My recent Topic Tuesday post over on my Instagram page (link top left of page) on Food and Guilt made me want to discuss the topic of food and morals.

When we are looking at an overall diet, a person who chooses to eat a type of way is not better or worse than someone else eating another way. Everyone has their own personal relationships with food and physical and mental needs. I am going to use the vegan diet as an example to help explain my point. The vegan diet can be a nutritionally balanced option for some to follow if they choose to. There are many reasons why people want to eat a vegan diet, some of which can be due to their personal beliefs regarding animal consumption and treatment, among other reasons. These beliefs are valid to those individuals and if eating that way makes them happy, then go for it! However, it may not be in every individual’s best interest to eat this way. The reasons for not eating in a vegan way can be financial struggles, lack of knowledge of how to make it nutritionally healthy, cooking access and skills, simply not wanting to exclude foods, or a history of disordered eating/eating disorders where a restrictive diet will not be suitable. These reasons are also valid.

There also exists a moralisation of certain foods or ingredients. Over the past several years, there has been mass pseudoscience and fad diets fuelling “clean eating”. The list is endless and ever-growing of false, and sometimes extremely harmful, nutrition advice online. The diet mentality of eating “clean” has some very harmful impacts. For example, when someone embarks on a healthy journey and allow themselves a “last supper”, they tend to over-indulge in their soon forbidden foods. Then the introduction of “cheat meals” or “free meals” throughout a journey moralises certain foods as “bad”. When we differentiate foods as “good” or “bad”, and then we consume them, we transfer those feelings onto ourselves. This means we feel “good” or “bad” about ourselves for eating specific foods. This pattern is something I want to help break. Food isn’t “good” or “bad”. It’s just food. You’re not a bad person for eating a doughnut and you’re not a good person for eating a salad. These outlooks on food can be very harmful to self-esteem and body image.

Social media, often being a hub of perfectionism, can cause upward comparison. Upward comparison is where we compare ourselves to someone, we or society, deem as superior to us. This can often cause negative feelings towards ourselves. It’s a normal thing everyone experiences. However, we have control over our exposure on social media. We can unfollow or block people who initiate negative feelings towards ourselves or reduce our time on social media apps. We can set healthy boundaries for people in our everyday lives whose comments on food make us feel bad about ourselves. It’s not easy, it’s a journey, it’s a skill, but it’s so worth it.

If you struggle with your relationship with food and would like support in beginning your journey to achiever what I like to call Food Freedom, I offer consultations, through which we can address your issues and work on a more healthy relationship with food.