Choose Your Thoughts Around Food
by Esther Kane, MSW, RSW, RCC
As a psychotherapist, I help people lessen their personal suffering and experience more joy and peace. How? By learning to separate what they can’t control – other people, places, and events – from what they can control – how they choose to react to everything outside of themselves.
While there are a lot of things outside of our control, one thing we can control is our thoughts – by changing them from negative to positive.
Negative thoughts lead to negative feelings. I like to call it the “What you think is what you get” syndrome. If you think you’re unattractive, you’ll feel unattractive. But if you think you’re beautiful, you’ll feel beautiful. And guess what? You don’t even have to believe what you’re saying to yourself!
It doesn’t matter if what you say is true to your brain; only that you say it. The brain simply takes the message and sends it off, regardless of whether it’s fact or fiction! I won’t pretend it’s easy – rewiring your brain for joy takes hard work – but it’s worth it!
Here are some positive food and body image affirmations you can use to replace old negative ones. Say each set to yourself twice a day – upon first awakening and again just before bed (this is when the brain is mostly geared for rewiring itself).
Food Affirmations
Food is a sacred source of fuel to power my body.
Food gives me the energy I need to live my life to the fullest.
Food enables me to enjoy all of the fabulous experiences that life has to offer.
By choosing healthy, life-giving food, I nourish my body, mind, and spirit.
Body Image Affirmations
My body is a temple, a sacred home for my spirit and my mind.
My body is perfect exactly as it is, a creation of the Universe.
My body is a dear friend who allows me to experience so many things: seeing, tasting, smelling, touching, and hearing.
I am so lucky to be given the gift that is my body. Each and every day I appreciate and love my body more and more.