The Lost Art of Eating: Why Your Relationship with Food Is Sacred
If there is one thing I have realized since rebuilding my relationship with food, it's that there is no such thing as "bad food."
What makes food "bad" is when we give it too much of our power. So many people believe they have lost control around food... that they've become enslaved to it. I often hear things like, "I can't say no when my partner eats that," "my kids won't eat healthy, so I can't either," "cooking is just not convenient for me."
When we put food on a pedestal, we overthink it and obsess over it. This is when food becomes dangerous. Not because of what it is, but because of the power we give to it. We either abuse it or abstain from it, believing it will give us everything we desire: a thinner body, more confidence, more energy, better skin, more attention, better opportunities or simply the feeling of being enough. And to be fair, some of those things can be true. Food does influence how we feel, how we look, and how we function. But food is not the final answer to our health.
When we treat it as the single pillar of our health (aka. the one thing that will finally fix us) it can become just as destructive as any other obsession. The research is clear: body dysmorphia, binge eating disorder, chronic restriction and yo-yo dieting carry real physical consequences. We're talking about cardiovascular disease, metabolic disorders, diabetes, hormonal imbalances, and compromised immune function - the very diseases we were trying to avoid in the first place. The pursuit of health through food alone can quietly become its own kind of illness.
In reality, pedestalizing food is silently stealing our sovereignty. When we put food in control, we forget that we are independent beings with complete authority over our own bodies.
Food was never meant to be simply easy or convenient. It was meant to nourish us, to foster connection, and to mark celebration. But food has become so readily available to us, that we've forgotten about the bond between humans and food. And that relationship matters.
Picture this: you have to go out and hunt for your food, then skin it, clean it, and prepare it from scratch. You have to build a fire and cook it before you can eat it. Would you look at it the same way you do now? Or imagine planting a seed and waiting months before you could enjoy its fruit. Would it taste the same? There is something profoundly beautiful about working for food. Like watching a seed slowly grow into something that nourishes you. How wondrous and humbling, all at once.
Now, I'm not saying you should go out and hunt all your own food… though it might not be a bad idea. That's not the point. The point is that a deep bond exists between us and the food we eat, and that bond is sacred. Taking time to prepare and cook a meal is something to take genuine pride in. That food lived so that YOU could eat. That shouldn't be taken lightly.
So today, I'll leave you with a few questions to sit with:
How do you currently feel about the foods you eat?
How could you make eating a more intentional experience?
What would your life look like if you believed that food doesn’t have power over you?
Written by:
Kelissa Ouellet
B.Sc Nutrition | Personal Training Specialist | Certified Life & Wellness Coach
New Brunswick, Canada
