Love Affair With Food: The Meeting of Human Needs

There are 6 basic human needs and each person will do what is necessary whether effective or not to meets all 6 of these human needs. The 6 human needs that I am referencing are Contibution, Growth, Love, Uncertainty/Variety, Certainity, and Significance. There is even a test that one can take online to score each of these needs and I have actually listed these in order of how mine was prioritized when I completed this test.

So what do they mean and how are they related to the above title? Many people use church, spiritual outlets, or jobs to meet their contribution need. We use all types of relationships to including pets to meet the Love need. Most people use personal development, sometimes careers, and especially college as a means to meet their growth need. Significance is met in many ways and probably is most diversified as I get this need met by being what I believe to be as a really good mom, some get it from being the best at their jobs, and others becoming elite athletes and I could write an endless list. The two needs that in my opinion are used in the most ineffective way are certainty and variety/uncertainty.

Certainty and Uncertainty…where is the easiest way for both of these needs to be met almost simultaneously? Food, is the answer. See people can be certain about getting fed and even feel a certain way when eating and they can also get the variety by choosing all different types of foods ethnically, etc. I think the biggest love affair going on in the world is that with food and it is because we are meeting two of the human needs at one time.

When people are willing to assess why they do what they do, then they can produce real change. See I personally like boring as it is simple, keeps me organized and I know that my food is fuel not being used to protect myself by meeting human needs that otherwise are not being met. So let’s discuss why so many people use food to meet these needs in this way. Processed food is cheap, there is a lot of variety and people can drown their emotions while doing what they must do anyway which is eat. Most of Americans are broke and unhappy, therefore using food to meet these two human needs becomes their norm and before long they are not only broke and unhappy, but they are unhealthy too. People who are overweight are not overweight because they want to be, it is because they are meeting a couple of their 6 human needs while on a fixed budget, therefore most of their food choices are none to little nutrients and are full of chemicals. When you eat GMO processed food, your body will hold onto fat to protect your organs and it is a vicious cycle.

What are the steps necessary to take back your health? It is simple, but often not easy...it is a process that you will implement daily until you replace alternative ways in which these needs an be met. Buy a journal and write down everything you put into your body. Find a place where you can have some quiet time just with yourself and get rigorously honest with yourself about how you use food to meet these needs. Develop a plan that you can implement on a budget for activities that will meet your variety/uncertainty and certainty needs. Oftentimes, you will see that certainty is already being met you just have to acknowledge it. Get another journal and make this your gratitude journal as when you are grateful, then you have no time to be depressed and this will allow you to not require emotional comforts that foods often provide. Keep it simple and foster the relationship with food knowing that food is what creates your DNA and is your fuel. This will be the end to the your wicked love affair with food.