8 Tips to Change Your Relationship with Food

I’ll be the first to admit that I need to look and a certain way to feel happy when I look in the mirror, I also need to feel a certain way in my clothes to walk confidently in my body.

This is not to say that I am striving for perfection – although I definite used to. Perfect does not exist, perfect is unattainable, but what I do want is to feel great in my body with all of its apparent flaws. I’m sure that no matter how hard I work there will always be room for my body to be tighter and more sculpted.

So how can you begin to bridge the gap between being happy with the way you look, but not have a ‘perfect body’?

It all comes down to loving your body. If the journey does not begin there, then we will always be unhappy.

Our relationship with food is the perfect place to begin bridging that gap. When the main purpose for eating becomes nourishing our body and becoming intuitive with what foods feel good in our body, it changes our perspective on things.

Just like any other relationship, our relationship with food needs to be nourished. It is not something that develops overnight, it is something we need to work on daily and just like other relationship there will be downfalls, but when we get past those downfalls we experience amazing satisfaction and the gift of feeling happier, more vibrant and confident in our own bodies.

 

Here’s 8 Tips to Change your Relationship to Food:

1.Stop using food as a reward. This goes for anything; exercise, a bad day, a stressful week. Instead look beyond food and make a list of other things that you really enjoy doing and use those as a reward, especially things that don’t have any post guilt associated with them.

Go for a walk, read a book, go for a workout, take a nap, have a tea, take a yoga class,  got for a massage, meditate, practice a hobby. If the thought of any of this bores you, it’s time to start experimenting new things until you can find something you enjoy.

2. Rid your house of food you know you have little control over. It’s just mean to do that to yourself! You can have all the willpower in the world on a good day, but we all know that good days quickly turn into days when we’re stressed, tired, anxious, and the first thing we will do is turn to those sweet or salty snacks we have little control over.

This does not mean you should never enjoy the foods you love, it just means that you aren’t going to keep them around to cure your stress.

3Focus on getting maximum nutrition from your meals. When you focus on nutrition, you’ll be able to inadvertently give up sugar, which is a massive bonus! Sugar is one of the most addictive substances there is. We don’t realise just how addicted we are until we decide to take it away. But there is an amazing sense of freedom to not be at the mercy of having to eat something sweet with every meal or to be compulsive when you eat something sweet. Once you allow yourself to experience this freedom, the next time you have something sweet you will notice that it may be too sweet, because your taste buds have changed, and you no longer feel like you need to eat loads of that food to feel satisfied.

Removing sugar from your diet will allow more room for nourishing foods and open up your senses to the taste and texture of natural whole foods, which can be an adjustment if you’re used to eating a lot of processed foods.

4. Plan to eat before you’re starving. Planning your meals and prepping for the day is essential because you don’t want to end up without any food when you’re hungry. If you wait till you’re too hungry and you have no food around, you’ll likely make the wrong choice and just eat anything. So become religious about planning and prepping so you can fuel your body when it needs it.

5Start focusing on what you get to eat rather than what you don’t get to eat. Like with every other relationship in your life, if you you want to make it work you need to focus on the positive. For example if you only focus on the annoying things that your partner does then your relationship will not last, simply because none of us are perfect. Instead if you focus on the good and being grateful for that then you will be able to let some of the annoying things, because it is the good that nourishes us.

 

 

If you are always focusing on the fact that you can’t eat processed and fast foods and be healthy, then there will be little room for gratitude for the fact that you have the ability to eat healthy foods that nourish you.

6.Slow down your eating. When we eat fast we are eating unconsciously. We are not taking the time to savour our food or really enjoy it, and we end up either over-stuffed or unsatisfied.

 

 

Taking the time to chew, breathe between bites allows us to connect with our food in a  totally different way. Slowing down our meals will also improve our digestive system. Our digestion begins in the mouth, when our enzyme rich saliva is mixed with our food. It’s also much easier for our body to digest food that has been chewed properly than food that is scarfed down in large pieces.

7. Take time out for meals. Often we eat fast because we don’t have time. We scarf down breakfast so we can rush off to work, then scarf down lunch while while we work. So by the end of the day we feel like we haven’t eaten at all. This leads to overeating when we get home and finally take the time to relax.

8. Meditate with a mantra. This is one of the most powerful tools that you can use. Begin your day by meditating on what you want your relationship with food to be that day: do you want to be the version of you that eats consciously or do you just want to go through the motions? Starting the day with a meditation, even as short as 10 min can make a huge difference in your mindset for the day and allow you to be more conscious with your actions.

 

 

 

 

Hope these tips help!

Much love,

Daniela

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KARSTEN DICKIE

Hey BBBC family! My name is Karsten Dickie and I am a coach at King West Best Body Bootcamp.

Growing up I was very involved in sports. I played competitive volleyball, basketball and hockey. I was always fascinated with how the body works, nutrition, strength training and anything that involved athletics. Applying my knowledge I noticed improvement of my health, energy and body transformation which then had me hooked on weight training. That’s when I knew I wanted to help impact people’s lives and share my knowledge about exercise, mobility and nutrition to help achieve their goals.

I received my diploma from Algonquin College for Fitness & Health Promotion and I have been doing group training for six years now. Additionally, I’ve trained hockey teams, volleyball teams, large event groups, and one-on-one training.

I’m passionate about enhancing the health, fitness and overall well-being of clients. With my skills and knowledge, I help clients achieve their goals in and out of the gym.

Outside of training I like to do yoga, read, play team sports, and spend time with my friends and family.

CERTIFICATIONS/ACHIEVEMENTS:

Algonquin College Fitness & Health Promotion
CanFitPro PTS
Lucas Parker Barbell Cycling
CPR/AED2

ANDY RANDHAWA

Hey there!
I’m Andy Randhawa, the newest addition to the Best Body Bootcamp family.

You can’t hear my accent while reading this but I’m Australian.
I grew up playing a lot of sports like tennis, basketball, boxing and footy (Aussie rules football) and competed professionally in tennis.

I have transformed bodies for over 12 years and also helped them show it off on stage.

I have an extensive knowledge about training and nutrition which I can apply to my clients to bring them closer their goals.

When I’m not making people sore or make them complain while training I spend my time doing filmmaking, videography and hanging out with friends (I need new ones in Canada).

Look forward to making you get your dream body.

CERTIFICATIONS/ACHIEVEMENTS:

Diploma of Fitness
Bachelors of Exercise Science
BoxFit Level 1&2

DANIELA NAHAS

My journey in fitness and health began about 15 years ago. Before that, like many of you I struggled with yo-yo dieting, and doing countless hours of cardio just to stay looking slim. Boy I wish I could talk some sense into my past self! But health is a journey and I am so grateful for all of my experiences, which have shaped what I have to offer our members today.
Over the years I have experienced first hand the life changing benefits of incorporating the right kind of exercise into my life. That motivated me to become a personal trainer 15 years ago, and it still continues to motivate me today. I want everyone to be able to to experience what exercise can do for their well being, self confidence and physique.
I used to struggle with my nutrition in a big way, so I completely empathize with you, if this is the hardest part for you when it comes to seeing long term change. I once struggled with eating disorders, followed by any years of a very negative relationship to food, even during my initial years as a personal trainer.

It occurred to me one day that I could not help my clients make changes and make better choices, without first focusing on myself. It was through completing my Holistic Lifestyle Coach Certification that I was able to change my relationship to food and be able to genuinely help clients get closer to their goals.

My increasing passion for nutrition and health led me to become certified as a Health Coach. As a health coach, I am able to help my clients delve deeper into your relationship with food and their health. What lies beneath our patterns and habits is fascinating and when you can tap into that it can have an incredibly powerful impact on our lives, and bring about real change!

These days I leave most of the bootcamp training to our awesome trainers, but I continue to share my passion for nutrition and fitness in our private member facebook group and work on our ever evolving member offerings.

My other passion? I am the luckiest mom to a 9-year-old boy. He keeps me on my toes and I must admit has helped me grow in ways I never thought possible. Together with hubby Roger Nahas, we like to spend plenty of time outdoors, along with the latest family hobby – board games.

When I get me time, I like to do yoga, read, cook, and spend time in nature.

I look forward to having you join us!

CERTIFICATIONS/ACHIEVEMENTS:

Health Coach Certification – Health Coach Institute
C.H.E.K Holistic Lifestyle Coach Level 2
C.H.E.K Holistic Lifestyle Coach Level 1
Scientific Core Training , C.H.E.K Institute
Program Design, C.H.E.K Institute
Human Kinetics Exercise Anatomy
SPI Advanced Training for General Fitness
SPI Technical Aspects of Strength Training
SPI Nutrition for Sport and Performance
Emergency First Aid & CPR

ROGER NAHAS

My journey in fitness and nutrition is a little different than most. You see, I’m a former fat kid! The kid who was a total introvert! I was always the guy who was too embarrassed to take his shirt off at the beach! But I remember the day everything changed for me – I looked in the mirror and wasn’t happy with what I saw. I made the decision to change my body and my life. It was 1999 and I took a before pic and measurements and body fat and I entered the Body for Life Challenge. Over the next 90 days, I completely changed my eating habits, and worked out regularly. I actually was awarded the Canadian Grand Champion for my age category!

I was no longer the fat kid. I looked forward to getting to a beach so I could take my shirt off and I became more outgoing and fun! After seeing the difference it made in my life I decided that I wanted to dedicate my life to helping people realize the amazing benefits of optimal health and fitness.

I started out as most trainers do in your typical gym. After years of working in a gym setting, I was getting disillusioned with how Big Box Gyms operated. I wanted to train people functionally and to make their bodies strong in the movements they used in the real word. I wanted to make working with a highly trained instructor more affordable, and I wanted to make fitness fun because let’s face it; if you are having a blast, it makes it that much easier to stick to it. The result was the launching of Best Body . I have to tell you that although I looked great in the after pic above, the food and exercise plans I followed to get that after pic, hurt me in the long run. It made me look good from the outside but my body was breaking down on the inside. The way I was working out and what I thought was healthy eating was in fact hurting me in the long run. I was over training, taking longer to recover from my workouts, I tore my rotator cuff and had gut issues. Nothing I could do was helping and then I was introduced to a C.H.E.K Holistic Lifestyle Coach who helped me. Turns out I was stressing my body beyond repair and then giving it food that wasn’t helping but was actually stressing my body even more. He made me look at my body and the food I put into it in a totally different way.

That lead me to complete my certification as a C.H.E.K Holistic Lifestyle Coach and we pass that knowledge on and encourage holistic nutrition to our members.

In addition to running the day-to-day operations of Best Body Bootcamp, I also work with individual clients doing fitness training as well as holistic nutrition and lifestyle coaching.

When I’ve got a bit of free time, I spend as much of it as possible with my wife and son, I bike year round, play hockey, practice Tai Chi daily, read & take courses.

I hope to see you soon so we can transform your body and life!

CERTIFICATIONS/ACHIEVEMENTS:

C.H.E.K Golf Performance Specialist
C.H.E.K Holistic Lifestyle Coach Level 2
C.H.E.K Holistic Lifestyle Coach Level 1
Scientific Core Training , C.H.E.K Institute
C.H.E.K Golf Performance Specialist
C.H.E.K Holistic Lifestyle Coach Level 2
C.H.E.K Holistic Lifestyle Coach Level 1
Program Design, C.H.E.K Institute
Program Design, C.H.E.K Institute
Scientific Core Training , C.H.E.K Institute

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It took about two months for me to notice an incredible difference in my body. I toned my arms, butt and legs and I feel strong and fit. Every workout at Best Body Bootcamp challenges me to do better.

Dayna Gourley