No Bad Food
By: Kimber Simpkins
In the last few days, I’ve heard at least three people say some variation of, “I can’t believe I’ve eaten so much crap over the holidays!” Of course, they don’t mean it literally. What we really mean when we say “I ate so much crap!”, is that we ate too many of Grandma’s butter cookies, had a second serving of pumpkin pie, and munched our way through the vast selection of truffles, brownies, and cupcakes left over from last night’s party. And then we feel guilt, shame, and pledge to never eat any of this “crap” ever again — just in time to make and break our new years resolution!
All this feeling bad about what we eat actually does is only rev up the deprivation, binge, and shame cycle that so many of us are familiar with already.
The problem isn’t the all “crap” we eat. Brownies aren’t poison, and unless you’re allergic to some ingredient in them, they definitely won’t kill you. In fact, savoring a sweet and chewy brownie is one of life’s great pleasures! Brownies are not “bad” for you, no matter the sugar, wheat, and chocolate content. You could eat a brownie everyday as part of your body-based diet and enjoyable exercise routine and live to a ripe old age.
What is bad for us is feeling shame about what we eat.
Ironically, feeling badly about what we eat often translates into eating more of it than we actually enjoy, and feeling physically and emotionally terrible about it later. Sometimes we even “punish” ourselves with overexercise or hunger. We feel “bad” so we label the foods we enjoy as “sinful.”
My new years diet resolution? Going shame-free.
Food doesn’t make me unhappy. Shame makes me unhappy. And feeling shame complicates my relationship with food so that I enjoy it less, and eventually end up binging when I can’t stand saying no any longer.
Try eating the foods you enjoy, and only eat as much as you genuinely enjoy them. Ask yourself as you’re eating, “Am I still enjoying this?” You might be surprised at what a strong recipe this is for both sensory pleasure and moderation. See how your body responds to it, and listen to what it tells you about what it likes and dislikes.
You see that picture up top, of me with icing on my nose? Following the same advice as above, I ate at least three of those little cupcakes that day, and enjoyed every single one! Mmmmm…no guilt, no shame, no crap!
Kimber Simpkins is a Yoga Teacher, a Body Loving Goddess, and the author of Full: How I Learned to Satisfy My Insatiable Hunger and Feed My Soul
