My relationship with food - Workshop 1/4 (Patreon)

Today we'll analyze our current relationship with food. 

Answer these questions on paper or in your head as honestly as you can. 

If you feel comfortable, you can share your answers down below. I think that seeing each others' experiences can be extremely beneficial and therapeutic. We always learn a lot more by listening to others. 

How is it going ?

• How often do you feel guilty about eating?

• Do you avoid or restrict foods that you deemed as bad for you?

• Did you develop a long list of rules surrounding the foods you allow yourself to eat and not eat?

• Are you able to feel and understand clearly your body’s natural hunger cues?

• Do you find yourself restricting yourself or doing the complete opposite and binging on food?

• Would you say you eat when you’re hungry and stop when you’re full?

• Are you choosing foods that make you feel your best or do you eat because you have to?

• Is the number on the scale a source of anxiety?

What about it?

It's important to provide yourself unconditional permission and a safe space to eat the foods you enjoy. Food needs to provide you with guilt-free joy and nutrients to help your body function and perform. Everybody is different and has different needs. Those needs may differ from what society dictates as the ''general rule'' for everyone. So before feeling guilty, It's important to listen to what your body actually wants and not what you think it wants.

We are not robots and your requirements in terms of intake will change throughout your life and physical activity. It is also the same for body shapes and weights. The goal will always be to achieve a body that makes you happy and that is healthy for your needs. For example, someone that enjoys more sedentary activities won't require an Olympian's body and vice versa. Get the body that enables you to do what you love, not what society wants to push onto you.

Being attentive, listening, and respecting your body’s natural hunger cues are essential to your well-being and mental health. These natural hints are a form of communication that will guide you in knowing and understanding your needs. Constantly feeling in a state of uncomfortable hunger or fullness is stressful for your body and dismisses those cues that are an indicator of what's best for your unique body.

The numbers on the scale will change in your life and that is normal! It reflects your lifestyle, environment, and decisions. The ''supposed healthy weight'' should be based on many aspects (Height, muscle mass, body type, physical activity, goals, metabolism, etc.) which is why a general chart won't reflect your unique healthy weight.

In the following weeks, I'll be posting weekly capsules like these to share my personal tricks and tips to take action on a better relationship with food

Next week we'll talk about :

• How we can be more attentive to those natural cues
• Learn more about our needs
• Introduce mindful eating!