The joy of food, its colors, textures, tastes, and the pleasure of sharing it with friends, family or coworkers. All of these joys equate to nourishment. Over the past several decades, people have made the joy of food and sharing it a complex activity. Our relationship with food has shifted, causing conflict when eating something delicious and feeling guilty. It may be the carbohydrates in pasta or fresh bread served at an elegant restaurant. Some discuss sugar in cakes or cookies, even though they don’t mean to throw a wet blanket over the birthday or holiday party.
What happened to enjoying the natural human tradition of breaking bread in good company without guilt? Without ruining the pleasure of food for everyone in earshot? Why is our relationship with food so often filled with shame and hesitation? Is there an alternative to the vicious cycle of dieting, losing and re-gaining weight and worrying constantly about food?
“Every diet works, but in the short run,” said Judith Matz, Director of the Chicago Center for Overcoming Overeating and author of The Diet Survivors Handbook, in an interview on To Your Good Health Radio. “What we know is that 95-to-98 percent of people will gain back the weight and two-thirds will actually end up heavier than their pre-diet weight.”
Matz mission is “attuned eating”, trusting our bodies to know how much and when to eat. It’s re-learning to listen to your body for signs of true hunger and then eating exactly what you’re hungry for. It’s about rediscovering a healthy relationship with food, where you choose from a variety of foods to feel nutritionally satisfied.
Psychological issues can sometimes complicate the process of cultivating a healthy relationship with food. Making it difficult to differentiate between physical hunger and emotional eating. In that case, Matz suggests reading to get more knowledgeable about the possible causes or getting counseling to identify the deeper issues that spur compulsive eating. That offers different ways to work through emotional prompts for needs that may not be physical hunger.
“As clients end their compulsive eating by becoming attuned eaters, they usually hope they’ll lose weight”, said Matz in an article in Psychotherapy Networker in 2011. “I empathize with that wish, and point out that if weight loss occurs, it’ll be a side effect of normalizing their eating". Since weight is the result of complex factors still not completely understood. Matz states, my goal is to help clients take better care of, and feel comfortable in their bodies, no matter their size.
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References:
Matz, Judith, “Recipe for Life,” Psychotherapy Networker, January/February 2011.
Matz, Judith, “Are Your Diet and Nutrition Issues Weighing You Down?" on To Your Good Health Radio with David Friedman.
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