Food – so simple yet so complex. At its core, food is nourishment for our body, meant to help us live and grow. However, food has become so much more than that. Food is nostalgia, taking us back to the smell of Grandma’s fresh baked cookies after coming in from playing outside. Food is curiosity, playing with new flavors and textures to create something entirely new to entertain our palates. Food is healing, such as Mom’s chicken noodle soup to cure the common cold. Food is enjoyment, bringing people together to spread conversation over a meal. Food is comfort, like a pint of ice cream after a rough break-up. Food is family, friends, culture, emotions – it is a part of who we are.
What does food mean to you?
This deep, intricate relationship with food sometimes leads us to lose control over eating. For example, we might lose touch with our body’s hunger and fullness cues, which can lead to a cycle of overeating and guilt.
It’s okay, we all go through it. The stress of finals, the late night “drunchies”, the loss of a family member, friend, or lover – in all these scenarios, we turn to food to help us through. But is it right? Is it wrong? Why do we do this? The short answer is: food makes us feel good! Is there such thing as too much of a good thing? Maybe, if that good thing causes adverse health consequences – like diabetes and heart disease.
So, how do we navigate this phenomenon? To start, when we are emotionally eating (eating because we are bored, upset, tired, stressed, sad, etc.), we are losing sight of our hunger and fullness cues – the signals that tell us when to eat and when to stop (trust your body!). Secondly, we can ask ourselves what is at the core of this eating – why are we stressed? Why are we sad? If we can answer those questions, we can find ways to combat the emotions without always turning to food, such as:
- Talking about it with a friend
- Listening to music
- Going for a walk or bike ride
- Get outside – see the sun, smell the flowers, enjoy nature
- Doing whatever it is that you enjoy
Lastly, allow yourself to freely and wholeheartedly eat what it is that YOU think you need. Allowing yourself to let go of the guilt and say “Hey, it’s finals week, and this will pass, but for now I am going to eat that candy bar and not worry about it.” Throw the concept of ‘cheat days’ out the door and remember that food is not inherently good or bad – we should never feel guilt around eating. In essence, we just have food for the body and food for the soul.
Kristina is from the East Bay. She graduated with a degree in biology and is currently a graduate student in the nutrition program with the hopes of becoming a registered dietitian. Kristina loves airplanes and traveling and has studied abroad in Argentina.
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