Like any relationship, your relationship with food needs attention and work. Your relationship with food is also very important to your overall health. Ask yourself what is your relationship with food? Is it defeating or victorious? Are you obsessed with gorging on your favorite treats, or are you preoccupied with counting calories, carbs and fat grams? Obsessions are not healthy and can lead to negative behaviors.

If you feel like food is your enemy, then it is time to change your mindset. Your life will change for the better once you discover peaceful eating and ingrain healthy food habits into your daily routine. If you are depriving yourself of your favorite foods and then find yourself breaking down and over-indulging, something is wrong.

Yes, splurging is part of a healthy diet, but if this is a frequent pattern, then it is time to develop some positive and healthy habits. Here are some ways to start developing a healthy relationship with food. Be patient. If some of your food habits are over a decade old, then don’t expect to shake them in the first week!

Spoil your supper. Yes, you heard me. Eat something healthy, like a piece of fruit, yogurt or a handful of nuts one to two hours before dinner. This will help you control your portions at dinner, leading to a faster metabolism and more stable blood sugars.

Plate presentation. Did you know that you also eat with your eyes? Mindless eaters will gobble down a heap of food without thinking twice. If you take the time to plate up your food to look more eye appealing with lots of color from fruits and vegetables, you will most likely eat slower and appreciate the food’s presentation and taste. By no means do you have to serve your family a plate that represents a five star restaurant! But try to put a conscious effort into eating off a nice plate of arranged food, compared to eating out of grease-stained paper bag from the drive through!

If you fall off the healthy eating band wagon, jump right back on. Let’s face it – some of us have an all-or-nothing attitude with many aspects of our life; this can lead to failure in the end. How many times have you started a healthy eating plan and threw in the towel the minute you had something not so healthy? It’s okay to eat junk food once in a while. Enjoy it at that moment and then resume your healthy eating. The 500 calories from your splurge will not set you back as much as you think. Life happens and you need to be prepared to deal with the unexpected food temptations. Otherwise, the nasty cycle of yo-yo dieting could be in your future.

“To eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art.”
- La Rochefoucauld