What does a healthy relationship with food look like?
In terms of physically eating, being flexible with meals and eating a balanced diet. I agree with Anthony Warner, “eat some vegetables. Get enough protein. A bit of fat, especially the essential ones. Some fibre. A few complex carbs.” Essentially, eat everything in moderation and understand what moderation looks like for you.
Which begs me to consider, what does a healthy mental and emotional relationship with food look like for me? Warner claims that after we have enough macro and micronutrients, “stress” is what causes people to be unhealthy and therefore have a negative relationship with food.
Great. Before, I was stressing about not eating enough healthy food. Now I know stress is the root of ill health. Currently, I am double stressing, which is the most redundant response possible.
The purpose of stress is to ignite action and therefore, physically protect the body. However, my body isn’t harmed, I’ve got enough nutrients from food as stated above. Meaning, I am overthinking my way to an unhealthy mental and emotional relationship with food.
To fix this, I’ve got to change my perspective of stress, as well as my perspective on food. I can reframe my mindset by acknowledging and accepting stress as a normal part of my life. Perhaps even welcome it as a positive experience because of its inescapable nature.
To answer the question, for me, a healthy relationship with food looks like moderation and positivity.
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Clare, I really enjoyed your blog. Maybe it is because I also let stress get the better of me?
We have to allow ourselves to laugh in times of stress; maybe as a way to acknowledge that stressful situations can most probably effect everyone and get the better of us or as a reflection that it won’t get us down?
In terms of eating in moderation and staying positive, I feel this concept can get anyone through a rough patch. Feeling and being healthy begins with mentality. If we were to stay positive in stressful times we can discourage the anxiety monster that tends to control our levels of positivity. If we consume adequate portion sizes, we conquer the poison of sloth and envy.
Beginning with our choices and how we look at our opportunities to stay positive can in my opinion achieve the best relationship.
I really like how you have turned stress into less of the bad guy and more the good guy, helping us shape our actions in everyday life instead of making it a burden. As I am someone to stress and worry about all sorts of things, including having a balanced diet, it is really enlightening how you have stepped back and shown a perspective where stress should not consume you. In order for us to have a healthy physical relationship with food, it is so, so important for us to also have a healthy mental attitude with it. Even if it takes eating that chocolate bar you really wanted and not stressing that you ‘aren’t supposed to be eating that.’ I think it is important for a lot more people to see this perspective you are showing, as then we can all be on the road to a good relationship with food!
I really enjoyed your post, as I’ve found the idea of ”double stressing” you’ve raised to be something I can particularly relate to in my life. I found the idea that ”the key to a healthy relationship with food requires not only a healthy physical relationship, but also a healthy mental relationship”, to be an enlightening idea. I definitely agree with your point that, after we’ve got enough nutrients from food, perhaps the ”stress” of not having a healthy diet or a ‘perfect image’, could be what causes people to have a negative mental relationship with food—-that being the root of their ill-health. You’ve posed some great solutions, especially on the reframing of your minset around stress and food! As something as simple as changing of one’s minset, can really be the most powerful step towards change!
Great post!
I have this thing where I never get anything done unless I’m stressed, so I don’t always agree with the idea that stress is a bad thing. After all, we evolved to have a stress response, and it seems to have kept us alive for long enough to write blog posts for the Arts Scholar’s blog. I do, however, see how stress might be a tad unnecessary now. I feel like we’re privileged enough to let go of some of this ‘go go go’ attitude that seems to be the cause of so much anxiety now.
Food is no exception. TV is becoming more and more irrelevant now, but if you get a chance, pay attention to food ads. Even unhealthy food uses stress to drive sales, “Get to Burger King right now or you’ll miss out on this new burger, regardless of whether it actually tastes good or not!” seems to be the move for marketers in the attention economy of today.
Basically, I think we all need to chill out, not thoroughly, just enough to stop hurting ourselves.