3 Questions to Ask Yourself When You Feel Guilty for Eating Bad Foods

^{Author: Shaela Daugherty, Founder & CEO}

Often, clients will report “I was bad last night, I did xyz,” and usually it’s in relationship to food. They had ice cream, they ate 2 cookies, they didn’t follow the nutrition plan, or they ate out and didn’t think about the hand method.

Whatever it is, it’s a mentality of it was "bad" that I did xyz. And I always reply back – you weren’t bad for doing that, did you enjoy it? Hopefully so, it’s okay to enjoy yourself and live life.

The problem is, that our culture has placed a morality stance on food. You are “good” if you eat Whole30 or whole foods, and you are “bad” if you eat sweets, McDonalds, or other boxed foods. Maybe you think this is a bit extreme, but let me tell you something I have experienced with every client - the way you view food impacts the way you view yourself. 

The truth is, while this may seem silly for me to say: food doesn’t change your status, your identity or keep you from your goals. This small mentality though leads to the shame-blame game that most women face. Here’s how the cycle goes

1. Ate the “bad” food,
2. Now they feel guilty or blame themself for that choice
3. Now they don’t think they will reach their goals
4. Now they feel like a failure and that they’ve fallen off the wagon
5. Now they want to give up and just be fat and happy for the rest of their life – as long as they have Jesus right?

No! Please no! Here’s the deal, yes there are foods that are more nutritionally dense than others that will help your body feel more energy and help you achieve certain goals; HOWEVER, deprivation of foods that are enjoyable for you will only lead to binge-eating and feeling the shame and guilt of making the choice to eat them.

Foods do not have the right or say to make you good or bad. They do not have say over who you are or your identity, your body is not a measure of the food you eat. Does it seem a little silly for me to say that? But did you look at the shame-blame cycle above? Have you ever been there? It’s because when we view food as "bad" or "good", we are ultimately applying morality to foods, and they don't have that kind of power. 

God gave us tastebuds for a reason, to enjoy food, to feel the pleasure that a small chocolate bar may give you or whatever your favorite food choice is.

Let me clarify and say, the way your body responds to certain foods and how you feel physically afterwards is an indicator of how often you should be eating that food. It’s not because the food is good or bad, its because of how your body feels after that food.

Let me give you a dramatic example: If you eat the same dinner every night – let’s say pizza with some wine – and you eat that night after night, but 30 minutes after you eat it you feel sick, you have gas pains, your laying on the couch, belly down, trying to get the gas out. That food is not good for you to eat every.single.night. That is NOT worth it for your physical and mental well-being. It doesn’t make you “bad” for eating that, but what you need to ask yourself is whether that's the right choice to help you feel you best day in and day out. That's the question that starts changing your mindset. So where do you go from here?

You become aware and you catch yourself when you start thinking “oh I’ll be bad if I eat xyz.”  You stop and recognize that you are thinking that, and then you ask the questions instead:

“how will I feel after eating this food? Will it be worth it?” If the answer is I’ll feel good and yes! Then go for it!

Your answer may also be:

“I’ll feel like poop after, but it’ll be worth it for the moment,”

Well then that’s your choice, but you aren’t bad for choosing that however you are at least acknowledging and recognizing how your body will react, and if it’s worth it, then go for it.

Ultimately, foods aren’t good or bad, they don’t make you good or bad, they don’t make your actions good or bad, they don’t make your behavior good or bad. By assigning morality to food your mind ends up labeling other things as good or bad - like your behavior of "being bad" when you eat a special dessert or snack. Your job is to catch yourself and see how you view food. 

Do it today, as you start looking at your food before you eat each meal, what are you initially thinking about it? What do you think before you eat, during and after? Then after you learn how you view food, you can begin to ask better questions like:

• Before eating: How will this make me feel?
• While eating: How does this make me feel?
• After eating: How do I feel now? 

As you change your mindset about food, you'll begin to find freedom in your food and your fitness! This is the start of your freedom, recognizing what you believe.