FOOD

Most of us love to eat. We all have tastes and textures that we just can't get enough of. Over my years of working with people trying to change their bodies and their lives, I have seen a strange relationship between people and food evolve.

In an effort to "control" their weight, food becomes the enemy. Something to be managed, stressed over and scary. Certain foods (often labeled "binge foods') become barred from the house and they become invested with such power that they are like "the boogie man" of our childhood fears.

I remember one client had this relationship with french fries. Others have it with peanut butter or with candy etc. Even if you don't have one food that you tend to be a little strange with, you may have other types of emotional eating issues. I know very few adults who do not have any kind of emotional attachment to food.

How do we strip our groceries of "power"? How do we turn this strange cycle around? Most people know exactly what they should be eating but the problem seems to be finding the way around these emotional land mines.

I have learned that the path that seems to work the best is one that leads people away from "dieting". Food needs to be celebrated and redefined. Food needs to be something you love and relish and enjoy again.

If you "diet" all day and strip all the joy out of your meals, at night, after all you do for the rest of the world, you are going to want a "reward". You will find that "forbidden fruit" impossible to resist.

How did I handle my client with the french fry obsession ? I told her I wanted her fridge FILLED with french fries. I made her promise me to eat french fries at every meal. We made huge changes as I explained all the healthy foods that she had to try to fit into her day. (The healthiest diet is based on diversity and every color of vegetable needs to be a part of our diet along with lean meats, fruits,nuts and seeds which ends up being a lot of food !).

Whatever your favorite food, there is likely a way to work it into your daily life in a way that is healthy and that can make it no longer "taboo" which is a far healthier emotional place for it to be.

Some foods (like french fries) are so unhealthy that first you need to find a way to improve them before you work them into your diet. This is easily done by possibly using sweet potatoes instead of white potatoes and then working on a healthy oil or even possibly baking them. Other foods that are pretty healthy already just need to be put into your diet in a way that makes sense and helps balance out your eating as a whole. There are many ways of doing this. If you have specific questions or need ideas, you can consult a dietitian, find great recipes on the Internet or even email me !!!!

The important thing is to stop "dieting" and take the fear/power out of food. Find the joy again in what you are eating and start to look at fueling your body like a fun puzzle. How will you fit all those great foods into your day? How will you ever be able to EAT all that food ?

I am going to start blogging some cool ways that I am helping specific people tackle these issues. I will also share some really great and pretty easy ways to make healthy food truly delicious.

Be well !!!!

Story von Holzhausen