How to Get a Handle on Emotional Eating

Is Your Relationship with Food Normal?

If you eat for the wrong reasons, the first step to losing weight could be taking control of your mindset about food
By Hollis Templeton
 

4 Signs Your Relationship with Food is Unhealthy

Is Your Relationship with Food Normal? // Plate with questions on it © Thinkstock

Image: Thinkstock

There’s a powerful connection between you and what’s on your plate. Food fuels your body for an 8-hour workday, a gym session, and an evening of laundry and kid-chasing. It gears the mind for rapid-fire email response and helps you focus on your never-ending to-do list. And, sometimes, a delicious meal or decadent dessert just makes you plain happy.

But like any relationship, the one you have with food can get complicated. “Having an unhealthy relationship with what you eat means you turn to food for reasons other than physical hunger and keep eating beyond physical satisfaction,” explains Geneen Roth, author of Women, Food and God: An Unexpected Path to Almost Everything. In fact, a pattern of bringing fork to mouth for the wrong reasons—and in the wrong ways—could be classified as disordered.

We know, you have enough to think about as it is without pondering how you feel about your dinner. But unhealthy eating patterns can have a big impact on your waistline and your well-being. Case in point: A small study of middle-aged women published in Health Education & Behavior linked attitudes toward food with obesity risk factors, like BMI and body fat percentage, and one’s ability to manage their weight.

The researchers found that “impulsive eaters”—those who “live to eat” or use food as a means to relax, manage stress, or feel better emotionally—and “guilt-ridden dieters”—those who experience an ever-present temptation to eat and are always trying to lose weight—were the most likely to show signs of obesity.

Other studies have shown that people with binge eating disorder report more health problems, stress, trouble sleeping, and suicidal thoughts than people without an eating disorder do.

Thing is, you can’t just break up with food. An unhealthy relationship has to be met head-on before you’ll have a chance at maintaining a healthy, balanced diet and losing weight. Here, we’ve identified four signs that your eating behaviors have taken an unhealthy turn, along with tips for getting back on track.

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