From Restriction to Nourishment: Tips to Improve Your Relationship with Food

Having a healthy relationship with food is important for our overall health and wellbeing. If you've been struggling with restrictive eating patterns or chaotic behaviours around food, there is hope for healing. In this blog post, I'll share some practical tips that have personally helped me on my journey from restriction to nourishment.

Tip 1: Reject Diet Culture

Diet culture bombards us with harmful messages about our bodies and food. It promotes labelling foods as "good" or "bad" and fixating on achieving a certain body shape or size. Instead, let's shift our focus to nourishing our bodies with a variety of different foods and prioritising our overall health, including mental health. You might find this video helpful in understanding the harmful effects of diet culture.

Tip 2: Stop Labelling Foods

Labelling foods as "good" or "bad" creates an unhealthy relationship with food. It leads to guilt and shame when we indulge in foods labeled as "bad." Instead, aim to view food as nourishment for your body, without moralising it. Remember, food is just food, and doesn’t need to be considered “bad”.

Tip 3: Listen to Your Body

Our bodies have incredible wisdom that we often overlook. Start tuning in to your body's cues of hunger and fullness. We are moving towards a point where you can eat when you're hungry and stop when you're full, honouring your cravings. This does take time and practice, but gradually reconnecting with your body's signals will help you develop a more balanced approach to eating. You can try using a hunger audio scan, which I've linked here, to help you in this process.

Tip 4: Practice Mindful Eating

Mindful eating is brilliant to help you create a more balanced relationship with food. It involves paying attention whilst you eat, savouring each bite, and being present in the eating experience. By practicing mindful eating, you can also prevent overeating because you become more aware of fullness developing as you eat.

Tip 5: Incorporate Variety into Your Meals

Eating a diverse range of foods not only provides your body with essential nutrients but also adds satisfaction and enjoyment to your meals. Experiment with different colours, textures, and flavours to make your eating experience more pleasurable.

Tip 6: Practice Self-Care

Prioritise activities that promote self-care, such as getting enough sleep, managing stress, and having a fun hobby. Discover self-care practices that resonate with you, whether it's going for a walk, doing stretches, spending time in nature, or connecting with loved ones.

Tip 7: Seek Professional Help

If you're struggling with your relationship with food, it’s important to seek support from professionals. Registered dietitians, therapists, and counsellors can provide you with the guidance and tools needed to heal your relationship with food. If you're interested, you can use this link to book a chat to discuss how I can help you further.

Remember, healing your relationship with food takes time and patience, so please be kind to yourself on this journey.