Are you struggling with your relationship with food? In honor of National Eating Disorders Awareness Week that occurs Feb. 21st- Feb. 27th here are 7 tips that will help you improve your relationship with food:

1. Be aware that there are NO “good” foods and “bad” foods. All foods provide nutrition and sustenance to the body and our bodies need protein, carbohydrate, fiber, and even sugar and fat to survive. All foods are good if you eat a variety of foods to get all of the nutrients that you need in moderation.

2. Engage in flexible and mindful eating that values both pleasure and nutritional needs and honors internal cues of hunger, satiety, and appetite.

3. Take time to become aware–without judgment–of underlying feelings that are associated with eating and food. Oftentimes, distressing eating behaviors are driven by discomfort with experiencing feelings and are a way to avoid having to experience them.

4. Diversify your coping strategies. If you have been relying on eating to cope with stress, consider exploring and implementing various coping strategies, which may include mindfulness practice, social connections, and expressive writing.

5. Be mindful of the impact of negative body image and self-criticism on your relationship with food. Decrease such impact by embracing body diversity, questioning societal/cultural standards, and cultivating self-compassion.

6. Become an informed consumer of food while respecting your own needs and values instead feeling pressured to follow the diet and food trends from media.

7. Reach out for support. If you are struggling with your relationship with food, seek professional help, which can be composed of various elements such as individual and/or group therapy, educational workshop, nutritional counseling, and medical monitoring.