3 Easy Habits to Help You Achieve a Better Relationship With Food
You might be feeling frustrated and defeated when it comes to your eating habits right now.
Having to deal with food choices, stress, and opinions from all angles daily is not easy!
Stress is detrimental to daily life. It makes you make unfortunate food choices, increases your cravings and gets in the way of living your life with confidence, ease, and joy].
But I promise you that it doesn’t have to be this way!
While there’s no magic cure, there are things you can do to enjoy food and start seeing progress that will last.
In this post, I’ll share three easy habits you can implement today to help you create a better relationship with food and start achieving your health goals once and for all.
This is exactly what I help my clients achieve inside my programs Calluna Revitalise and Calluna Thrive. In just 3 to 6 months, you will gain insight into how your behaviors may be hindering your health goals and discover the best next steps to take.
Learn more about Calluna Revitalise here and Calluna Thrive here!
Habit 1: Redefine what Success is to You.
Understanding what success looks like to you is a foundational habit for healthier eating habits!
Social media keeps telling us what success looks like. You know, that skinny or muscular body without signs of a life that has been lived. It also implies that shedding extra pounds will result in happiness, self-love, and the ability to eat without guilt. However, this is not the reality. Losing weight doesn't guarantee greater happiness, improved health, or increased confidence. Far less peace of mind.
That’s why I always ask my clients to be mindful about when or how they’ll know they’ve been successful.
Some say, “When I can wear those jeans again”, or “When I can walk around the city centre and not constantly think about what people think about me”, or “When I can enjoy myself at social gatherings without feeling stressed about how much or what to eat”.
Not only will defining success help you understand where to start making changes to your eating habits but it can also:
Help you spot progress in your busy everyday life
Give you the inspiration to keep going when times are hard.
Help you focus on your own health journey when ‘loud voices’ want to show you alternatives.
Here are some practical tips to help you focus on your definition of success:
Write down in your own words what success looks like to you. Make it visual so you can come back and read it again and again if you lose track (which happens to everyone now and then).
Be open to someone you trust about the journey you’re going through. It creates more accountability and support from the right people.
Own it! This is YOU and your journey. Hit and miss is a part of it, and perhaps your view on success will change along the way, and that’s great too!
Focusing on your definition of success will help you get one step closer to a better relationship with food and creating healthier eating habits that will last!
Read More:
6 Steps To Evaluate Your Work-Life Balance
Habit 2: Leave Past Experiences Behind
Accept that your past negative experiences with food do not have to determine your future success (Now read that again!). Moving on from past experiences is the next step if you want to develop healthier eating habits that will last.
As we grow up, we develop food habits and rules that stick with us from childhood and adolescence. For example, many of us were taught always to finish our plates. Some people have used comfort food to cope with trauma from their past. While these habits are normal, they can be challenging to change as adults.
Leaving negative food experiences behind is crucial for creating a healthy relationship with food and also helps with:
Enjoying and appreciating food
Not seeing food as your enemy
Understanding your own needs better
If you want to make food an enjoyable part of your daily routine, here are some tips to follow:
List 3 things you’re satisfied with regarding your current eating habits and want to continue doing.
Look for recipe inspiration in new places that make you feel good, not bad about yourself. Start with a straightforward recipe. Not more, not less:)
Be patient with yourself. Give yourself time and space to learn about your own needs. It takes time, but small steps are the best way to go!
Spending time improving your relationship with food will help you reach your ultimate goal of creating healthier eating habits that will last and say goodbye to food cravings, regrets and frustration.
Click on the picture to learn how you can delve into your eating habits and understand how your behaviours keep you from reaching your goals. All at your own pace!
Habit 3: Rediscover The Magic of Food
Start seeing food with new eyes is another essential habit you’ll want to focus on if you’re ready to become friends with food.
Food is delicious, beautiful, helpful, magical, and pretty damn enchanting if you ask me! But somewhere along the way, we have forgotten its purpose. Maybe because our lives have become so stressful? Or is the food we access in the supermarkets today quite different from a few decades ago? It might also be the constant phishing from social media telling us how stressed we are and how much we deserve a treat to cope through the day.
Not only will rediscovering the magic of food help you enjoy food more, but it can also:
Make better food choices
Peace of mind regarding food
Trust your own instinct
Here are some recommendations you’ll want to try out to help make food your new friend:
No food is bad food. It’s only a matter of how much and how often.
Try adding veggies to all meals.
Aim for high-quality foods packed with healthy nutrients, like nuts, oats, dark chocolate, beans, legumes, etc.
Focusing on seeing the positives in food is another important habit that can help you achieve healthier eating habits for good!
Conquering unfortunate food choices requires routine, consistency, and patience!
By practising these 3 habits, redefining success, focusing on going forward and rediscovering your love for food, you can heal your relationship with food.
Remember that everyone’s challenges and lifestyle are different, so it may take some time to find the best habits and routines for you!
If you need more support on your health journey, I’d love getting to know you better and guide you towards food freedom and peace of mind.
Let’s get started so you can achieve the healthy lifestyle you're picturing!
Book a Calluna Call today to get to understand your eating habits better and get more clarity about your goals and what your next best steps look like.
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