Food-ship

MandiMarie913
MandiMarie913 Posts: 26 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
How many of you have struggled to gain and maintain a good relationship with food? What obstacles did you have to overcome? How did you eventually achieve a better relationship with food?

Replies

  • VeganRaptor
    VeganRaptor Posts: 164 Member
    I personally improved my relationship by following a schedule of three meals a day consisting of a carbohydrate component, a protein component, and a fat component and 2-5 snacks consisting of two out of the three components. I then moved into intuitive eating and not counting calories. Different things work for different people though, you might like to talk to your doctor about it? Good luck! :)
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,619 Member
    I don't have a relationship with food. Food is mostly just fuel. I tend to focus on other things in life ... like, for example, I have a relationship with my husband and with cycling. :)

    Maybe it would help to redirect your focus elsewhere?
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    edited November 2016
    I have! I have struggled with food all my life - almost - it started when I was little and alternately force fed and restricted access to goodies, sort of - then as a teenager I started worrying about getting fat when I really was at a healthy weight. As a young adult (away from home and making up for all the stuff I had missed) I gained weight, for real, and fast, tried to lose/stall gain by eating low fat, destroyed my gall bladder with low fat and my teeth with high sugar, when I couldn't stand the low fat/low taste any more.

    Grr.

    I had to relearn everything. Eating well is not that complicated but very very complex. There is no such thing as a perfect diet, and superfoods don't exist. I needed a good meal plan, a structure for my eating. I had to find foods I can eat to satiety. Calorie counting and always include fat, protein and vegetables in meals was a great start. I had to structure my food environment differently. I had to learn how to recognize and respect my hunger and satiety cues. I had to learn balance and patience. I had to learn to love to wait. I had to admit that even though my mom did some crazy things, she also did a lot of them right.

    What is Normal Eating? is one of the many resources I have used.
  • MandiMarie913
    MandiMarie913 Posts: 26 Member
    Machka9 wrote: »
    I don't have a relationship with food. Food is mostly just fuel. I tend to focus on other things in life ... like, for example, I have a relationship with my husband and with cycling. :)

    Maybe it would help to redirect your focus elsewhere?

    Your able to think of food as just fuel, someone with an eating disorder does notnot think of it as such.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,419 Member
    MandiMarie913 wrote: »
    Machka9 wrote: »
    I don't have a relationship with food. Food is mostly just fuel. I tend to focus on other things in life ... like, for example, I have a relationship with my husband and with cycling. :)

    Maybe it would help to redirect your focus elsewhere?

    Your able to think of food as just fuel, someone with an eating disorder does notnot think of it as such.

    I think her point is that when life is busy and full of other active pursuits, food becomes something that is necessary rather than a hobby.

    TV and computer use create a passive hobby that lends itself to eating while doing it. Bike riding is not all that easy to do while eating...and it uses a lot of calories, AND it squelches that hunger drive.

    Try an active lifestyle if you aren't doing it already. Food will become fuel.
  • leooftheyear
    leooftheyear Posts: 429 Member
    I've struggled with this, on and off for years, I think it was partly because out of everything going on in my life counting calories was the only thing I could control. Since I have regained control of my life and got rid of a majority of my anxiety I've been able to focus on food as fuel and use it less of a controlling/binging/I'm afraid I won't have enough calories for dinner.
  • leanjogreen18
    leanjogreen18 Posts: 2,492 Member
    This was a recent ephinany for me:

    foods are not bad nor good. Because when I ate a "bad" food I automatically thought I was "bad" so I might as well eat all the "bad" food like the whole cake or whole pizza.

    food is fuel - I can have cake that is neither good nor bad and it will fuel me for a little while then I will be hungry again or I can have a tuna sandwich which is neither good nor bad that will fuel me until dinner. I am not bad for choosing a slice of cake I just know I need to plan to gas out sooner and allot for it in my calorie count.

    Food is not a person, it can't comfort me when I'm sad or happy.

    Food is fuel some food/fuel tastes better than others.

    It's been a work in progress to get to this point over the last 4 months but I firmly believe if I make up my mind my body follows (my mantra).

    I make the decision to either eat because I'm sad or happy it doesn't fly into my mouth. I make the decisions to reward or punish myself food doesn't just fly into my mouth. Before anyone gets offended I am speaking only of myself and OP asked how I'm overcoming my issues I really try not to be judgmental of others.

    Having said all of the above I am a yoyo dieter, I have no problems being laser focused when loosing weight. I have never maintained my loss. I always went for the "quick" solutions. It's partially because I wasn't educated with CICO. I now have that in my arsenal so check back with me next November to see how I'm maintaining and if the above still works:).
  • cross2bear
    cross2bear Posts: 1,106 Member
    I agree with johunt615 - I ate my feelings, whether it was happiness, anger, frustration or joy. Food meant comfort and security. I have had to learn the same things - nothing changes regardless of what I eat. A big slice of cake doesnt make my crappy day at work any less crappy. In fact, it makes it worse because now I hve to deal with low self worth, guilt and disappointment. Not any more. Its a new lesson every day still, but it seems to be easier as each day goes by. Ideally, my relationship with food will be that it is a necessity of life, that some foods have to be moderated by me, and that food is not a reward or a panacea.
  • ryry_
    ryry_ Posts: 4,966 Member
    I think my relationship with food is the best its ever been and it mainly has to do with my approach to weight loss. Slow and steady, eat what I like, within reasonable quanities, don't stress the small stuff, etc.
  • CattOfTheGarage
    CattOfTheGarage Posts: 2,745 Member
    Noel_57 wrote: »
    I thought this was going to be about a big boat that carries food. :|

    Me too.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,619 Member
    cmriverside wrote: »
    MandiMarie913 wrote: »
    Machka9 wrote: »
    I don't have a relationship with food. Food is mostly just fuel. I tend to focus on other things in life ... like, for example, I have a relationship with my husband and with cycling. :)

    Maybe it would help to redirect your focus elsewhere?

    Your able to think of food as just fuel, someone with an eating disorder does notnot think of it as such.

    I think her point is that when life is busy and full of other active pursuits, food becomes something that is necessary rather than a hobby.

    TV and computer use create a passive hobby that lends itself to eating while doing it. Bike riding is not all that easy to do while eating...and it uses a lot of calories, AND it squelches that hunger drive.

    Try an active lifestyle if you aren't doing it already. Food will become fuel.

    Yes, exactly. :)



  • jennybearlv
    jennybearlv Posts: 1,519 Member
    I came in here thinking food trucks had been adapted for yumminess on the lake. Super disappointed. And I think that summarizes my relationship with food. I love food. My favorite thing about keeping a food journal is getting to know my food even better. I try to appreciate delicious food more than I did in the past. I feel bad for cheating on delicious food with food that was just there and I was bored or stressed or whatever.

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