Labeling foods as "good" and "bad" and why it is affecting your weight loss

Do you ever find yourself labeling foods as "good" or "bad"?

We think this is helpful and will lead us to weight loss.
But the reality is that it sets us up for failure.

As I tell my clients, food is not good or bad, there are just better choices.

I talked about this on IG recently.

Assigning labels to foods, such as “good/bad” creates a black and white mentality which can lead to all or nothing thinking.
When you label foods as "bad" you have the mindset that you need to avoid them at all costs.
There is no in between.

So what happens if you "indulge" and have that food?
There is often guilt and shame involved which can lead to feeling like you "blew it" and you might as well just keep eating and end up binging on the "forbidden foods".

Sound familiar?
Too often we feel guilty for eating a "bad" food, decide we blew it and go all in and end up eating everything around us.
Ultimately leading to more guilt.
#viscous cycle

Yet, the truth is that the "bad" food you initially ate would have had no effect on your overall weight loss.
But it sent us into a tailspin because we thought it was "bad".
Make sense?

It takes 3,500 calories ABOVE your maintenance level to gain one pound of fat.
So for the average women that means taking in over 5,000 calories in one day to gain a pound of fat that day.
That is very unlikely as most people would be physically sick before being able to ingest that much.
But even if someone did eat that much, why not just eat better the next day and get back on track? Why spiral out of control and turn it into a failure?
This is what labeling foods as good and bad leads to!

The reality is that we don't gain weight because we ate "bad" one day. We gain weigh over time.
We gain weight because each day we take in more calories than we burn, even by a little, which over time adds up.
Rather than focusing on what foods are "good" or "bad", focus on what fuels you.
What foods make you feel the best when you eat them?
Which ones make you feel worse?
Which foods satisfy you and which ones leave you hungry and wanting more?

Before you eat something, ask yourself:
Am I hungry?
Do I really want this?
How will I feel after?
Is there a "better" choice?
And then eat the food. Don't assign guilt or reward to it! Just eat it, savor it, and enjoy it and then go about your day.
Food is not about good and bad.
It is about nourishing your body, taking care of yourself physically and mentally and
loving yourself enough to make better choices.

Be sure to grab my 5 Tips to lasting Weight loss here.