There’s No Such Thing as “Good” or “Bad” Foods

Good or bad according to whom? Is an apple always good? Is a cookie always bad? Eating “good” has nothing to do with the foods you eat. It’s about listening and trusting yourself to choose which food is good for your body.

Labeling food as good and bad is one of the worst things you can do for your physical and mental health.

I totally understand why most people fall into this black and white trap of thinking, though, because I’ve been there. It’s easier to believe what everyone else is telling us about what’s “good” and “bad” other people's advice that something is good or bad for us than to question it and take the initiative to listen to our own body. 

There’s no such thing as “good” or “bad” foods. 

Letting someone else decide what's healthy and unhealthy for you is like being the pilot of a plane and letting your passengers take the wheel. Can you imagine how that would go?  It's your body, it’s talking to you, all you need to do is listen and stop letting everyone else fly and crash it.

One of my favorite quotes by Byron Katie says, "When we believe our thoughts, we suffer. When we question them, we don't."

This isn’t a matter of you not eating “good” enough. This is a matter of your thoughts that are leading you to BELIEVE you’re not eating “good” enough. There’s a big difference here.

It’s time to start questioning your thoughts and beliefs

 “Is it true?"

"How can you know?"

"How do you feel when you think those thoughts?"

"Who might you be without those thoughts and beliefs?"

"Is there one stress-free reason to keep those thoughts?"

"Is there another way to see it that might be more empowering?"

Chances are, trying to eat “good” hasn't solved any of your problems with food. So how much longer are you willing to wait until something changes? Or are you just going to keep wasting years of your life trying to eat “good” even though it’s not working for you, and it always feels like you’re failing and getting it wrong?

“Bad” according to whom?

What if eating a cookie didn’t mean you’re all of a sudden bad and unhealthy, and you need to go to the gym to work it off ASAP and just meant that you ate a cookie?

Believing what everyone has told you about “bad” foods is what leads to all the overanalyzing, anxiety, guilt and constantly feeling like you’re getting it wrong, not the food itself. Food doesn’t control your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors; you do, so that’s what we need to work on.

Let me ask you, is an apple always good?

What if you were really hungry and craving something warm, salty, and savory?

Wouldn’t that be denying your needs? 

And “good” according to whom? “Bad,” according to whom?” 

It’s just the meaning we’re creating. And nothing has meaning except for the meaning we give it. 

And if your meaning of eating “good” is causing you to feel guilty, anxious, and like you’re getting it “wrong” all the time, is it even actually “good”?

What if eating “good” has nothing to do with the foods you eat? What if eating “good” just means you listened to your body? Or what if eating “good” just means you ate something and gave your body some needed energy?

If trying to eat more “good” isn’t solving your issues with food, it’s time to take a look at your definition of “good” and your thoughts/beliefs about food (not the food itself).

You have to rewire your thoughts and practice self-trust

This isn’t about the cookie (or whatever foods you deem as “bad”). This is about you not trusting yourself to make food choices based on what feels good for YOU. And that self-trust doesn’t come from eating “good,” it comes from your thoughts and beliefs.

If you want to be able to effortlessly eat in a balanced way without all the guilt, anxiety, and overanalyzing, you don’t need to eat more “good.”

You need to rewire the thoughts and beliefs in your brain that are causing your suffering and causing you to feel like you’re falling short of how you “should” be eating.

When you do that, you can enjoy your life without worrying about food all the time and get back your time, mental space and energy to focus on what’s important to you.