Let them eat cake

How many of you have a "bad" foods list? Even if you don't have a full blown list I bet you have a couple of thoughts on the matter. I'm not talking about bad like, "I don't like it, it's bad", I mean "bad" as in, I have pejoratively decided to label this food as detrimental to my health and waistline. Can you relate and if so, what's on your list?

Mine is candy, baked goods, cookies, cake, cream, bread and pasta. Now to clarify, I don't think there's anything wrong with any of these foods. I think cake is awesome, coffee means nothing without cream and there isn't anything better than cappelini with tomato sauce. But sometimes when I eat some or many of these foods I will subconsciously feel as if I have done something wrong, as if I have failed. This is a common occurrence for a person who has lived for many years in the mindset of a dieter.

What happens to the average dieter when they have eaten something "bad"?

Well many things could happen but here are some common ones I've seen. The dieter may feel guilty and overcompensate by exercising excessively in order to negate the trigger food. She might feel sick and disgusted with herself which could lead her to eating more of said food because, "the diets already ruined anyway, right?" He might go into a starvation mode and decide adamantly that he will never eat said food again, thus creating anxiety about the possibility of future engagements in which this food is present. Regardless of which scenario occurs, the end result is too much time obsessing about a food that isn't actually bad in the first place.

What if instead of writing foods off as bad or good, we start to pay attention to what our body wants to eat. What if there were no more labels? What if we could eat whatever we want, without any of the negative feelings and none of the anxiety? What would happen? Well for about the first week we would probably go crazy, bingeing on sugar and pasta and baked goods. But then, once we realized that sugar isn't going anywhere, that we can have it whenever we want, that eating it does not make us bad or weak or wrong, we would begin to notice that our body craves other foods as well. And then eventually we would settle into a lifestyle of eating when we're hungry and eating what our body needs.

I know that the idea of letting go of negative food ideals is a little scary for some people. You may be thinking, "But Sarah, what if I eat cake every day and then I gain 10 lbs?" If you truly let go of your "bad" food label you wont eat cake every day because your body will crave other things. Do you really think that your body would want to eat nothing but sugar all day long? If you truly listen to what your body needs and wants, you will crave a rainbow of foods. Sometimes it will include cake, and that is definitely not a bad thing.

Be Good to your Body, it's where you Live