Creating healthy relationships with food

All relationships involve some form of work. From relationships with your family, significant others, and even our pets, they require love, attention, and communication. This can also be applied to people’s relationship with food. Food not only nourishes our body, but it is entangled through many webs of psychology and habits that we have developed throughout our lifespan.

What influences how we eat?

Several factors may influence our food decisions and feelings surrounding food. These can include, but are not limited to:

• Cultural practices
• Social aspects
• Family and individual influences
• Socioeconomic status
• Psychological factors

What does a healthy relationship with food look like?

There is not a “one size fits all” approach. A healthy relationship with food involves accepting all different kinds of food to help feed and nourish your body while enjoying what you eat. It can involve aspects of an intuitive eating mindset that utilizes use of hunger and fullness cues which lets your body know how much and when to eat. This connects our mind and bodies to help strengthen our eating habits and improve our relationship surrounding food. This can look like:

• Throwing away a diet mindset with strict rules around food with a focus on body image and weight management
• Not putting moral value on “good” or “bad” foods
• Welcoming all foods
• Eating when you’re hungry
• Pausing to assess when you’re full
• Avoiding judging your body and food choices
• Engaging in joyful exercise
• Learning to accept your body
• Not comparing yourself to others

Having a healthy relationship with food takes the pressure off from feeling the need to make “perfect” food choices. It involves connecting with honoring your hunger while enjoying different foods. Allowing ourselves to connect our mind and bodies to help strengthen our eating habits, nourish our bodies, and improve our relationship around food.