Lately, I’ve been fascinated by the “relationship” we all have with food. I’ve been reflecting on my own emotional relationship with food, and have been digging deeper to find out other people’s food stories.We all have a food story, which is basically the accumulation of our past and present experience with food.
I asked my husband yesterday what he thinks of when he thinks of food, and his answer was “family, taste and happiness”. I asked this same question to a client of mine recently who has battled with eating disorders and weight fluctuations for a very long time, and her answer was “diets, pain and guilt”. Ask yourself, what springs to mind when YOU think of food? Fuel? Medicine? Challenge? Necessity? Love? Pain? Nourishment? Family?
A study out of Cornell University reveals we make around 200 food based decisions per DAY, and we all think about food in VERY different ways. The great Sufi poet Rumi once stated: “The satiated man and the hungry man do not see the same thing when they look upon a loaf of bread.” So very true.
This reminds me of a story about my gorgeous little 5 year old niece, Emily. A few years ago, after Emily hurt her toe, my sister gave her a chocolate treat and said “this will make things better sweetie”. Of course, Emily ate the chocolate, and then said “Mummy, it didn’t work, my toe still hurts”. My niece couldn’t understand why her toe still hurt after eating the chocolate. In that moment my sister realised that this was her way of dealing with pain, her comfort food, her food story, not Emily’s.
An interesting and recent observational study investigated food attitudes associated with chocolate cake (i.e. guilt/worry versus celebration/pleasure). The researchers concluded that feelings of guilt/worry are NOT linked with greater motivation to eat healthy or improved weight control. In fact, the opposite was true. This study proves that it’s completely unproductive to beat yourself up about what you feel is ‘wrong’ or ‘bad’. Move on, let go of the guilt, and stay positive about your food choices. Also, remember that food attitude can be contagious, so choose your food attitude wisely and spread POSITIVE messages to those around you.
I believe many people generally inherently know what is good or bad for them… and the problem isn’t necessarily with knowing, it’s doing. We must work on our mindset to get lasting health results. In my next blog, I’ll discuss the topic of MINDFUL EATING, which is a powerful way to increase food awareness and understand your food story.
For now though, I encourage you to think about your own relationship with food, and next time you’re setting health goals, consider changing the story a little to make it more positive. Catch yourself before you start on the same old story, open the door to the possibility of change, and aim for a happy ending.
Until next time,
Stacey.
