The problem with labeling foods “good” or “bad” is now they’ve been given life. It stops being a neutral food choice and starts having a moral implication.
In other words, as soon as a food is labeled “bad,” we begin to feel bad for making the decision to eat it. And often that guilt spirals into eating MORE food to self-soothe or numb the emotional response.
Join co-coach, Steph Miramontes, and me as we discuss why it’s so hard to drop the food labels when they feel true.
Other topics covered in today’s episode:
- The differences in how children and adults label food and the role diet culture has played in manipulating society to their benefit
- How food labeling continues to perpetuate the all-or-nothing mentality
- Why the moral superiority of food labels can cause us to judge others and ourselves harshly
- Actionable steps to help you dismantle this toxic belief system so you can begin to approach all foods in a balanced and healthy way
Dropping the food labels can be hard work. In fact, not having the safety net of limiting rules and restriction is the harder path. It’s easier to live life in the black and white because it seems safer than gray. We often don’t trust ourselves around food, hence the need for rules and labels in the first place.
But, I’m encouraging you to develop more awareness around the labels that you put around foods. Notice how your thoughts and interactions with the food changes as you rewrite the narrative and drop the food guilt.
Sometimes I ask clients to write down a list of foods they consider to be ‘good’ or ‘bad’. Then, see if you can come up with other words to describe them that have nothing to do with their moral value.
Focus instead on how the various foods make you feel. From there, see if you can try such foods with a different, non-judgment label. How does the experience change?