5 Signs You Need to Heal Your Relationship with Food

Fuel Your Body, Free Your Mind - New Course Coming Soon

Food can be so wrapped up in emotions, habits, and deeply ingrained beliefs. If you grew up like I did--trying always to be smaller--you might realize your relationship with food is stressful, obsessive, or guilt-ridden. This negative relationship with food can negatively impact your mental and physical well-being for years after you stop dieting. If you’re wondering whether it’s time to take a step back and reassess, here are five signs that you may need to heal your relationship with food.

1. You Feel Guilty After Eating Certain Foods

If you constantly label foods as “good” or “bad” and feel shame after eating something “off-limits,” your mindset around food may be too rigid.

Food doesn't have an inherent morality! There are no "good" foods versus "bad" foods. There's just food!

Some food is more nutrient dense; other food is less nutrient dense. Food should nourish your body and bring enjoyment—not be a source of guilt.

The good news is you can build a healthier approach to food and eating by identifying your ingrained beliefs about food and challenging them over time.

2. You Obsess Over Calories, Macros, or the Scale

Tracking food can be helpful if you have a disease or chronic health condition. It can also be helpful if you are struggling with some kind of potential intolerance and you are trying to identify how certain foods impact your body.

But unless there's a medical reason for you to track your food down to the exact calorie or macro breakdown, tracking is almost always an extremely disordered way of approaching food and eating.

I did this for YEARS...and by "did this" I mean I tried and failed at it about 10,000 times. I tries so desperately to make my body smaller and was constantly obsessing over food. Not only was I unable to make my body smaller, I actually made my relationship with food more challenging and more unhealthy and I still have to dismantle the negative biases and beliefs that continue to affect me today!

If you find yourself constantly thinking about calories, weighing yourself multiple times a day, or avoiding social situations because you’re afraid of going over your macros, it might be time to take a step back. True health involves so much more than just our physical size or shape.

3. You Use Food as a Coping Mechanism

Do you turn to food when you’re stressed, anxious, or bored? I do! I've been doing this for my entire life--or as far back as I can remember.

I remember sneaking into the pantry for cookies when I had a hard day at school where I felt like I wasn't good enough or smart enough or pretty enough. The cookies made me feel a little better for a moment...and then I'd feel bad for eating the cookies. I took my negative feelings and put some food on top of them. And as an adult, I continued that pattern.

Emotional eating isn’t inherently bad. Food can also be celebratory! I remember getting to go out for ice cream because I had a good report card as a kid. Almost all of our holidays have special food experiences surrounding them. It's so fun to wake up on Christmas morning and make the food that makes it truly feel like Christmas!

But when food becomes your primary coping mechanism that helps you avoid your negative feelings instead of sitting with them in the moment, emotional eating puts you into a cycle of emotional highs and lows.

Learning alternative ways to regulate your negative emotions—like movement, journaling, or deep breathing—can help break this pattern.

4. You Swing Between Restriction and Overeating

If you frequently go through periods of extreme dieting followed by binge eating, this cycle can be a red flag. I'm sure you've heard the term "yo-yo dieting"--which generally means you gain and lose weight over and over again.

That's because restriction doesn't work in the long run. I can't tell you how many times I've used the excuse of "personal discipline"--some kind of moral elitist bulls**t I learned early on--to justify restricting food. But every single time--THERE ARE NO EXCEPTIONS--I restricted food, I gained the weight back and MORE.

Restriction often leads to intense cravings and overeating, leaving you feeling out of control...and when you have the belief that you are "morally bad" if you are "out of control" or don't have self-discipline, that swing back to overeating is crippling...

You can get off the roller coaster. But first you have to realize you're on it.

5. You Let Food Rules Control Your Life

Do you feel anxious if a restaurant doesn’t have a “safe” food option?

Do you avoid eating with friends because you can’t track the exact macros?

Do you feel like a "bad" person when you are unable to control yourself around certain types of food?

Strict food rules can take away the joy and flexibility of eating. And they take away your body's ability to show you what she needs! Our bodies are sooooooo smart. If given the opportunity, our bodies will tell us when we're hungry and full, what nutrients we need more of, and how we feel physically when we eat certain types of foods.

Finding a way to honor your body and health while still being able to enjoy life is key to long-term success.

Ready to Heal Your Relationship with Food?

Healing is hard. It takes longer than you think it should take. But it is ENTIRELY possible. I'm doing it right now!!

If any of these signs resonate with you, know that healing is possible, and I want to help you.

I'm currently creating and testing a new online course, "Fuel Your Body, Free Your Mind." I'm creating this course to help you break free from food guilt, find balance, and create a sustainable way of eating that actually works for your life. And I'm doing the course myself to show how it works.

Want to take the first step with me? Download my free Food & Feelings Journal to start exploring your relationship with food today.

What’s one food rule or belief you’re working on letting go of? Drop a comment below—I’d love to hear from you!