I'd like to warmly welcome Daniel Madrid as today's guest blogger.
Daniel is a Certified Nutritionist and the owner of Thrive Nutrition, the only health food store in Winnipeg owned and staffed by a Certified Nutritionist.
Contact him at thrivenutrition@gmail.com or (204) 477-1606.
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“Why did I eat that?” “OMG, I feel terrible now!” “Why do I do this to myself?”
How many times have you heard or said something like that? These negative phrases are often rooted in the relationship we have with food. Humans are known to be emotional eaters - we tend to merge the enjoyment of food with the satisfaction of reward. How we view food – positively or negatively - can determine how we feel about ourselves.
When trying to make healthy food choices, we all have setbacks or hiccups. Sometimes when we need an emotional “pick-me-up”, we indulge in foods we find rewarding, comforting or even tempting. The common reaction is to focus on how terrible we feel over what we believe was a bad choice.
Foods set off a chemical reaction in the brain - when these reactions turn negative, you need to step back and evaluate things.
The solution is to be mindful about the whole eating experience. If you find yourself beating yourself up, don’t fret; enjoy yourself and experience every morsel. After, once the dust has settled, take the time to reflect on what you had. Understand how you were feeling when you chose your food. This may not be easy at first, but after several goes at it, you will be able to focus on how you are feeling and why, rather than on feeling guilty about your choice.
We tend to be hard on ourselves and expect perfect results. Remember, whatever choice you’ve made, it is only one meal out of hundreds of thousands that you will have in your lifetime. In the big picture, it’s a drop in the bucket. There are more important things in our lives to stress over. Don’t use food to focus inward on your emotions. Look outward to new tastes, experiences and social connections.
Posted on
Mon, April 11, 2011
by Daniel Madrid