Why food morality is bad for body image

Are you stuck in food morality?

Do you find yourself labeling food as either ‘good’ or ‘bad’?

Do you often feel like you have to eat according to a set of ‘rules’?

Does the act of eating leave you feeling guilty?

If you answered ‘yes’ to any of these questions, then this post is for you.

Demonising foods and living in fear of eating them is known as ‘food morality’.

In today’s post, I’m explaining why believing in food morality is damaging your body image, and what you can do to move past it.

Watch or read below:

What we believe about food

We live in a society that labels food as ‘good’ or ‘bad’, demonising food groups such as fat and carbohydrates.

People live in fear of eating food and see themselves as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ for what they eat.

Believing in food morality has a negative impact on the way that you feel about food and your body. It creates an unhealthy obsession with what you eat.

But food has no morals. Food isn’t ‘good’ or ‘bad’, it’s just food – fuel for your body.

It’s true that some foods are more nutritious that others, but your body needs food from ALL the food groups: including fat and carbohydrates.

Your relationship with food

There are plenty of voices out there happy to tell you what you ‘should’ eat.

BUT listen to these voices with caution, because they’re likely motivated by their own agenda (think the diet industry, food manufacturers).

Spending your life obsessing about what you eat is no way to live.

The most important person to consult when deciding what to eat is your body!

Connect with your body

Because we’ve become so used to being told what we should and shouldn’t eat, we’re disconnected from what our bodies want and need.

People fear that if they allow themselves to eat what they want, they’ll lose control and gorge themselves.

BUT, the opposite is true. Depriving yourself of certain foods or food groups makes you more prone to binge on them.

Allowing yourself to eat in line with your basic hunger and fullness signals by choosing foods that you enjoy creates a natural, healthy relationship with food, and your body.

Once you can eat in this way without food morality, you’ll experience greater peace and joy around food and your body.

So try tuning into your body, not the voices that tell you what’s ‘good’ or ‘bad’ to eat.

Instead, imagine just eating food without guilt or any thoughts other than the taste of the food and the satisfaction that you get from it.

How do you feel about food morality? Leave a comment below.

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