Fall In Love With Food Again: 3 Simple Steps

​Anxious, depressed and stressed are some of the most common feelings people use to describe how they feel about their weight and food.

Sadly, our negative relationship with food can start from a very young age and stay with us into our adult life.
​Children are being diagnosed with eating disorders, teens obsess over body image and adults of all ages are feeling uncomfortable in their skin.

Feeling like you have lost control over your weight can be highly stressful and often leads to yo-yo dieting and binge eating, a vicious cycle that can be hard to break.

These behaviours can create a damaged metabolism and other complicated issues that make it even harder to maintain a healthy weight.

So how do we break this cycle and repair our relationship with food?

Here are just a few of the tips I often share with my patients to create positive, long lasting changes.

1.    Set Goals

It is essential to set smart, achievable goals! I like to set a series of short term goals which will ultimately lead to achieving your long term goal. Goal setting is a great way to help maintain a high level of motivation, and it is important to remember that no goal is 'set in stone' goals can be reassessed as your health and mindset changes.
 
It is also extremely important to set goals that are not just about your goal weight. I like to view weight loss as a favourable side effect of getting healthy! Set healthy daily goals that might encourage you to drink more water, consume less coffee, take more steps or eat more veggies. Repairing your relationship with food should be about acknowledging all of the foods you can eat that nourish and serve your body well. 

Set personal goals such as waking up energised and not needing to rely on coffee, being able to jog a lap of your local park or even to have clearer, healthier skin. Find something that motivates you, other than your weight!

2.    Write it down

Keeping a food diary is a great way to keep yourself accountable. I always encourage people to record everything, including their thoughts, emotions, energy levels, physical symptoms and absolutely anything else they feel is relevant. This will allow you to achieve a deeper understanding into what is driving certain cravings and behaviours. Once it is all down on paper, you can reflect on these patterns and implement small changes that will help to break any unhealthy cycles.

Keeping a food diary is not about counting calories and obsessing about what you eat. It is used as a way to identify habits and patterns, it creates mindfulness and quite often we do forget what we have eaten, especially when feelings of stress, fatigue or anxiety is driving force behind what we eat.

Once we have identified ‘bad’ habits and patterns, it becomes easy to replace them with positive habits and create long term change. This also helps us to realise that food is not the enemy, and when we replace ‘bad’ habits with good ones, food can make us feel satisfied, energised and content.

3.    Shift your focus

For too long we have focused too much on weight loss. "How to lose weight" is one of the most commonly googled phrases on the internet and it is time that we shift our focus away from this. Instead, focus on making healthy, long lasting lifestyle changes. Throw out your scales! Instead, focus on how energised and light you feel when you make healthy food choices. Notice how your clothes feel more comfortable when you choose to introduce more physical activity into your lifestyle.

It is important to focus on all the things you CAN eat and all the things you CAN do. Finding healthy foods you love to eat and physical activities you enjoy are vital to creating long term success.

Seeking professional help is the best way to help you focus and take the first step in the right direction. It is hard to know where to start, especially when you feel completely out of control. Having someone to help you implement changes, motivate you and keep you accountable makes a huge difference.

Although these tips help in most situations, there is no one size fits all approach. Our minds and bodies are all so unique and it is important to discover the best possible solution for you.

Start making changes today!

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