Do you feel like food controls your life?

If so, there’s good news: it doesn’t have to!

Our perceptions of certain foods give them power. Did you know that when you restrict yourself from eating a certain food, you actually make that food look more appealing? The more you tell yourself to not eat the cake, pizza, pasta, or any other food, the more and more you want it! When you do finally eat that “bad” food, the feel-good reward in your brain increases, which can result in overeating or bingeing. The guilt that follows after “giving in” to the food causes you to restrict again, only later to binge or overeat again, and then repeating this cycle. Sound familiar?

Have you ever chosen to eat a particular food based on your mood at the time? Or have you noticed a pattern in your food choices based off of your stress level, mood, or time of day? Many of us maintain some sort of eating pattern from day to day, but have you ever stopped to think about how those foods make you feel after you eat them, mentally and physically?

Keeping a food and mood journal can help us recognize patterns in food choices, moods, and more. 

Have you wanted to learn how to cook, but don’t feel like you can? The truth is: anyone can cook! As long as you practice being safe in the kitchen, there is no one right way to cook.

Cooking can transport you away from the stresses of your daily life by getting your hands active. Plus, you will create something delicious to eat! Additionally, a study in 2017 found that there are psychological benefits to cooking! Cooking can increase your socialization, self-esteem, state of mind, and quality of life over time.

Mindfulness is our innate ability to be mentally present with what you are doing in any given moment. As humans, we are born with the ability to be aware of our surroundings and how we interact with them. However, our lives can be filled with distractions that make it very difficult to practice mindfulness. As a result, we can become out-of-touch with our physical feelings, emotions, and even our levels of hunger and fullness.

We ave all heard of the common phrase: “I cry myself to sleep” which is often associated with depression, but did you know that our relationship with food could also be an indication of depression? Do you find yourself eating even you are full? Have you found yourself reaching out to food when sad? Has food become your companion that you reach out to for comfort? D you find that no matter how you try it is as if an invisible force is ruling more towards eating more? This may be a sign that there are deeper issues that might need to be addressed.

Have you ever felt so overwhelmed by everything that needed to be done to a point where you were paralyzed to act on any of it? I have been there. When our brain is overwhelmed, it shuts down and stops doing what it is supposed to do-find solutions.

You have a project that needs to be completed, your to-do-list is four pages long, you feel like you are stuck in your career, you feel like you are failing at being a good parent, a good son or daughter, a good spouse, a good friend, a good student, or even a good employee.  You look around and everyone seems to have it together. You panic.

This is an uncomfortable place to be. Your creativity is stifled by the anxiety. You do not like how you feel. You are experiencing panic, fear, sadness, and overwhelming feelings of hopelessness. You feel like a failure. You have a million questions going through your head. Will things ever get better? Do I have what it takes? Will I ever be happy again? Why me? Why now? A good nights sleep becomes all but a dream. Your loved ones suffer. Their presence that once was filing you with joy is all of a sudden annoying. You no longer enjoy the things that you used to enjoy.