Improving Your Relationship With Food And Movement
Hey babesss I have improved my relationship with food and exercise these past few months. It was hard because I had to break down a lot of negative feelings and thoughts I had built around certain foods. I started yo-yo dieting and restrictive eating when I was 10 years old and it has had a lot of negative effects on my body not just physically, and mentally, but socially as well. These tips have changed my life and I hope they help you as well<3333
Signs you have a negative relationship with food.
โก You think of food all the time. You think about what you're going to eat next and overthink your meals, and the calorie counts.
โก Feeling guilt over your food choices. Whenever you eat something that might not fit into your โdietโ you feel guilty and say negative things about yourself or โpunishโ yourself by excessive exercise or extreme restrictive eating.ย
โก You must earn your meals. This ties into the previous sign, you feel like you have to earn your meals through exercise and restrictions.
โก You binge eat. Binge eating is having a large amount of food in a short period, accompanied by feelings of loss of control.
โก You ignore hunger cues. You feel the urge to eat but don't allow yourself to because of a certain diet or restrictive eating.
โก You canโt keep your favorite foods in the house. You canโt control yourself around your favorite foods due to going a long time without them because of restrictions.
โก You emotionally eat. Using food to comfort you is okay sometimes BUT it becomes a problem when you turn to food constantly whenever something bad happens and causes negative emotions.
โก It is stressful going out to eat. You canโt enjoy yourself at restaurants or turn down invites to restaurants or events because you are overwhelmed by the idea of food and calories.
โก Youโre stuck in a diet culture mentality. It is okay to want to lose or gain weight and get into a healthier body but you can do this without restrictive eating.ย
โก Your body dictates your food intake. If you are bloated you eat little or skip a meal altogether.
Signs you have a negative relationship with exercise.
โก You use exercise as a punishment. Whenever you overeat or feel like you have you make yourself exercise for long periods.
โก You feel guilty when you miss a workout. As women sometimes we canโt work out the way we want to because of our menstrual cycle and you need a break and it is okay to take a break.
โก You exercise even if you're injured. Rest days are okay working out through injuries only makes injuries worse.
โก You do workouts you don't like. You're focused on burning calories and not the enjoyment you feel when working out.
โก Affecting your social life. You might excessively work out to the point you're missing events and invites to work out.
Tips to improve your relationship with food.ย
โก Learn about nutrition. A lot of us are uneducated on nutrition and how we should be eating to prevent excessive weight gain and malnutrition I will recommend a lot of books below to start your education on nutrition.
โก Practice mindful eating. Slow down and become aware of what is happening to your body when you eat certain foods, and your hunger cues, and donโt make any judgments. Eat foods without distractions such as TV, books, and phones. Take your time to chew and taste your foods. Mindless eating is eating without control or out of boredom.
โก Stop labeling foods. We tend to use the words โgoodโ and โbadโ when talking about foods. However, labeling foods can harm your relationship with foods. Welcome all food groups into your diet. Making food decisions shouldn't make you feel like a bad person or a good person.ย
โก Find enjoyment in food. Focus on enjoying food and the pleasures that come with preparing and enjoying food with others.
โก Allow yourself to eat the foods you enjoy. It is okay to eat foods you enjoy in moderation,ย
โก Challenge negative self-talk. The way we speak to ourselves regarding food and diet can affect the way we view foods challenge those thoughts with positive thoughts when they come I recommend reading this blog post about your mental diet by @arielsreality
Tips to improve your relationship with exercise.
โก Create your own vision of fitness. Everyone has different body goals and what they want to look like the media pushes an image not all of us want to fit into. So create a vision for what you want to look like.
โก Try different forms of exercise. Try different types of exercise. If you don't like cardio, try weight lifting. If you don't like weightlifting, try pilates. There are many options to choose from, so give them a try. Do what feels right and brings you joy.
โก Listen to your body. If your body is sore, skip a day and walk instead of lifting weights. Listening to our bodies is super important ignoring pain cues is very harmful.
โก Embrace rest. Sleep is our best friend getting the right amount of sleep every night is what helps our glow-up journey over all. Taking rest days is super important as well.
โก Understand your body changes. Your body at 12 is not your body now and that is a beautiful thing. We especially as women go through a lot of bodily changes so we have to let go of society's expectations of how our bodies should be and look like what do you want your body to look like? And how can you get there?ย
โก Follow women who look like you. Follow women with similar body types like yours. I have a Pinterest of women who have similar body types to mine labeled โYour body is beautifulโ I look at it if I need reminders when feeling insecure. I follow a lot of black women on many platforms as a black woman because I like to see women who look like me in positions of success and wealth it motivates me.ย
โก Celebrate non-scale victories. Maybe instead of being stuck on the number on the scale, you tried those jeans that couldnโt fit before but now they are so comfortable. That is something to celebrate!
โก The Binge Code by Alison C Kerr
โก Women Food And Hormones by Sara Gottfried
โก The Food Therapist by Shira Lenchewski MS RD
โก The Good Gut by Justin Sonnenburg
โก Feed Yourself by Leslie Schillingย
โก Reclaiming Body Trust by Hilary Kinavey MS LPCย
โก The Food Mood Connection by Dr Uma Naidoo
