Why You Should Stop Labeling Foods As Good And Bad
What is guilt?
Guilt is the feeling someone has when they believe they have done something wrong, like stealing or hurting someone, being rude or lying. And these are all appropriate behaviors to feel guilty about. However it’s important to note that you are not born knowing these behaviors are wrong. You’re not born knowing that you should feel guilty about doing the wrong thing, or what the wrong thing even is.
Guilt is something that is taught to you.
The only way we know right from wrong is because it has been taught to us. Whether it be from a parent or guardian or even a teacher, behaviors of feeling guilt towards a certain action is taught. This is often due to being told your behavior was good and being rewarded for said good behavior, or being told a behavior was bad or wrong and there being consequences. The beliefs that you hold now have been instilled in you from a young age, and you often carry them with you through life.
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What is food guilt?
The same right and wrong beliefs are also taught in regard to certain eating habits. A lot of us grew up with the knowledge that certain foods are either good or bad. This message that food can either be good or bad typically has the worst affect on young children whose parents or relatives engage in dieting and disordered eating. Those children have instilled mindsets from a young age that certain foods are bad, and eating those bad foods would be a behavior similar to stealing or lying, and thus causing them to feel guilty.
For example, if a parent keeps restricting sweets and tells the child it is unhealthy and they should not be eating it, the child learns that eating sweets is wrong, and the natural reaction is to feed bad about it. And guilt then sinks in. The point is, just as guilt is taught, so is food guilt. When you feel food guilt it means you believe you are doing something wrong, you are breaking a food rule you have.
SOME TYPES OF FOOD GUILT MIGHT INCLUDE:
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Cheating on a diet
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Eating ‘unhealthy’ food
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Metabolism or appetite guilt
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Food waste guilt
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Personal food likes and dislikes
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Lack of relationship with food
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Eating sugary or ‘junk’ foods
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Eating after you’re already full
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Irregular eating patterns
Guilt around food, in a way, has become socially acceptable, and we think that makes comments like ‘I can’t eat that’, or ‘I shouldn’t eat that as well’, or ‘I’ll eat it if you do’ okay. Everyday guilt takes hold of us in our own judgement of our food choices, and the ways in which we constantly compare our choices to others. It’s there when we judge our choice to eat out or to order in. There when we don’t have time to prepare a meal, or do have time and choose not to.
What does good and bad food even mean?
In the context of dieting, good food is often characterized by foods that are nutrient-dense. People will typically label good food as being:
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Clean
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Correct
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Right
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Perfect
It’s typically defined by foods that are associated with positive health outcomes when consumed regularly. Typically we think of good foods as being those food items like:
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Proteins
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Fiber-rich foods
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Starchy and non-starchy carbohydrates
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Fruit
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Health-supportive fats
On the other hand, bad food is usually used to describe food items that have little to no nutritional value, or those that may be associated with negative health outcomes when consumed regularly. People will typically label bad foods as being:
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Dirty
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Wrong
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Not good
It’s typically defined by foods that are associated with negative health outcomes when consumed regularly. Typically we think of bad foods as being those food items like:
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Traditional pizza
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Ice cream
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Candy
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Hot dogs
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Chips
When we believe certain foods are good while others are bad, what we’re unintentionally doing is assigning morality to our food. And the question then becomes, are any of these foods listed actually good or bad?
What is food morality?
If one choice is good while the other is bad, emotions and feelings start to get mixed in with food choices. To further demonstrate this way of thinking, if you eat food items that are good, you may then believe that you made a correct, right decision in doing so, and you may then feel pride and excitement. You may feel that you are a better person or good for doing that.
Whereas if you eat food items that are bad, you may then believe that you made an incorrect, poor decision in doing so, and you then may feel guilt, frustration, or resentment. You may feel that you’re less than, not good, or a bad person for eating that food.
Why you should stop labeling food as good or bad
When we assign morality to our food, those emotions and feelings begin to control the food choices that take us away from balanced eating. If we’re presented with a good option and a bad option, the dieting messaging we’ve been told for years tells us to choose the good option and judge and dismiss the bad option every time.
When it comes to food, discouragement often manifests itself as a restriction. As a child, you may have walked through a candy store and picked up a piece candy. However before you even had a chance to ask your parent for the candy they tell you you should not even bother asking for it because you are not getting anything. In turn, your response as a child would have most likely been that you want the candy SO bad.
The exact same thing happens with adults when food is restricted as a result of assigning morality to food. When we diet, restrict or regulate our food choices, we end up increasing our focus and attention on that food item making it more desirable.
What happens when you assign morality to food
Food items that are bad and therefore off limits, wrong, incorrect, or not allowed, seem so much more enticing than they normally would. You can’t have them, so you want them even more. Especially if they’re food items that you inherently enjoy.
As humans, we are not hardwired to restrict any certain food forever. Eventually, we’ll encounter or choose to have those food items we’ve restricted once before, and when this happens, and you finally get your hands on those food items again. There are 3 common scenarios that typically take place when you assign morality to food:
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Loss of control
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Rationalization
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Irrational guilt
To deeply understand these 3 scenarios, lets use pizza as an example to demonstrate what assigning morality to food does. After restricting pizza, you finally find yourself in a position when you are having it. Maybe it’s at a party, a work event or you simply gave in and bought it.
Loss of control
In the first outcome, you are so excited about finally having it, that you lose all control. You end up eating so quickly and have so much, that before you know it, you are overly full, the pizza is gone, and you don’t even remember what it really tasted like. This leaves you feeling stressed, guilty, overwhelmed, and upset.
Which then results in you restricting yourself once more. You might even find yourself saying:
“I can’t believe I had all that pizza, that was way too much. I’m never having pizza again.”
And thus the cycle repeats itself.
Rationalization
In the second scenario, you go into the situation knowing that you are doing something bad, so you try to rationalize with yourself. You might tell yourself that because you are not supposed to be having pizza, you’ll just finish it off this time and then never have it again.
However the result is that you’re left feeling overly full, guilty, stressed, and confused. You might find yourself saying:
“Why did I eat so much, I didn’t need that. I’m never having pizza again.”
And the cycle repeats itself.
Irrational guilt
Lastly, maybe you don’t lose control. Maybe you don’t rationalize with yourself. Instead, maybe you have what you would describe as a normal amount of pizza. But still, after the fact, you’re riddled with guilt. You still feel as though you made a terrible mistake and that you’re never going to reach your health and wellness goals.
And once again, the cycle repeats itself.
It’s important to understand the distinction between morality with food, having a health condition where certain foods need to be managed, and also understanding food and how it impacts your physical body. There are foods that are more nutrient-dense that we should consume on a regular basis to support our long-term health, and also make room in our diet for foods that may not be as nutrient-dense. But we really enjoy them.
How to remove the good food vs bad food mentality
So how do we prevent these scenarios from taking place? You remove morality from food and implement key tools that will remove the good vs. bad food mentality. Instead of viewing food as good or bad, right or wrong, you view food as simply food. Food is nourishment, enjoyment, or a combination of both. Morality has no place in our food decisions.
Additionally, you need to support your mindset around positive vs. negative thinking with food. The goal is to get to the place where you’re able to navigate the waters of eating something that you enjoy, even if it might be a little less healthy.
Negative vs positive food relationship
If you have a negative relationship with food, you might experience some of the following behaviors:
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You have anxiety relating to the social, emotional and physical components of food and eating.
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You feel guilt, shame or judge mental towards yourself during or after eating.
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Specific foods become your only options, creating an obsessive mindset around food
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You have rigid rules about food like specific times for eating, what food you can eat and the amount of food you eat.
If you have a positive relationship with food, you behaviors might be the following:
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The ability to be at ease with the social, emotional and physical components of food and eating.
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Eating is neither the best nor the worst part of your day.
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You enjoy the foods you consume but not worship them.
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There are no strict rules surrounding the food you eat or your eating habits.
Lifestyles more susceptible to having a good vs bad food mentality
While anyone can be susceptible to having good vs bad food mentality, there are certain lifestyles that are more likely to attract this relationship. Once you recognize that you fall within one of these lifestyles, you will be one step closer to conquering and taking control of your relationship with food. However if you don’t relate with one of these lifestyles, and still find your relationship with food is rocky, it does not mean that you still can’t take control.
Eating disorders
Those who currently have or have had a previous relationship with an eating disorder like emotional eating, binge eating or compulsive eating, are more likely to find themselves susceptible to having good vs bad food mentality. These eating disorders often create a negative connection between your feelings and your relationship to food, so those who fall within this lifestyle would find it more difficult to break that good vs bad food mentality that they have held onto for so long.
WHAT CAN BE DONE
If you find that you relate more to the eating disorders lifestyle, try gratitude meditation. Gratitude meditation can help you become less dependent on food to bring you feelings of comfort and safety. It can also help you set good boundaries and create an overall better relationship with you and food. Along with asking yourself the 3 questions, practicing gratitude meditation is a good first step in developing a positive relationship with food.
Bad eating mindset
Those who possess bad, or negative, eating mindsets are more likely to find themselves susceptible to having good vs bad food mentality. Those who have a bad eating mindset often experience feelings of shame, guilt and even anxiety when it comes to their relationship with food. They often have fixed rules about the food they allow or don’t allow themselves to eat, which allows them to fixate on whether food is good or bad.
WHAT CAN BE DONE
If you find that you relate more to have a bad eating mindset, try eating mindfully. Mindful eating is a great practice that can help you to acknowledge your response to food without getting into judgement. It also helps with the satisfaction aspect of eating and can help you tune into your own hunger cues. Along with asking yourself the 3 questions, practicing mindful eating is a great way to help develop a positive relationship with food.
Food anxiety
Those who have had experiences with food anxiety are more likely to find themselves susceptible to having good vs bad food mentality. Those who suffer from food anxiety typically fear food and often avoid eating most foods because they cause anxiety. This developed fear and avoidance makes it difficult for those within this lifestyle because the foods that they might be labeling as bad may not even be bad foods and vice versa.
WHAT CAN BE DONE
If you find that you relate more to having a food anxiety based lifestyle, try taking away your temptation first. A good first step to developing a positive relationship with food is not keeping those hard to resist foods in your house, that way they are not within a close proximity and are unable to make you anxious. And if your emotions are driving you to go grocery shopping, take a step back and ask yourself the 3 questions for the ‘bad’ foods you want to go out and buy.
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We’ve heard food labeled in this way from health practitioners, social media influencers, parents, friends, and coworkers alike. While they may be well-intentioned in their statements and explanations, they’re unknowingly perpetuating an imbalanced and negative mindset with food. The good food vs bad food mindset has been doing more harm than good in the long term of creating balanced eating habits. However recognizing that you do not need to label food as good or bad is the first step in recovering.
Extra tips for navigating good vs bad food
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Keep a food journal. Keeping track of what and when you eat, along with any impactful or emotional events that happen, can help you connect your eating patterns and emotions.
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Don’t get too restrictive with the food you eat. If you make your diet too restrictive, you are more likely to develop a stressed relationship with food. It’s okay to allow yourself ‘cheats’ if you are doing it for the right reason.
