Food-Mood Connection: The Link Between Food and Your Mood

The Food-Mood connection is real.

How many times have you experienced the emotion called HANGRY?

Or felt a particular craving?

How often have you turned to fries, cookies, ice-cream, or chocolate to lift your mood after a terrible day?

And if you have children, how often have you find yourself handing them their favorite candy in exchange for them to stop crying?

I bet that you can think of an answer to almost, if not all, of these.

That right there is what the food-mood connection is.

Hence, it is important to be picky about what you get your body to use it.

The more you eat a certain food, the more your body likes it, and then eventually craves it.

Sometimes, the addiction to a particular food happens instantly.  

If you continue to feed your body unhealthy foods, this food-mood connection can have you going down a vicious cycle of eating, craving, and depending on unhealthy foods (to lift your mood) for the rest of your life.

Nothing is wrong with the occasional eating of candy, cake, cookies, or all that good stuff. But there is a better way to do it.

There is a way for you to make your health a priority without thinking too much of it, while still indulging in your favorite treats to the point where you no longer crave them.

Here is how you can create a Healthy Food-Mood Connection

1

Practice Meal-Planning

Meal-Planning is the name of the game when it comes to changing your diet.

And what your body craves.

If someone never had Caribbean food, will they crave it? Probably not.

What your body craves in your daily life, is dependent on what you feed it.

With meal-planning, you have a clear idea of what you will be eating at every meal. You also know what snacks you have available to you so that you can reach for them when you need them.

At the time that you are creating your meal plan, you have the chance to plan healthy meals and healthy snacks. Then when you feel the need to eat, you just reach for what is already there according to the plan.

Over time, your body will no longer crave sugary or unhealthy foods because you are a regular healthy eater.

The link between food and your mood might still be there but at least this time, you are craving foods that are good for your body.

2

Keep Healthy Snacks on Hand

If you are someone that likes to snack throughout the day, make sure that you are catering to it as a part of your meal plan.

Prepare a variety of healthy, nutritious snacks that can be made and stored over a period of a few days or more.

Before leaving your home, place one or more of those snacks inside of your bag and reach for it whenever you feel the need.

This saves you from having to buy a random item at the local corner store, that might just become your new unwanted food addiction.

I understand that it is impossible to cut out all your favorite unhealthy treats. I, myself, think that I cannot live without coke cola, but I do not crave it. Occasionally, I will make the choice to have 1 small can with a pack of Oreos because I like to, not because I must.  

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4

Eat a Balanced Diet

A Balanced Diet is one of the best ways to create a healthy food-mood connection.

It is not a ‘diet’ in the sense of it having a time limit.

Instead, it is a permanent way of eating that can be practiced within your household to secure good health for you and your family.

A Balanced diet, also called a Healthy Diet, focuses on providing your body with all the necessary nutrients it needs without indulging. This pattern of eating is guaranteed to maintain good health for the long-term.

It brings healthy eating to the forefront but still allows you to enjoy your favorite treats if you wish.

This way your relationship with healthy foods can take priority over unhealthy foods.

What you eat in a balanced diet will be dependent on you. There are no specifics about what you can or can not eat. The idea is not about what you eat but instead what nutrients that food will provide your body with. When you understand the importance of a particular nutrient and its role in your body, you can decide if you need to be consuming more of it.

The only thing that changes with eating a Balanced Diet is the pattern in which you eat your food.

Because of my love for Eating a Balanced Diet, and my strong belief in its power to transform your health by simply changing the way you eat, I have created a guide that explains all you need to know about eating a Balanced Diet. It goes into detail about each nutrient, in simple terms that are easy to understand and remember so that you can make the best food choices for you. You will also learn the exact pattern that I use to make sure that I am eating a Balanced Diet daily.

If you are interested in learning more about Eating a Balance Diet, check out my FREE Training below.

5

Develop other Mood Lifting Habits

Food does not have to be your only ‘shoulder to cry on’ when you are feeling blue.

Here are a few habits you can practice for a better alternative to relieving stress, and/ or anxiety.

Journaling

Journaling is something I cannot live without.

As a child, I would keep diaries but since my family was not so nice and would read them, I would have to get rid of them or be punished for some stuff that I wrote. Yikes!

Nevertheless, I kept them anyway because I just could not be without them. I love to write about what seems like major events in my life or what I think about anyone or anything that bothered me. These days I have graduated to writing mostly positive things that include what I am grateful for. It keeps me grounded and humbled.  

Journaling is a form of communicating, except that you are not verbally abusing anyone, nagging anyone, or just being annoying by talking too much about all the good in your life.

It also gives you so much clarity and has the power to help you take charge of your life by taking a moment to sit I silence and bring awareness to yourself- your wants, your needs, and your feelings.

Journaling has encouraged me to think big and set goals for my life.

Communicate your feelings with others

If you have someone who will listen near you, talk to them.

It is true that ‘A problem shared is a problem halved’.

There is significant relief from putting your troubles out there. Chances are that person can be a huge help in solving the problem.  

Breathe

Your breath is the only thing that stays with you from the beginning to the ending of your life.

Your breathing changes with every emotion. Therefore, breath control is the ultimate way to remain calm during the chaos.

It prevents you from making hasty decisions that you might later regret.

A simple breath control technique is to:

Breathe in for a count of 4,

Hold your breath for a count of 4,

Then breathe out for a count of 6.

Getting into the habit of practicing breath control daily can change your reaction to many unpredictable events in the future.

Finally, and I know that this is not a habit, but Pets make great stress relievers. I once read that petting an animal can instantly make you feel happier. I believe it does because after a long day, playing with my pets make me feel awake and happy again.  

Adopt if you can.

In Conclusion, the food-mood connection is not going anywhere but you can choose to create a healthy link between food and your mood by making a few tweaks to your diet. They are:

1. To Practice meal-planning
2. Keep Healthy Snacks on hand
3. Load up on good mood foods
4. Eat a Healthy Diet
5. Work on Developing a few alternative mood-lifting habits.

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Thank You!