If you would, I want you to take a quick assessment with me. Take a look at these questions and answer them as honestly as you can…
When you are done eating, do you feel judgmental of yourself?
Is it difficult for you to say no to food when it is offered to you, or when the thought occurs to you to eat?
Do you consider food a release or refuge at the end of a hard day?
Do your cravings control your grocery shopping?
Instead of throwing them away, do you feel obligated to eat unhealthy foods that you have purchased on a whim in a moment of strong emotion?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may be in a toxic relationship with food!
We do not just relate to other people – we relate to money, time, work… even our own thoughts. We relate to all the different major parts of our lives. We have a way of interacting with these things that works just like any person-to-person relationship.
And yes, these relationships absolutely can be toxic!
For example, we may talk about how much we love sugar. Many people find themselves coming back for a second slice of cake or indulging in sugary drinks day after day. But do these things love us in return? What kind of impact do they have on our ability to think? On our mood? Our energy?
Consider how you feel after you have eaten a hearty helping of something sweet. It may have been enjoyable for a moment, but now that that moment is over, how do you feel?
Do you feel fueled, energized, and ready to take on the world? Are you thinking clearly? Are you excited and exhilarated? Or do you feel icky and tired, like you need to take a nap? Sugar spikes us and then it crashes us – hard.
But for many of us, that does not stop us from going back to sweet stuff when it is presented to us again. After all, if we “love” sugar, it will be difficult to resist.
What many of us call love is actually an addiction… a chemical attachment to something that taxes us.
Some toxic relationships keep us returning over and over again to someone who does not love us back. We may keep reaching out, trying to fill the need in us, but they resist us, and we suffer the consequences because of it.
Yet we keep trying. In a way, these relationships keep us captive… locked in a vicious cycle.
The food industry has convinced us that “fun” foods will refresh us – but really, they have bet that one bite is enough to keep us coming back for more and more and more. They have contributed to the cycle.
Does your food make you feel like you are trapped, or does it empower you? Does it fuel the life you want to live or the life you must accept by default?
You do not have to accept less than your best life.
If the questions I asked before resonated with you, this is your sign to take action. You deserve better and you have the power to break the cycle.
Try to curb your sugar cravings this week and listen to your body when it responds. The more you listen, the more you learn; the more you learn, the more empowering your choices become, and the closer you get to living the healthy life that loves you.
I promise you will not regret it 🙂
Make today your masterpiece!
Florina
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