Did you know that over the course of a month you will eat an average of 120 times? Breaking it down further, if you have an average of three food options per meal, you’re up to at least 360 food choices every month. That’s a lot of dealings with food, which can be hard if you are trying to lose weight. One of the common complaints I hear from dieters is this: “I resent I have to think about food so much. Why can’t it just be easy?” If you feel resentful toward food, here’s how to not be mad at food.
I get feeling resentful and mad at food. It plays a significant role in your life and has a tremendous impact on your weight.
I spent a lot of time feeling angry at food during my years of obesity. I felt as though:
- Food made me fat.
- Food was everywhere.
- Food was good.
- Food was bad.
- Food was controlling my life.
It frustrated me that I had to spend so much time thinking about something that caused me so much angst. Friends who were thin didn’t seem to spend nearly the amount of time obsessing over food that I did.
When I was dieting I thought about all the foods I couldn’t or shouldn’t have. When I wasn’t dieting I thought about all the foods I would have. In both cases, I felt angry at food.
Of course, these feelings didn’t help my weight loss efforts. Instead, feeling resentful over the fact that I had to think about and plan the foods I needed to eat in order to get healthy just made me less likely to make good choices.
The Root of the Matter
Being mad at food and resenting the fact you have to be careful with your food choices often has a root cause.
What’s the cause? Feeling sorry for yourself.
- You feel sorry for yourself because you can’t eat like you assume everyone else does.
- You feel sorry for yourself because you have to track your food or avoid certain foods altogether.
- You feel sorry for yourself because you feel deprived.
Turn Your Thinking Around
When you diet, thoughts about your food choices often become all encompassing. The focus of your everyday life seems to revolve around food. You’ve probably had thoughts like this run through your head throughout the day: “What should I have for breakfast, should I bring my lunch or buy it, can I safely go out to dinner, what will people think of me if I have dessert?”
Instead of focusing on food as a bad thing, shift your thinking to treating food in the same way you think about other routine decisions.
For example, do you resent brushing your teeth, taking a shower, doing laundry, or shopping for necessities?
Probably not.
Stop thinking about food as the enemy to a full life and instead think about it as a fun, necessary part of your day. Think about it as an opportunity to learn how to feed your body healthy food that will make you look and feel better.
When I turned my thinking around from resentment to adventure, I stopped feeling mad at food. That shift in my thought process was an important step in weight loss success and in eventual maintenance.
