Ditching the Diet Mentality: 3 Essential Steps to Develop a Healthy Relationship with Food

To find peace in our relationship with our bodies, it’s important to develop the right attitude towards food. Diet culture and food restriction are everywhere in our society, so it’s no wonder that many people struggle with food rules and their body image.

Diet culture often makes us think that food is either good or bad, and if we choose the wrong food, we must suffer through guilt until we can make up for it with the next meal. Eating is framed as an act of self-control when it should be framed as an act of self-care.

It's time to start freeing yourself from the damaging messages of diet culture. Here are some steps you can take to start building a healthy relationship with food that’s based on nourishment, rather than deprivation and weight loss. 

The First Step to a Healthy Relationship with Food: Understanding Your Own Habits and Triggers

The first step in creating a healthy relationship with food is understanding your relationship with food. Are you trying to lose weight? Do you have emotional eating tendencies? Is there an issue with overeating that needs addressing? There are many reasons why we might not have the healthiest relationship with our food, so it's important for us to understand the motivations behind our eating habits.

Re-Frame Your Thoughts Around Food

Whether you believe your self-worth comes from your weight or not, the messages we get about food and nutrition from diet culture are still harmful — they teach us to value our bodies based on how much they weigh or how they look, instead of valuing them as whole, healthy organisms that make up who we are. But when you reframe the way you think about food, things change drastically—not only will you likely become more confident and feel lighter mentally, but your body image and your relationship with yourself will improve as well. 

Why Restrictive Diets Don't Work: The Dangers of Depriving Yourself of Your Favorite Foods

Diet culture has taught us that we need to be in control and restrict certain things at all costs. It teaches us that there are certain foods we should never eat and other ones they should only eat in moderation, because they are bad or unhealthy. This is a problem for many reasons. For one thing, it instils in us a fear of food that can lead to disordered eating habits. But more importantly, it makes it difficult for people who already struggle with weight concerns and restrictive eating to find satisfying meals they deem as healthy. Restricting will only lead you back into the cycle of dieting and binge eating. What can be most helpful is just giving yourself permission to eat whatever I want without judging yourself for it. 

If you struggle with guilt after meals, it could be worthwhile to begin a food journal where you can explore your thoughts and feelings you might go through following calorific food or a binge session. I incorporate nutrition and lifestyle logging into all of my clients’ plans so that we can build awareness around their eating patterns and triggers for binging, and I’m able to give clear and structured feedback to help them improve their relationship with food.

Begin to Practice Intuitive Eating

It seems simple to just eat when you’re hungry and stop when you’re full but designated mealtimes and social events can add pressure to eat, or not to eat. Practice listening to your body and eating small amounts whenever you are hungry, and then let your body tell you if it wants more food or not. If it does, eat some more. If it doesn’t, don’t force it.

Tried intuitive eating before, but felt like it didn’t work for you? You’re not alone. So many people fail at intuitive eating - here’s why:

Understanding Emotional Eating and Its Impact on Your Health

It's very common for food to become an emotional crutch. If you eat when you're bored, sad, or angry, it might be useful to dig a little deeper and focus on what feelings you might be trying to avoid or fill. You might be using food as a way to self-soothe, but then find yourself feeling guilty afterwards. Once you know what emotions need more attention, find another outlet to address them so that food doesn't have to be your first instinct. For example, if you're feeling stressed about work but feel like reaching for an ice cream as a solution, try making yourself tea instead and then see how you feel. 

It’s important when learning how to overcome emotional eating that you begin to face the feelings you’re having that cause you to reach for food. Food can be a great numbing tool for the feelings we’re avoiding. The only way to truly heal from this is to practice acknowledging those feelings and facing them head on. 

I teach about how to use these strategies as well as other non-food coping mechanisms inside Module 2 of The Method: Healthy Habits for Life. If you’re ready for professional help to overcome your struggles around eating for good, this program is for you. 

Practice Mindful Eating

When you sit down for a meal, think about what you are eating and how it makes you feel. You might find that certain foods make you feel full and energized, while others leave you feeling sluggish or even sick. Paying attention can help reduce emotional eating and give you the information necessary for making healthy choices when faced with challenging situations.

The culture of food and eating is deeply rooted in society, and it’s not going anywhere anytime soon. But despite the odds, there are still plenty of ways for you to have a healthy relationship with food. Whether you want to learn more about what your body needs or find joy in cooking an elaborate meal for friends, pairing up with a professional nutritionist can help you create more food freedom in your life. Learn more about how to work with me by clicking here. 

Ready to create a customized health strategy that truly works for you, your personality, and your lifestyle? Check out this 9-minute video training here to get started.