Food Is Neither ‘Good’ Or ‘Bad'

Food judgments. Unfortunately, the majority, if not all, of people have them.

We have societal messages/expectations and a multi-billion dollar diet industry to thank for that. I want to do a quick check in about this and how it may be impacting people, especially during this time of year.

Common judgments people have include good or bad, right or wrong, and healthy or unhealthy. However, what we typically don’t realize is that, when we make judgements, we are adding something to our reality. We treat our subjective judgments as objective facts.

What is even worse is we then typically have judgments of ourselves based on the foods we choose to eat.

For example, society may say that apples are a ‘good’ food and cookies are a ‘bad’ food. If we choose to eat an apple instead of a cookie, we may then feel ‘good’ about ourselves or that we are ‘good’. But can you guess how society has conditioned us to feel if we choose the cookie instead of the apple??

We are programmed to feel ‘BAD’ and think we ARE ‘bad’ for making that choice. During this time of being bombarded with diet ads after the holidays, I can imagine many people are having a lot of feelings about what and how much they have eaten over the past couple months.

So what can we do? Awareness is key. Mindfulness is a powerful tool in acknowledging our judgments, including assessing if they are helpful or harmful (I am thinking they are most likely harmful...).

I encourage you to have compassion for yourself during this time, recognize that you and your body are doing the best you can, and give yourself non-judgmental permission to feed your body in a way that feels most nourishing for YOU. .

I want to validate that this is easier said than done. AND it can be possible for you. It starts with mindfulness. Even 5-10 minutes of practicing mindfulness each day can have a huge impact on our well-being.

Please be kind to yourselves. Please nourish your bodies and souls. Take care and be well. ❤️

And, if you are interested in learning more about my upcoming course - Finding Peace With Food & Body (During Pregnancy, Postpartum, & Beyond) - click here!