How to Tell if You Have an Unhealthy Relationship with Food

Want to know if you have an unhealthy relationship with food? It doesn't take a lot of digging deep to figure it out; you just need to notice the red flags. And believe me, there are a lot of red flags in life. Enter: 

The creep at the bar who won't take the hint. Yet we keep being nice.

The guy who gives us the bare minimum while talking to other girls at the same time. Yet we keep wondering why we can't find a nice guy.

The toxic friend who lives to manipulate and put you down. Yet we keep wondering why we have such low self-esteem.

We can usually spot them from a mile away, but there are many times we continue to stay in the same pattern. Insert 19-23 year old Kelly.

But now, I'ma changed 32 year old who likes to sit home watching Yellowstone with her husband and happily falls asleep by 8:30.

What about food, and what about our diets? What about how we speak to ourselves after we consume foods we enjoy, even though they aren't necessarily the healthiest? What about how many times we google 'do I have an unhealthy relationship with food?'

Insert red flags.

And, like the creep at the bar, they keep coming back.

Something that many people don't examine is our relationship with food. How we feel after we eat, how we speak to ourselves and how we view food, the list doesn't end. It all boils down to our relationship with food.

However, many of us have a shitty relationship with food. And the kicker? It isn't our fault.

Let's thank dieting, social media, photoshop, the diet industry, and before and after pictures. I mean... the academy awards speech doesn't stop there.

Unsure if you have a negative relationship with food? Here are some tell-tale signs.

1. You tell yourself you 'can't be trusted' around certain foods.
2. Exercising to 'earn' the food you are going to eat
3. Exercising to 'work off' the food you just ate.
4. Eating certain foods in private with no one around.
5. The food you consume on a weekday versus weekend is DRASTICALLY different.
6. You cope with food.
7. Having guilt or putting yourself down if you eat something you don't consider healthy.
8. Categorizing yourself as 'being good' or 'being bad' depending on what you ate.
9. You take part in 'last supper' mentality before you start a diet.
10. Eating extremely healthy in public in front of others, and the opposite alone.

Do any of these resonate with you? This list is not exhaustive, but if you answered yes to one or more, we have some work to do. And that is perfectly okay.

There are many things you can do to heal your relationship with food. It needs to be gradual, and you must give yourself grace in the process. 

Want to get started? Take the Quiz to see what type of eater you are - so you can find out why you eat when you're not hungry & get tips to stop!