Developing A Healthy Relationship With Food
Food is a basic need for mankind that is more important than clothing or shelter. It is simply the fuel for your body's growth, maintenance, repair, respiration, reproduction and excretion. Food is composed of various different kinds of substances, known as nutrients, which when consumed in an adequate amount can fulfil the body's requirements to function optimally. But how many of us actually look at food as an essential need in our lives?
Food is a basic need for mankind that is more important than clothing or shelter. It is simply the fuel for your body's growth, maintenance, repair, respiration, reproduction and excretion. Food is composed of various different kinds of substances, known as nutrients, which when consumed in an adequate amount can fulfil the body's requirements to function optimally. But how many of us actually look at food as an essential need in our lives?
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Developing a Healthy Relationship with Food?
Unfortunately, we are either gripped with the disease of perfectionism when it comes to controlling our food intake or at the other extreme, we tend to mindlessly and excessively consume more than the required amount. History proves that food has played an important role in our lives besides just nutrition. It has psychological, healing and organoleptic effects, in addition to the physiological effects it has on our weight.
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Developing a Healthy Relationship with Food?
To establish a healthy weight, it is vital that you first develop a positive relationship with food. To do this, it is important that you don¡¯t get intimidated by food. Food nurtures you, so use it as nourishment and don¡¯t get stuck in its clutches.?
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Developing a Healthy Relationship with Food?
Having understood this, how do you gauge if you have a healthy relationship with food? Reflect upon the following questions for a few seconds, being completely honest with yourself:
? Do you go hungry for many hours?
? Do you binge eat, feel guilty and avoid eating for the rest of the day as a punishment?
? Do you feel stressed in a social setting, unsure about what you should eat and what you shouldn¡¯t?
? Do you tend to eat very fast?
? Do you eat more when you are stressed, angry, sad or sometimes even when you are very happy?
? Do you always calculate your calorie intake?
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Developing a Healthy Relationship with Food?
If you have answered yes to any of these questions, it could suggest that your relationship with food is an unhealthy one. Either you are very scared of food or you tend to look at food as a means of comfort. Either way, it has an unhealthy influence on your health and weight.
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Developing a Healthy Relationship with Food?
Here are a few simple tricks to change this equation with food:
Keep a food diary: ?Write down what you ate, how much you ate, what mood you were in and how hungry you were. People often eat to satisfy an emotion, and not when they are actually hungry. Analyse this record after a week and identify your triggers.
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Developing a Healthy Relationship with Food?
Find other activities: If your dairy reveals that you use food to comfort yourself, or out of boredom, make a list of non-food related activities that can calm you or keep you occupied.
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Developing a Healthy Relationship with Food?
Go easy on yourself: Don¡¯t punish yourself for eating something wrong the day before by over exercising or starving the next day. Instead get back to sensible eating.
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Developing a Healthy Relationship with Food?
Practice mindful eating: Look at your food, chew it slowly and enjoy every bite. If you savour the flavours, chances are that you will not overeat. Also, eating mindfully and savouring each bite ensures the correct amount of digestive juices to improve digestion.
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Enjoy eating what you are eating: Don¡¯t have a negative approach to food by constant rethinking whether you are eating right or not. A negative approach to food will only hamper its digestion and affect the assimilation of the nutrients.
<p>Pooja Bhargava is an ACSM( American council of sports medicine) and IIFA(Indian institute of fitness administration) certified Personal Trainer, Nutrition Consultant and Physical Fitness expert. She is also the founder and CEO of Fitness U and Nutrition (F.U.N), Mumbai, since April 2011.</p>
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