McKel Hill Kooienga, MS, RDN, LDN
Founder of Nutrition Stripped and the Mindful Nutrition Method™
Have you ever avoided certain foods, thinking if you just never eat those “bad” foods, then you’ll be able to maintain healthy eating habits? Have you been able to maintain that or does it feel like a constant struggle?
Watch this video to see why having a list of foods to avoid can actually be the very thing that’s preventing you from creating healthy eating habits that you’ll be able to maintain for life.
We see messages every day that say there’s “good” food and “bad” food or that you should eat this and never eat that.
They’re on Instagram and Youtube. They’re in magazines and books. They could even be lingering in your mind from a diet you did years ago or something a friend said when you were out to dinner last week.
Our society and culture have made it so normal to think of foods as good, bad, or off-limits.
Yes, some foods hold more nutritional value and benefits than others while some solely provide us tradition, enjoyment, or what I call the flavor factor.
But that doesn’t mean that those foods need to be “off-limits.”
Trying to eliminate a food or food group just because you feel it is “bad” creates that all or nothing mentality of “can’t have,” “aren’t allowed to have,” “off-limits,” etc. and make you hyperaware, hypersensitive, and focused on that food choice.
That’s why it’s better for you to learn how to practice balance than it is to have “off-limit” foods.
When you learn how to practice a mindful and balanced approach to food, food that was once labeled as “off-limits” or “bad” that might have caused you to feel out of control, no longer holds any power over you.
That means you won’t be on this start-and-stop cycle, that you won’t feel triggered or out of control around certain foods, and you’ll be able to make the choices for yourself that you truly want.
This food freedom that comes with this is an incredibly important part of eating well on a daily basis.
It’s absolutely possible — and necessary — to fuel yourself with nutrient-dense foods that give your body what it needs to function and feel it’s best, while also giving yourself permission to enjoy all foods when you truly want them and not having shame or regret when you do.
So my question for you is — do you want to continue holding onto this belief that certain foods have to be off-limits, or do you want to practice balance and have a healthy relationship with food that will truly allow you to build healthy eating habits that you can practice 365 days a year?
