A Healthy Relationship w/ Food

[Blondell]

How is this described? What is it exactly?

[Patricia]

Eating what you want and not giving a hoot either way. That's what I think.

[smuggie]

That's a very good question. I presume you're asking what it means within the context of the fitness lifestyle.

Speaking from my own experience I would say it means several things:

Not setting some impossible-to-achieve goal of dietary perfection for yourself, which is a recipe for failure.

Realizing there is place for "unclean" foods in moderation in your diet, even when following the fitness lifestyle.

Not feeling guilty when you eat "unclean" foods.

Leaving room for "unclean" foods in your macros.

If you do sometimes overindulge you don't beat yourself up for it and spiral downwards into an all-out bingefest, but instead get back on track with the next meal.

Not letting food have power over you.

Not indulging in compensatory behaviours.


That's just off the top of my head.

[Blondell]

That's a very good question. I presume you're asking what it means within the context of the fitness lifestyle.

Speaking from my own experience I would say it means several things:

Not setting some impossible-to-achieve goal of dietary perfection for yourself, which is a recipe for failure.

Realizing there is place for "unclean" foods in moderation in your diet, even when following the fitness lifestyle.

Not feeling guilty when you eat "unclean" foods.

Leaving room for "unclean" foods in your macros.

If you do sometimes overindulge you don't beat yourself up for it and spiral downwards into an all-out bingefest, but instead get back on track with the next meal.

Not letting food have power over you.

Not indulging in compensatory behaviours.


That's just off the top of my head.Only one of these things apply to my relationship w/ food. :oops:

[Cindy Day]

How is this described? What is it exactly?
My experiance with food as always been a dirty, nasty torrid affair, so I cannot say.

:catfight:

:lol:

:p

No, seriously-- Mo's post was dead on. :hamster:

[smuggie]

Only one of these things apply to my relationship w/ food. :oops:
Then you need to work on things, missy.

[smuggie]

My experiance with food as always been a dirty, nasty torrid affair, so I cannot say.

:catfight:

:lol:

:p

No, seriously-- Mo's post was dead on. :hamster:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v614/montagnu/smiles%20and%20laughter%20smilies/hamsterazn.gif

[Stifler]

Eating what you want and not giving a hoot either way. That's what I think.

:yeahthat:

[Blondell]

Eating what you want and not giving a hoot either way. That's what I think.
I've done this and the results aren't so nice. :lol3:

[Audrey]

That's a very good question. I presume you're asking what it means within the context of the fitness lifestyle.

Speaking from my own experience I would say it means several things:

Not setting some impossible-to-achieve goal of dietary perfection for yourself, which is a recipe for failure.

Realizing there is place for "unclean" foods in moderation in your diet, even when following the fitness lifestyle.

Not feeling guilty when you eat "unclean" foods.

Leaving room for "unclean" foods in your macros.

If you do sometimes overindulge you don't beat yourself up for it and spiral downwards into an all-out bingefest, but instead get back on track with the next meal.

Not letting food have power over you.

Not indulging in compensatory behaviours.


That's just off the top of my head.

I was going to say something very similar.

Most people have an all-or-nothing approach to food/dieting and either eat 100% clean (for fear of messing with their goals) or just get completely off the bandwagon whenever they derail a bit ("I messed up part of the day already, I might as well just screw it up completely for the rest of the day").

Trying to compensate by overdoing the cardio, skipping meals... just sets up an even more unhealthy attitude towards food.

[mackie]

I've done this and the results aren't so nice. :lol3:
:lol: :lol:

Same here... :lol: I'm cracking up, Blondell!

[Anca]

Eating what you want and not giving a hoot either way. That's what I think.

That sounds like a recipe for being fat. With all the plain unhealthy food choices around us, most of us 'want' the fat-and-sugar-laden fake foods. Few of us can count lean chicken breast and steamed broccoli on our absolute favorite foods list. While unhealthy-though-yummy foods should be eaten in (extreme) moderation (see the 90% rule), I think we should care about keeping the vast majority of what we eat on the wholesome, healthy side. Making choices that are healthy (not just weight-friendly) and enjoying an occasional treat is what a healthy relationship with food means to me.
Still working on it of course. 31 1/2 years and counting! :laugh:

[Patricia]

That sounds like a recipe for being fat. With all the plain unhealthy food choices around us, most of us 'want' the fat-and-sugar-laden fake foods. Few of us can count lean chicken breast and steamed broccoli on our absolute favorite foods list. While unhealthy-though-yummy foods should be eaten in (extreme) moderation (see the 90% rule), I think we should care about keeping the vast majority of what we eat on the wholesome, healthy side. Making choices that are healthy (not just weight-friendly) and enjoying an occasional treat is what a healthy relationship with food means to me.
Still working on it of course. 31 1/2 years and counting! :laugh:
It may be. But, to me, that is a healthy relationship. :shrug: Looking at food as 'food' and nothing else.
I do NOT think a competitor's diet is a healthy relationship. To me, thinking any food is off limits is unhealthy. Trying to decide what to eat 4-7 times a day and looking to see if it's been 3 hrs since you last ate is not healthy IMO. Now, I am NOT saying I have a healthy relationship with food because I don't.

[jlb001]

Binge eating, purging and stuff is not healthy either.


The key is MODERATION in any of this. Learning not to go completely overboard on any of it.

Learning to make better choices, learning not to overstuff ourselves just because its there.

[Blondell]

Learning to make better choices, learning not to overstuff ourselves just because its there.
This messes me up OFTEN. As a child, I was told to eat what was on my plate. At that time, it was appropriate b/c I had my food portioned out well for me. Now that I make my own plates, I overdo it and still have the 'eat what's on my plate' mentality.

[jlb001]

I am bad with it sometimes too...

Cake...Just give me a fork and the entire pan. I'll eat myself silly. Between Kathleen, Tony and me we finished off a spice cake I baked Friday night on Saturday afternoon. It had cream cheese frosting. LOL

[hsquared]

I am glad you posted this Blondell!! I was about to ask the same type of question. I am worried about my relationship with food. It is hard not to beat yourself up when you have dieted so well and done so great and then you blow it and gain weight back. I am rethinking the way I eat and why I eat what I eat. It seems the stricter my diet, the worse I am when I am off of it. I need to learn not to stress so much about my diet and keep setting goals.

i guess that I am really trying to learn to make clean eating a lifestyle and not feel deprived if I don't have a "comfort" food. I would like to see food as food but my tastebuds are rebelling against that idea (especially with ice cream! :lol3:)

[lchristine100]

I think it's finding balance. I think it's important to appreciate what good, wholesome food does for your body in terms of every day living- such as having energy to do things. I also think you should ENJOY food- tastes, smells, etc- live a little and know that if you eat something "bad" it's ok...that's just me though:)

[Bunny]

In a nutshell, to me a healthy relationship with food would be equating it with fuel rather than laden with emotional traps.

[SusanF]

That's a very good question. I presume you're asking what it means within the context of the fitness lifestyle.

Speaking from my own experience I would say it means several things:

Not setting some impossible-to-achieve goal of dietary perfection for yourself, which is a recipe for failure.

Realizing there is place for "unclean" foods in moderation in your diet, even when following the fitness lifestyle.

Not feeling guilty when you eat "unclean" foods.

Leaving room for "unclean" foods in your macros.

If you do sometimes overindulge you don't beat yourself up for it and spiral downwards into an all-out bingefest, but instead get back on track with the next meal.

Not letting food have power over you.

Not indulging in compensatory behaviours.


That's just off the top of my head.

Great post!!

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to smuggie again.

[synergyb3]

That's a very good question. I presume you're asking what it means within the context of the fitness lifestyle.

Speaking from my own experience I would say it means several things:

Not setting some impossible-to-achieve goal of dietary perfection for yourself, which is a recipe for failure.

Realizing there is place for "unclean" foods in moderation in your diet, even when following the fitness lifestyle.

Not feeling guilty when you eat "unclean" foods.

Leaving room for "unclean" foods in your macros.

If you do sometimes overindulge you don't beat yourself up for it and spiral downwards into an all-out bingefest, but instead get back on track with the next meal.

Not letting food have power over you.

Not indulging in compensatory behaviours.


That's just off the top of my head. http://bestsmileys.com/signs12/17.gif

GREEN.

[fitkitten]

That's a very good question. I presume you're asking what it means within the context of the fitness lifestyle.

Speaking from my own experience I would say it means several things:

Not setting some impossible-to-achieve goal of dietary perfection for yourself, which is a recipe for failure.

Realizing there is place for "unclean" foods in moderation in your diet, even when following the fitness lifestyle.

Not feeling guilty when you eat "unclean" foods.

Leaving room for "unclean" foods in your macros.

If you do sometimes overindulge you don't beat yourself up for it and spiral downwards into an all-out bingefest, but instead get back on track with the next meal.

Not letting food have power over you.

Not indulging in compensatory behaviours.


That's just off the top of my head.


ding ding ding. while i can't say that these apply to me all of the time (especially when it comes to guilt), these are what came to my mind when i read the original post

my attitude towards food also became SO much more healthy when i stopped counting cals and measuring macros. i know it works for so many people but just having the ability to eyeball the cals in the meals i'm eating has been enough for me. otherwise i think too much about food, both yearn for and dread my next meal, think more about the carbs i haven't planned for myself, etc

i can say that i don't have much of an emotional bond with food, that i don't reach for food when i need a pal, but i've always been a boredom eater and have always had trouble stopping at just a taste of something yummy. this went away when i no longer considered my diet full of restrictions. it's full of options and treats and fuel and it is why my skin and hair and body have improved. it's also why i shared a bottle of red wine with a friend last night and had a great time. no rules!

[trinitylove]

In a nutshell, to me a healthy relationship with food would be equating it with fuel rather than laden with emotional traps.


along with this....not equating what you eat or don't eat with self esteem and self worth.

:)

[synergyb3]

along with this....not equating what you eat or don't eat with self esteem and self worth.

:)Abolutely.