Changing Your Relationship With Food

By Author: Patrick Torres
Total Articles: 7
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Food is not only the method by which we feed our bodies. It is central to our social activities and family time. Food may play a "comfort" role when we are depressed, angry, or lonely. In order to have a healthy relationship with food, it is important that you be aware of how your emotions affect your eating. Is the current relationship you have with food a healthy one?

To find out, you may consider working with a health care team of a nutritionist and therapist - a certified nutritionists and behavioral therapists can be strong partners in this effort. The nutritionist can help you figure out an appropriate calorie load, direct you towards whole healthier foods and work with you on an eating pattern that will calm emotional cravings. You will keep a written list of what you eat, when and where you eat, and what your emotional state is. Do you eat when you're lonely, or perhaps when you are watching television or maybe because you have a friend to binge with? Identifying such behaviors is the first step toward making positive changes. Your therapist can take you deeper into what is troubling you and provide tools for ...
... you to manage these behaviors.

Once you have identified your relationship with food, you can evaluate what behaviors may be harmful to your health and begin to make small changes over time. Generally a change in behavior will become permanent if you practice it for 6 to 8 weeks.

Decide what will be the easiest to change. Maybe that should be first. What impact will changing this behavior have on others around you? Is there someone who can support you in this behavior change? You are the best judge of what changes are doable and livable for you. If you just can't live without chocolate and still be happy in life, then leave chocolate in your eating plan but eat smaller portions or eat it less frequently, then move on to other changes that will be easier for you to make. Remember, small changes over time can result in big changes toward a healthy life.

If you find it difficult to change your relationship with food, ask for help.

Seattle nutritionist Angela Pifer has been writing professionally since 2005, with her work published on MSN Health and Kashi.com. She creates custom Seattle weight loss programs in her private practice with offices in Bellevue and Seattle, WA. Pifer holds a Masters of Science in nutrition from Bastyr University.