Relationship with food?

[RoadRaven]

I was wondering what everyone's relationship with food is?

Welcome to the board, is76



Traditionally (I am speaking mostly "anecdotally/social perspectives - although there is some research to support this) women's complex "relationship with food" begins in their teens. This is usually triggered by two things - often in combination

1. a close family member (brother, father, grandparent...) who makes a comment about puppy fat or about about being slightly heavy
2. saturation images in the media of thin-ish women and fad diets

Thats when we start feeling guilty about that chocolate biscuit, about having dessert/pudding, about a second helping of pie. Traditionally, men haven't gone on these self-imposed guilt trips - although more recently it appears men are also becoming obsessed in similar ways (witness the rise in male anorexia, male body image mags and products, plastic surgery to reduce or to insert pecs or calf implants).

It has taken me about 30 years to stop feeling guilty (this guilt began as a pre-teen who was told, often, by my grandmother that I had thick upper arms and thighs... response? I stopped eating...).

So... my relationship with food? It has to be disciplined because I do like it alot. However, with my increased fitness (thanks to cycling) I don't feel like fatty or sweet foods too much, and when I do I only eat small ammounts and limit myself without thinking about it now - too much and my body says "yuck".

I also have a rule which I stick to most times - only eat when I am hungry. As young children we are taught to be grateful for everything on our plate, to not watse anything, to ignore the "full" feeling and finish everything on the plate, and to finish everything on the plate often meant a reward - dessert or cookies etc...
It takes alot of discipline to learn to recognise when we are really hungry and when we are actually eating just because it is social convention (a cuppa - and biscuits) or a time habit (its noon, so I better have lunch).
The only time I make myself eat when I am not hungry is when I know I have a long ride ahead of me, and then I eat something about 2-3 hours before hand whether hungry or not.

I wish you luck in finding what will work for you... but, if like me, you were trained to ignore your body when it said "enough, I'm full", then I strongly urge you to learn to listen to your body again... its a great place to begin.