a positive mindset toward food means remembering the role food is supposed to play in our lives. And that is to fuel our bodies. It’s easy to forget that foods primary purpose isn’t to simply taste good and fill our stomachs. In reality, food is supposed to give us the energy to go about our lives.
Practice shifting your mindset while grocery shopping. When choosing each item, decide whether or not the item is something that will nourish and fuel your body or whether it simply tastes good. Then decide if the item really belongs in your cart or not.
Regular practice of this exercise will not only change how you look at food but it will change what and how you eat.
Cook Your Own Food
When we eat a restaurant, do take-out or eat convenience meals from the grocery store there is a certain disconnect that happens with our food. We become less aware of ingredients, fat and sugar content, portion sizes and more. Beyond flavor and mouth-feel there isn’t much connection with the food at all. So it’s then easy to see food only as a source of comfort rather than a source of fuel.
But when we shop for ingredients, prepare and cook our own food we strengthen our connection with our food. We can control what we put in our food, how much we make, and where our ingredients come from. When we cook our food becomes more personal and preparing our own food makes the experience about more than simply how the food tastes.
Start to change your relationship with food by getting more familiar with the ingredients and preparing your own meals
And check out my post on 4 Ways To Halt Emotional Eating!
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