GUEST POST: Cultivating a Healthy Relationship with Food

When you were diagnosed with PCOS, chances are, you took it well when the doctor prescribed you the proper medication or encouraged you to lead an active lifestyle. But being asked to change your diet was perhaps a tougher pill to swallow.

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Our Complicated Relationship with Food

It goes without saying that society, in general, is fixated on dieting. In fact, Psychology Today reports that the average person will try 162 diets in the course of their lifetime. Many people will try a trendy diet in hopes to achieve their dream body. But for women with PCOS, it’s a much different story, as you’re advised to lose weight as part of your treatment. This has sadly caused many women to develop an unhealthy relationship with food. After all, when we hear the word ‘diet’, we tend to set unrealistic standards of how our bodies should be like — from getting abs to even looking like a Victoria’s Secret Angel. However, your 'diet’ isn’t meant for a drastic body change. Instead, it’s supposed to mitigate your insulin sensitivity.

Dieting Isn’t the Answer

Society’s diet culture has changed the way we view food. We no longer see it for its real purpose, which is a source of nourishment. Instead, we have made food the enemy of our bodies. And in turn, we deprive ourselves of the healing our bodies rightfully deserve. To this end, it’s important for both your physical and mental health to cultivate a healthy relationship with food — one that does not revolve around fear and self-hate. But of course, this is easier said than done. Being diagnosed with PCOS is already a heavy thing to process, and the changes in your body don’t make things any easier.

A Healthier Way of Eating

If you’re still determined to live your best life, it’s vital to make peace with food. To see food in a good light once more, here are some tips to help you out.

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Schedule Your Meals

In our Does It Matter When You Eat for PCOS? post, we shared how it’s not just about what you eat, but also about when you eat it. For instance, a good first step towards a healthier relationship with food would be starting your day with a blood sugar-stabilizing meal. This helps lower the chances of developing unhealthy cravings throughout the day. Try starting your day with a bowl of buckwheat granola or a hearty omelet. Then, you can eat a moderate lunch and a light dinner. Not only will doing this help promote your insulin sensitivity and hormones, but it will also help you find a healthy balance with food. When we eat at regular intervals, we go back to the real purpose of eating — nourishing our bodies with the nutrients it deserves.

Detox Gently

Apart from eating cruciferous vegetables to help detoxify the excess estrogen in your body, you should also consider detoxing gently to promote your overall health. It’s important to be wary of popular detoxes that might be too harsh on your body or only serve to throw off your internal balance even more. Pretty Me’s review of the popular Detoxi Slim capsules underscores the importance of always looking through the ingredients of any commercial product, and then doing your research on each. Garcinia extract, for instance, can help convert stored fat into energy and lower your cholesterol, while chromium can help reduce blood sugar, which is very important for women with PCOS. Overall, a gentle detox is great to help flush out any toxins that could — literally and figuratively — weigh heavy on you.

Mindfully Meditate

To truly find peace with food again, it is essential to determine the root cause of your eating troubles. With all the changes in your body, it’s easy for your mind to be filled with negative thoughts about the way you look. And if you find yourself sulking, you should consider reconnecting with yourself. Medium’s feature on mindful meditation can help curb emotional eating and even binge eating episodes, according to a study published in the Eating Behaviors Journal. This is because it helps you release those unpleasant thoughts, and ultimately, teaches you to value your overall well-being. The bottom line, of course, is to always remember that you aren’t defined by your shape or size.

Article specially written for laurence-annez.com by Annie Labell