HAVING THE RIGHT PERSPECTIVE ON FOOD

Let’s look at some perspectives that actually support a healthy relationship with food.

One of the most important things is to let go of the strict diet mentality and adapt a more flexible approach to eating. It’s not a diet we are after, it’s a healthy way of living. In order to do that, we need to commit to eating mostly real food – whole food.

On a day-to-day basis, our diet should consist of whole, natural foods. Whole foods like clean proteins, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds and healthy fats with a variety of great recipes and a little flexibility is sustainable, enjoyable and satisfying. You don’t feel deprived when you are eating delicious dishes and not just a lump of chicken and a pile of broccoli! Do yourself a favor and make a point of making our GHS meals. They are meant to help keep you on track and provide food satisfaction and flavor.

Know yourself when it comes to the scale. If you have a difficult relationship with food, especially for weight reasons, perhaps weighing every day isn’t best for you. It’s probably more important in the first month to weigh every day, but after that, you really do need to know yourself. Obsessing about our weight can lead to more body dissatisfaction and poor self-esteem.

Gauge how you feel physically, mentally and emotionally. Did you sleep well? Do you have brain fog or are you on the top of your game? You may need to shift your focus from body weight to whole-body well-being. The weight loss will be there, you just won’t focus on the number.

Intuitive eating is another healthy perspective. It encourages you to follow your internal sensations of hunger and satiety to know when to eat and when to stop. While the intention is good in learning to self-regulate, some foods are nearly impossible to eat intuitively. They are Hyper palatable, and  designed with that intention – not to mention they are highly inflammatory.

Mindful eating is another great perspective, as well. Being mindful during meals means to pay attention to the experience of your eating on purpose. It helps to rewire the brain’s response to food, so you can distinguish between hunger cues and emotional responses in order to identify and reduce stress eating.

Practicing some self-compassion is also important to a healthy food perspective. Self-compassion helps us maintain more positive behaviors when it comes to eating. We aren’t talking about permission to do what you want; it’s being kind when you aren’t perfect.

It’s important to understand that how much we eat and our relationship with foods are greatly impacted by our daily behaviors, as well.

Here are some helpful steps we can take to help encourage a healthy eating perspective.

Sleep is one of the most important things you can do to improve your relationship with food. Sleep deprivation increases your cravings for processed foods high in bad fats and sugars.

Physical Activity is also helpful. Exercise affects brain chemicals in a way that helps with behavior change. People who exercise consistently have been shown to start eating healthier foods. It is believed a boost in dopamine (one of your feel-good hormones) is triggered by moderate exercise. Remember, there is a right way and wrong way to exercise.

Managing Stress. Chronic stress has shown repeatedly to promote unhealthy eating behaviors. Studies on the effects of stress eating repeatedly show a negative relationship between high levels of stress and negative food behaviors.

Addressing chronic inflammation is also very helpful. Fortunately, that is what your GHS plan does. Although there are other reasons for inflammation, you can lower it greatly with an anti-inflammatory diet. It helps control food cravings, weight changes and appetite by helping with hunger and satiety signaling – which is part of your body chemistry.

Be proactive by putting healthier items front and center in the fridge and eliminate any foods you are tempted to overeat or that make you not feel well, as much as possible.

Your attitude is key to getting started and sustaining your weight loss journey. Be sure to implement the helpful steps to encourage your healthy eating perspective.