Food. I mean… who doesn’t love? But, sometimes, we create unhealthy relationships with it. Here are ways to diagnose this problem!
1. You are often preoccupied with thoughts of food
Are you a person that likes to count calories? Do you keep a food diary to keep track of what you’ve eaten? Some people use these methods to create healthy meal plans for their own specific goals, but for others, it consumes their life. Once every aspect of your daily routine is affected by ideas of what you’ve eaten, then you are most likely creating an unhealthy relationship with food.
If you want to break out of this habit, here are some tips that Chelsey Amer, a registered dietitian, shared:
Delete or throw away your calorie counting mechanisms.
Get in touch with your hunger cues.
Think about what you actually want to eat.
2. You exercise excessively
Exercise is proven to have many benefits for the body and the heart, but why do you exercise? Is it to maintain fitness, lose weight, or burn off the last cupcake you’ve eaten? One clear indicator of an eating disorder is exercising for two or more hours every day.
According to Mayoclinic, the recommended adult exercise time is 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity per week. You can try setting a weekly exercise schedule to help you manage your time and make adjustments when necessary.
3. You are constantly dieting
Let’s say you just came back from Thanksgiving dinner at grandma’s house and gained a few pounds, do you immediately diet to lose it? Are you familiar with the terms Keto, Low-carb, and Intermittent fasting?
Think back, how many times have you attempted dieting? Did you succeed?
Oftentimes, a few extra pounds makes us see ourselves bigger than we actually are. Weight fluctuations are normal and it is determined by your daily food and water intake. Those brownies you’ve just eaten won’t make you “fat” or gain weight in the long run. Instead of going straight into crash diets, you can try meal-planning.
So, you can start by planning your meals for tomorrow, then the day after that, until it becomes a weekly plan. You can also try incorporating more vegetables and fruits into your daily meal plans. Never take out major food components, but add what you need. Do you feel better after eating vegetables? How about fruits? You can always try setting your meals with foods that make you feel good to maximize satisfaction.
4. You make comments about being fat all the time
When you look at yourself in the mirror, what thoughts come inside your head? Do you see yourself with a positive outlook or a negative one? Have you tried avoiding mirrors because you’re afraid of looking at yourself? With an eating disorder, you are always setting yourself up to fail. This means that your physical appearance is always registered bad no matter what you look like. This tends to happen because your brain is wired in a way that says if you have a thinner body, then you will have a better life.
According to Jacqueline Andriakos, Health Director at Women’s Health Magazine, you can try identifying your negative body ideas and replacing them with accurate and forgiving affirmations. Attempt staying away from silent fat talk habits like sucking in your belly or pinching places you feel unconfident about. Self-love is not a quick process. It requires effort and patience, so please don’t feel alone. You can always reach out to your friends or a medical professional to help you gain a better outlook of yourself.
5. You hoard food in secret places
When you get stressed, do you immediately reach for the secret stash of chocolates hidden inside your drawer? Do you know why? Sometimes, the guilt and embarrassment that comes with storing a large amount of food is too much that you choose to just hide it and keep it a secret. It causes fewer questions that way, right?
According to Dr. Durvasula, Ph.D., It is your way of exerting control over food for the later purpose of bingeing it. If you are dealing with this type of behavior or know someone who does this, please always remember that assistance is available. Therefore, you may work with an eating disorder specialist to get treatment on how to overcome these tendencies.
6. You wear baggy clothes to hide your body
How many baggy clothes do you own? Is it a personal preference, or is it a way to hide the “flaws” you see in your body? This occurs when there is a visible change in yourself that you don’t want others to see such as dramatic weight loss or weight gain in a short period. A method of improving this behavior is by changing your wardrobe one step at a time. You can start by wearing a simple shirt that’s not too loose or too thin. Once you feel better about it, then you can move on to wearing shorts, skirts, and sleeveless tops until you’re comfortable. Don’t worry, you’re going to rock it!
7. You skip meals or eat in very small portions
Do you eat three meals a day? When you eat, do you aim for satiation or are you still kind of hungry by the time you’re done? Sometimes, do you skip a meal because you think you’ve eaten too much for the meal before that? A viable method of helping to overcome skipping meals is meal-planning. According to WebMD, each meal should be a healthy balance of vegetables, grain, and protein. A solid day-to-day plan of meals composed of whole foods and vegetables can assist you to become more relaxed and comfortable with eating.
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Currently, I am a student of Fatima Jinnah Women University. With a burning passion for psychology, words, and dreams, I decided to abandon medical studies for humanities. These days, when I’m not listening to ballads, watching movies, or sitting down with a good novel, I am rigorously studying Hangul (Korean language) to satisfy my obsession for BTS and K dramas. I’m a thinking introvert and INFJ personality. Therefore, I like ‘me time’. My articles typically resonate with psychological well-being advice.