Wait, what?
It’s a pretty provocative statement, I know. And sounds like BS.
But it’s something I’ve been telling my clients for a while now.
But how can that be? When there are so many articles about how crappy sugar is for you, and meat is giving everyone cancer, and just one egg yolk will block an artery for the next quarter century. It’s researched?! It’s legit?! It’s for real?! It’s like – SCIENCE!
I get it – I really do. And it’s 100% accurate that different foods affect the body in different ways.
So why would I say that there is no such thing as bad food?
I say that because judging food as “good” and “bad” leaves people in a headspace of confusion, anxiety, stress and guilt.
Think about it – how many of us can sit down for a slice of pizza, a beer, cake (insert appropriate food here) without one or all of the following scenarios accompanying our meal:
- Having an unnecessarily long conversation with yourself about whether it’s a good idea or not. “It’s just once. But tomorrow I’m going to the Raptors game, so maybe I shouldn’t. But it’s fine I’m working out in the morning. But maybe I’ll get salad or something. But the salad there is so gross… Ugh whatever, I deserve it my week was AWFUL. I’m just gonna do it. That’s it. I’m doing it…………… OMG should I do it?!”
- Feeling bad after (and sometimes even during) the meal, and for the rest of the night AND not really enjoying the meal because of all the feeling bad that’s going on.
- Spending the next day depriving yourself of anything worth eating to “make up” for the previous day.
- OR spending the next day shoveling as much crap as you can into your mouth because “the diet starts tomorrow.”
Sound familiar?
We are OBSESSED with what we are putting or not putting in our mouth. 
Is it right? Is it wrong? Is it good? Is it bad? Is it helping? It is hurting?
And this obsessive focus on food cuts us off from the awareness of what’s really happening with our bodies, our minds, our surroundings – everything we SHOULD be focusing on to really live life and life it well:
- How foods really make me feel awesome?
- How does what I’m consuming impact things like my sleep, my mood, my energy, my skin, my joints… the list goes on.
- What things am I doing well already – and what motivates me to do those. How can I tap into that motivation further?
- When I make a choice about my food, what emotions come along with it? And are those emotions serving me? Are they worth it?
- What parts of my day or week am I doing great things already? How can I make sure those times of me week are consistent? How can I increase or expand them?
- What unwanted situations do I find myself in over and over again, and what can I put in so that my environment really supports my goals?
These are the types of questions worth answering. When you start to look inwards and investigate, the answers to all those questions “right, wrong, good, bad, etc.” become clear – for YOU. And the actions that YOU should take are simple.
So – is there such a thing as good or bad food? Maybe. It’s just not a conversation worth having.
Molly Sanders – RHN
Listen to Molly on That Badass Podcast HERE
Bio:
Molly Sanders is the CEO and founder of Get Real to Heal and is the creator of The Beyond Food Program: 12 weeks to revolutionize your relationship to your body, yourself, and your environment. After years as a closet binge eater, Molly overhauled her relationship to food through education, self-awareness, accountability and community.
Molly is passionate about transforming people’s relationship to food, and its role in their lives. She and her team provide programs and talks that are direct, effective, and results driven and have caused amazing breakthroughs for hundreds of people. Through education (minus the fear mongering), straight shooting coaching and rigorous accountability, she and her team consistently deliver major impact – reducing/eliminating symptom-based medicine dependence, huge gains in self-confidence, power over food, and of course measurable results.
