Many of us struggle in our relationships with food, whether too restrictive or indulgent. Like any relationship, it requires attention and work. The key to overcoming this struggle is remembering that you won’t achieve it overnight, magically waking up with a new attitude towards food. The goal is to have positive experiences with food more often than negative ones.
As you improve your relationship with food, you’ll notice less stress and worry around eating and enjoy more food freedom! You’ll see value and develop a healthier relationship with food by taking control and making healthier choices. Here are some tips to get started down a healthier food path.
Understand Your Food Relationship
As you begin your journal for a healthy relationship with food, take a step to understand what’s good and bad about your current relationship. This has little to do with your diet or the quality/types of food you eat. It’s more about the why and how behind your food decisions.
Be mindful of the feelings you have around food; do you often feel guilty or avoid/restrict foods that are “bad” for you? Do you have rules around food or ignore your body’s natural hunger cues? It’s not an “all or nothing scenario” – you don’t have to suffer from all of these signs for proof of a bad relationship. However, a major sign that you could benefit from a better relationship with food is if you feel any type of stress, shame, guilt, or fear around food.
Chase Health
Focusing on health makes it easier to take a positive approach to your diet. The first step is listening to your body. Pay attention to and respect your body’s natural hunger cues. Eat when you are hungry and, even more importantly, push the plate away when you are full. Portion sizes in the US are notoriously larger than necessary; don’t be afraid to leave food on the plate when you’ve reached your limit.
Don’t limit yourself. Give yourself permission to eat the foods you enjoy! Keep in mind that moderation is key. Eating what you like while maintaining a healthy balance is possible. Allow yourself to eat the food that feels best for you. Don’t let the foods you eat define you. Break free of the mental restrictions of “good” and “bad” food labels. Labeling food gives it unwarranted power. You have the power to set yourself up for success!
Seek Professional Help
Your relationship with food is complex, often stemming from learned and repeated patterns from childhood or centered around a significant life event. Many of these issues can’t always be solved on your own. Professional support and guidance can help you transform your relationship with food and overall health.
UHSM offers members access to thousands of Noom’s empathic coaches and customizable eating plans through its app, combining the power of artificial intelligence (AI) and psychology. Noom is dedicated to creating a healthier world, helping users achieve a healthy mental, physical and emotional well-being balance. With a psychology-based approach to address every facet of health, Noom is addressing holistic health and making the world a healthier place and is also the only CDC-approved diabetes control application.
By joining forces with Noom, WeShare fulfills its mission to provide members with a comprehensive array of medical care and complementary programs at a reasonable cost. Noom aims to bring an end to dieting and, instead, help its users create lasting, life-long results. They target the root of specific behavior, assisting users in changing and ultimately creating healthier habits. Noom recognizes that everyone is unique, so their programs are personalized for each user’s needs and goals. In addition, Noom provides support and services for mental wellness. Their holistic approach to health helps people achieve life-long, lasting results.
Join our WeShare Membership, where Noom is included and our members have resources and a community to help them live healthier lives with a better relationship towards food!
