Removing “Good/Bad” Food Labels

Have you ever said, “I was so bad this weekend, I have to make up for it this week.” Or “The salad is good but my slice of pizza is bad.”

I believe we all have or have heard someone say that. Or you may have heard that from your parents growing up, family, friends, TV, or social media. 

When we eat something we’ve labeled as “bad”, this often leads to guilt or shame. When we eat something “good”, we feel great until we eat something “bad.” It causes an emotional rollercoaster with food and it does not help. The reality is food has NO moral value–it is neither bad or good, it’s just food. Some foods are more nutrient dense than others. I have even seen pizza be more nutrient dense than salads. Mind-blowing, I know. 

This mindset of adding moral value to food can cause obsessive thoughts about food and binge eating.  Are we saying to only focus on less nutrient dense foods? Of course not. But we are saying it’s okay and normal to incorporate your favorite foods without guilt and without derailing your goals. 

One of the BEST things you can do to improve your nutrition and relationship with food is to remove these food labels and practice allowing all foods. At first you might enjoy the foods you’ve had off limits more often. However, eventually, you’re going to notice you don’t want those fun foods as often anymore because you know you can have them at any time. They aren’t “off limits”, so you don’t feel like you have to eat them in fear that you’ll never see them again. 

Keeping track of your foods by using MyFitness Pal or writing it down can help.

Start small and show yourself grace.