Making Food Your Friend: A New Approach to Healthy Living
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Natalie Stein
CDC Lifestyle Coach, Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist, and expert in nutrition, public health, and healthy lifestyle choices
In this article:
- Shifting from a "foe" mindset to a "partnership" mindset can support longer-term success for weight and health management
- You can use nutrients like fiber and protein to manage hunger and satiety hormones to support your efforts to lose weight or manage chronic conditions
- Focus on nutrient-dense, healthy foods to replace less healthy foods can help you shift your attitude from feeling deprived to feeling empowered when it comes to food choices.
- Over time, your taste buds may change so that healthy choices like naturally sweet foods or low-sodium herbs and spices may seem more appealing.
- Mindful eating can help reconnect with natural hunger cues and reduce emotional eating.
- Lark can support you 24/7 as you make healthy choices to lose weight and manage blood sugar, blood pressure, or other conditions with or without GLP-1s.
How’s your relationship with food? Is food your friend, your foe, or something else? Everyone has to eat, so we all have a relationship with food.
For many people who are focused on managing weight or living healthy, it can feel like food gets in the way of goals. We’re used to hearing about what we shouldn’t eat, or that specific foods can drive up weight, blood sugar, or blood sugar. But it’s possible to turn around a relationship with food.
With a shift in attitude, food can become a friend. It can support health, energy, and well-being. It can be a source of joy, comfort, and even connection.
Here are some ways to make food your friend.
From Enemy to Ally: Look for Benefits from Food
Food can do so many positive things for health and well-being. So that food can do more for your body and spirit, look for beneficial nutrients when you can.
| To get more… | Because they can… | Choose more… | And less… | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heart-healthy fats | Lower cholesterol levels Improve blood sugar control Support brain health |
Nuts, peanuts, seeds, avocado, and vegetable oils | Butter, hydrogenated oils, shortening | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lean protein | Repair body tissues Promote fullness Maintain muscle mass |
Fish, skinless poultry, beans, lentils, tofu, and reduced-fat dairy | Fried meats, high-fat cold cuts, sausage | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Antioxidants | Reduce inflammation Protect cells from damage Support immune function |
Berries, dark leafy greens, and colorful peppers | Highly processed snacks with artificial colors | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dietary fiber | Diabetes Spectrum. You can practice listening to your body’s hunger and fullness cues by using a hunger and fullness scale such as the following.
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