Learn to Love Food
Do you love food? There are many women who exhibit an unhealthy relationship with food without even realizing it. You may think that as long as you are eating, your ideas about food are healthy. It may be closer to the truth to say that your relationship with food may not be as wonderful as you think.
Do you exhibit any of these signs of a bad relationship with your food?
You’re embarrassed to have others see you eating.
When you’re out in a social setting, do you order something light because you don’t want to be judged for eating a large meal? Do you share dessert with friends, even though you really want your own? Is one of your strategies to eat a lot before a party, so that people don’t have to watch you eating? These behaviors are not healthy. You should realize that others are not judging your choices and feel free to eat what you want to eat.
Eating for reasons other than hunger. Do you always celebrate with food? Do you eat out of boredom without realizing it? Blindly eating a bag of cookies while watching television is not a healthy behavior. Food should be viewed as a way to nourish your body, not something that you use to fill in other gaps. You should also take time to enjoy your food without distractions. Your relationship with food should be one that you enjoy and savor; in other words you should love food.
You obsess over food.
Are you always trying to figure out how many points a food are? Do you obsess over calories and fat? Do you constantly plan your next meal or fret that you may not have time to eat? While it can be smart to plan a few meals ahead of time, thinking about food all the time is not a healthy way to live. There are so many things in your life that deserve more attention than food.
You feel guilty about eating.
Does it depress you to go over your calorie allotment for the day? Do you find yourself eating more than you planned and then hating yourself afterward. Food is definitely not something that you should feel guilty about. Food is necessary for us to live and thrive. Fueling yor body with healthy choices will allow you to shed the guilt, no matter how much you eat.
You make silly and strict rules about food.
Do you come up with reasons and rules that control your eating? For example, do you refuse to eat anything after 8 PM, even though you may be starving? Perhaps you only eat vegetables for a whole day because you know you will be going out to your favorite restaurant and will indulge. These are the types of rules that can indicate you are obsessing about food, which in turn points to an unhealthy relationship.
Most like you will find that you exhibit one or more of these behaviors, and it may even be shocking to you because you are doing this on an unconscious level.
Recognizing these behaviors is often the first and most important part of losing the extra weight that you carry. Once you understand what is going on, it becomes much easier to change these behaviors and move towards a healthier relationship food. Often, it is difficult to do it alone. Check your yellow pages for a local Overeaters Anonymous group.
Once you learn to love food, the rest will fall into place
