Perfect Eating and Perfect Health?

Let’s talk about the messaging about food we absorb. While the concept is simple—what we hear and how it affects us—breaking down where we get these messages from, and if we should listen to them, is a bit more complicated.

There’s what your parents taught you. This might sound like “finish your plate”, “no dessert until you eat your vegetables”, “don’t be such a couch potato.”

There’s what the diet and food industries are repeating. “Lose 50 lbs in a month”, “workout only 20 minutes to blast fat”, “you too can have a celebrity body!” They’ll have us believe that bread is terrible for us, but a lab-made protein powder is the answer to our weight loss visions.

These two examples may be ones you’ve come to be more aware of as you’ve gotten older, read more, or even worked with a therapist on. But one area you may not know you’re getting messaging about is the medical sphere, like your doctor. It might show up in beliefs like you’re too overweight to get quality medical care (and may have you avoid getting a check-up at all costs) or that in just a few therapy sessions you’ll be ‘cured’ for the rest of your life. But today we’re here to dispel one of the sneakiest false claims that the medical and diet communities’ push: that if you eat perfectly, you will have perfect health.

You may have begun to believe that if you eat no sugar or carbs, lower your fat intake, and focus on protein, you will have a clean bill of health. This is not helpful in two ways:

1. It forces you to compare what you are eating to what others are eating. Every body is different and has different needs, from calories to exercise, mental health to sleep. No one lives in your body! Listen to the cues it gives you (ex: are you hungry? Do you need a shower to refresh?) as they will be your best guide to feeling your best—not what your friend ate or what your co-worker did in the gym.
2. This type of black-and-white thinking sets up a good vs. bad food dynamic that is impossible to live by. You may vow to restrict what you eat, but you’ll soon create a cycle of restrict-binge-restrict as you’re faced with weekends away or dinners out with friends. In fact, allowing more flexibility by eating what you want when you are faced with it will actually have you crave specific foods less and result in less anxiety—which is good for your health!

This isn’t meant to stress you out by feeling a lack of control around your health, but to take the pressure OFF the idea of perfect eating! And remove feelings of self-blame. What a relief to focus on what your body is saying than trying to keep up with the lives and expectations of others.

💛 Your peace awaits.