New Zealand psychologists, understand the pervasive influence of external comments on food and body image that contribute to fraught relationships with eating. Registered Dietician Gayle Landau provides insights into overcoming self-judgment and fear, offering pathways for individuals and clients to foster a more peaceful and accepting approach to food.
How did our relationship with food become so fraught? Very often, clients describe feelings of self-loathing after eating a particular food or particular quantity of food. There is a battle going on, where issues of control, self-judgment and fear emerge strongly. Many of us and our clients have been influenced by others in our worlds commenting on our body size and our food intake; 'do you really need that extra piece of cake?' is the kind of judgment we have internalised from the external voices around us, leading to a complicated relationship with food. Foods seem to be divided into categories of 'allowed' and 'not allowed', and beyond the prescriptions of weight loss regimes, there are concerns around sugar, Low versus high GI, processed foods, and ethical concerns about animal products, which add layers and layers of complexity. Registered Dietician Gayle Landau offers some ideas about how individuals might begin to make peace with food, amid all this complexity. If you'd like to view Gayle's full CPD-accredited talk, have a look here.
-Leanne