When we think of relationships, we automatically thing about people in our life.
But one of the longest relationships of your life is one you will never get out of, but it is sadly overlooked and neglected – your relationship with food.
It starts before you are born - in utero, the foods our mother eats influences some of our taste preferences – and it goes until you die.
And this is not a casual, infrequent relationship but one that is in your face multiple times per day.
So how healthy is that relationship? Trish Brimhall, RDN, CD, CLE joined us with more.
Trish says, "Look at how you treat and talk about food through a relationship lens."
The diet cycle, which is composed of restrict, deprive, crave, give-in, and guilt should raise a relationship red flag. None of those stages are healthy, happy relationship terms.
But if you're not actively dieting, that doesn't necessarily mean you have a healthy relationship with food. Consider these common food phrases from a relationship perspective:
I was good today because I ate . . .
I was bad because I ate . . .
Food cheat days
Clean eating (implies the other choice is dirty or shameful eating)
Sinfully delicious (lots of food branding and marketing based on morals)
If I'm good, I can have . . . reward, manipulative views
I'm going to have to burn this off later . . . punitive, disciplinary
More food rules, more restriction
Boomeranging food choices by latest info from headlines or media feeds
Calorie counting/keeping score
Shifting your paradigm to a relationship perspective can do a lot to improve nutrition stability and health long-term.
If you have questions about your food relationship, consider taking an online quiz.
You can learn more at nutritiousintent.com.
