10 Signs That You Might Have An Unhealthy Relationship With Food
The relationship you have with food can have a tremendous negative impact on your health and weight loss when that relationship is unhealthy.
We all know that an unhealthy relationship with food can leave you feeling unfulfilled, depressed and dissatisfied. No matter how hard you try to make it work, there is no way to get past the fact that the relationship is taking a toll on your emotional health.
Here are ten signs that you have an unhealthy relationship with food
- Your Emotions Control Your Eating Habits: If you eat to avoid doing something, to entertain yourself, as a reward, or to find comfort, you are allowing your emotions to control your eating habits. This means that you aren’t listening to your body about what its needs are.
- Suffer From Food Guilt: There is no reason you should spend time beating yourself up for having a second slice of cake or eating an extra breadstick. If you are spending more time mentally punishing yourself for eating something than you spent enjoying it, you are suffering from food guilt.
- You Think About Food All The Time: When you have access to food when you are hungry, there is no reason for thoughts of food to consume your mind and interfere with your life. Constant thoughts about food are a sign that you may be denying yourself nutrients your body needs.
- You Prefer To Eat In Private: If you can’t handle eating with people without feeling self-conscious, or obsessing over what your options may be at a restaurant or party, chances are your food relationship isn’t healthy.
- You Deny Yourself The Foods You Crave: A healthy relationship with foods means that you know what you want as well as what you need in your diet. It also means that you accommodate both your wants and your needs. Often cravings are our body’s way of telling us we are lacking something in our diets.
- You Cut Out Entire Food Groups: Healthy eating is all about balance. Rigid perfectionism in your diet is a precursor for disordered eating and a definite warning sign of an unhealthy relationship with food.
- You Eat The Same Foods All The Time: Trying new foods isn’t something that should cause you anxiety unless you have a severe food allergy causing the anxiety. If the idea of trying a new food causes fears and anxiety to surface, you could have bigger problems to deal with.
- You Have No Self-Control When It Comes To Food: A couple signs that you have no self-control when it comes to food are when you can’t have certain foods in the house without eating them, or you find yourself eating a full bag of chips without realizing it until afterward. A lack of self-control regarding food is a definite sign you need some help with your relationship relating to food.
- You Are Controlled By Food Rules: There are no hard and fast rules that you need to follow in order to lose, maintain, or gain weight. If your mind is more concerned with following unnecessary rules when it comes to food instead of listening to your body, chances are, you need to evaluate your relationship with food.
- You Punish Yourself For Breaking Your Food Rules: Choosing to eat a salad for lunch because you know you are going out for pizza for dinner is called balance. Going on a week-long juice cleanse because you ate three slices instead of two is a sign that you need to evaluate your relationship with food.
If you have experienced any of the above signs it could mean that your relationship with food is unhealthy, you might be wondering what to do next. If you find that your negative relationship with food is affecting your quality of life, then it might be time to consider talking to a qualified bariatric hypnotist as well as your doctor to determine if you truly have an unhealthy food relationship and discovering the cause.
Working with a qualified hypnotist can help develop your personal strengths to create a new, healthy relationship with food so you can feel better, lose weight and be in control.