“Good” Foods vs “Bad” Foods
We’ve all heard it before… I eat “clean” or “healthy” during the week and on the weekends I “cheat” or have “bad meals.” I hear you… society has basically brainwashed us into thinking there are good and bad foods. We can’t help it that this is the way our brains are now wired, but this black and white mindset is not sustainable and can be very detrimental to our physical and emotional health.
Let’s break it down. When we label foods as “good” or “bad” we are literally giving them moral value (food has no morals). We are letting food choices have a power over us which leaves us feeling good (usually temporarily) or guilty. You might even find yourself judging others for their food choices based on what you believe to be the best food choice.
Here’s the science - all food has some sort of nutritional value. Yes, some food has more vitamins + nutrients than others, but regardless - all food has nutritional value. “What’s the problem with always choosing the more nutrient dense food?!?” - you might ask. Great question!
There are many different layers to our food choices. Some come with celebrations, some come with emotions, some are just flat out because we need fuel. Let’s start with celebrations. Imagine you are at a friend's birthday party and everyone is enjoying cake, but you choose to opt out of it because you have labeled cake as a “bad” food. Everyone around you is talking, laughing, and making comments about how delicious it is! What is the end game with missing out on it? One, or even two, pieces of cake are not going to have as much physical effect on your body as you might have mental side effects from restraining from having it.
Emotions also play a role in our food choices. Hear me out when I say it’s okay to emotionally eat. The key here is connection. Perfect example - I live away from my family so for holidays I often try to channel my grandma's recipes. I make her zucchini bread, meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and chocolate chip cookies. These are foods society might deem as “bad”, however, they hold emotional value for me. When I make her recipes I feel fulfilled and connected. Emotional eating can become problematic when we are completely disconnected from the food or using it as our only source to cope with what we are feeling.
Lastly, sometimes we just need fuel and that’s all there is to it. Not every meal you eat is going to be the absolute best meal of your life. Imagine you are on a road trip with friends and they choose to stop at a fast food restaurant that might not be your first choice. You can either pick something on the menu, or not eat at all in this moment. It’s important to fuel your body for so many reasons. If we have this food labeled as “bad” we might choose to skip this meal, or we might have it and ruminate in guilt after. If we can find a neutral stance it’s much easier to have the meal and move on, regardless of if it’s our first choice of food or not.
Why is it worthwhile to stop our thoughts around “good” and “bad” food and rewire this way of thinking? For one, it’s going to make life much more pleasant. Also, what might start off as seemingly innocent thoughts can quickly lead to a rabbit hole of dangerous restriction, and possibly a binge restrict cycle. The more we tell ourselves we “can’t” have something the more our body and mind craves it. If we simply have the food in the first place, we can move on and feel confident knowing we are honoring our physical and emotional health. There is room for all kinds of foods in our life! I personally love vegetables, and I also love ice cream. Because I am able to tune out outside noise coming from diet culture I am able to tune into my own body before making food choices. One hour my body might say “salad” and a few hours later it might say “pizza.” I also don’t want this to sound like a cliche ~BaLaNcE~ post because I understand how hard it can be to rewire thoughts that are so ingrained in us. These beliefs can stem from the home we grew up in, media, friends - it can be very hard to pull ourself away from the messages. A great place to start is by simply asking yourself what actually sounds good to you and choosing to honor that.