How to Heal Your Relationship with Food

Our relationship with food can be tricky! If you find yourself feeling overwhelmed or guilted out when it comes to food, here are 3 food freedom tips that will help you feel confident, empowered, and free.

Because you’re worthy of feeling good in your body and food can be a really empowering tool to help you feel good in your own skin from the inside out.

PS: Here at The Fit Flamingo you’ll find no guilt, no shame, and no one-size-fits-all approach. Just creative, empowering, heart-filled wellness that inspires you to feel good in your body from the inside out!!

How to Heal Your Relationship with Food

Hey friend, I’m Madison and welcome to The Fit Flamingo! In this video, I’m sharing 3 Food Freedom tips that will help you heal your relationship with food. Because we all have a relationship with food. So instead of just telling you what changes to make, what foods to eat, or what diet you should be on, I want you to feel empowered to navigate meals with confidence, knowing that you know what’s best for your body – you know what foods light you up and help you feel your best and how to listen to your body when it comes to things like food cravings, portion sizes, and what to order on menus. So let’s dive in.

This is my 3-step process of living out food freedom day to day:

Observe yourself without judgment

First things first, before you make any changes or start healing your relationship with food, simply begin to observe yourself without judgment. Start becoming aware of the relationship you have with food. Notice and become aware – without judging yourself – of any patterns, triggers, fears, or beliefs you have when it comes to food. Usually when it comes to food, it’s really easy to feel ashamed, overwhelmed, or even all or nothing. That’s why I find it so helpful to suspend the judgment so you can start to understand why you make the food choices you make. And I want you to know that you are making the food choices you’re making and you have the food habits you have because it really does stem from a place of self protection. Food can provide comfort or remind us of home or a place of comfort. It’s something we can control when our world feels out of control. Food is so dynamic and the relationship we have with food is so dynamic as well. So when you’re really starting out on this journey of healing your relationship with food, it’s so important to become aware of your habits and beliefs and patterns around food without judgment. You can look at yourself through this lens of love and be able to look back and see why you do what you do and how it really does stem from you wanting to protect yourself.

Get clear on how you want to feel

Next, get clear on how you want to feel. How do you want to feel everyday from the moment you wake up to the moment your head hits the pillow and you fall asleep? Spend some time journaling about your perfect day or write out all the words that come to mind when you think about how you want to feel everyday. From there, start thinking of all the foods and meals and drinks that help you feel that way. Food now gets to be a tool that helps you feel the way you want to feel. It no longer holds you back or holds you hostage. And I love this idea that joy is a nutrient. So this doesn’t just go for the foods that are quote-on-quote “good” for you. What foods light you up and help you celebrate life and feel your best? Lean into joy and savor every bit. Food is something we are meant to enjoy. We just want to make sure it’s working for us and not against us! With this in mind, remember to drop the food labels like we talk about in this video [insert 1st food freedom video here]. Also, getting in the kitchen more to make meals at home is a great way to start learning how to connect with food and get creative with real, whole ingredients.

Give yourself permission to experiment

Lastly, give yourself permission to experiment. This one is a game changer, especially if you notice yourself feeling a lot of guilt and shame after meals. Every meal is an opportunity to try again. And like any relationship, you’re going to experience highs and lows. And you may notice that your relationship with food looks different in every season of life and that’s OKAY!! And actually, that’s something we can honor and celebrate.

When you give yourself permission to experiment you’re creating more space for you to see what works for you and what doesn’t. Things are always going to eb and flow and shift and change and it can be really tough to navigate the world of food, especially when new diets pop up or there are new trends or new foods that everyone raves about.

Remember, you know your body better than anyone else. You’re the expert of you.

Part of the food freedom journey is learning how to listen to your body and trust your own intuition when it comes to food cravings, portion sizes, and what to order on menus or what to buy when you go grocery shopping. Just like anything else in life, you’ll get better and better at that with time, trial and error, failing, forgiving yourself, and trying again. This requires self-compassion and a whole lot of grace but you can celebrate yourself every time you’re willing to experiment and try again because that’s really where the magic is.

Friend, it doesn’t have to be all or nothing anymore. You can experience freedom when it comes to food.

Little by little, you’re learning how to listen to your body and trust your gut when it comes to food. I’m celebrating you and sending you so much love. 

If you have any questions about food freedom or nutrition in general, leave them in the comments below. I’m in your corner!!

If you’re wanting to work 1-on-1 together to heal your relationship with food and find creative solutions that work for YOU & YOUR body, click here to fill out my inquiry form and schedule your first call.

With that friend, I’m wrapping this up. Make sure you subscribe to our YouTube channel because we’ll be sharing more Food Freedom tips here at The Fit Flamingo. But for now, I’m signing off and sending you so much love. You are enough and I hope you feel empowered to heal your relationship with food as you live your best energized, empowered, vibrant, and free life!!

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