Breaking Free From Food Guilt

Have you ever felt guilty after eating a food you enjoy? That familiar wave of shame that follows the last bite of pizza, ice cream, or chocolate? You're not alone. As a registered dietitian, I've seen this pattern play out with over 90% of my clients, and it's time we break this cycle.

Food isn't meant to carry moral weight. When we categorize foods as "good" or "bad," we create an unhealthy relationship that leads to restriction, binging, and shame. This episode dives deep into why these labels develop—from diet culture influence to childhood food rules—and the harmful impacts they have on our mental and physical wellbeing. We explore how seemingly innocent comments about "cleaning your plate" or avoiding "junk food" can create lasting food trauma that affects eating behaviors well into adulthood.

The path to food freedom starts with neutrality. Rather than judging our choices, we can approach eating with curiosity and mindfulness. Why do we want certain foods? How do they make us feel? Are we truly listening to our hunger and satiety cues? By reframing our language around food, focusing on what we can add to meals rather than restrict, and treating ourselves with the same compassion we offer others, we can heal our relationship with eating. For parents, this shift becomes even more crucial as children absorb our attitudes about food and our bodies like little sponges. Let's build a healthier foundation for ourselves and the next generation by breaking free from harmful food labels once and for all.

Ready to transform your relationship with food? Listen to discover practical strategies for embracing food neutrality and creating a peaceful approach to eating that supports your wellbeing without unnecessary guilt or shame. Share this episode with someone who might benefit from a healthier perspective on food, and follow me on Instagram at nutrition_with_Leonila for more insights on balanced nutrition.

Thank you for listening. Please subscribe to this podcast and share with a friend. If you would like to know more about my services, please message at fueledbyleo@gmail.com

My YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0SqBP44jMNYSzlcJjOKJdg

Chapters

• 0:34 Breaking Free From Food Labels
• 3:49 How Food Labeling Affects Behavior
• 9:34 Understanding Hunger and Satiety Cues
• 13:20 Practicing Food Neutrality
• 18:52 Mindful Eating and Positive Self-Talk
• 22:49 Episode Wrap-Up and Call-to-Action

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:17

Hey, hey, welcome back to another episode in the Simple Nutrition Insights Podcast. I am your host, leonila Campos, registered dietitian, and today let's talk about breaking free from food labels. Why no food is good or bad. I often hear these from, I mean, probably 90% or more of my clients ask you know, are there any good foods that I should add? Are there any bad foods that I should steer away from? And my question, or my answer to those questions are there's no good or bad food right. Good or bad food right.

Speaker 1: 1:06

Essentially, the reasons why we label foods as good or bad could be because of diet, culture, influence, moral language around food or the way that we grew up, right, or because historically we've been trying to lose weight or we have struggled with our weight. And so when we look into trying to lose weight, right, there's always this notion that there should be a category that is good food and there should be a category that is bad food. And I have a problem with that right, because when we do those things, we oftentimes put the foods that we enjoy into the bad category, right? Let's take an example If we like ice cream, right, or if we like cookies or a cake or chips, right, and we are trying to lose weight, and when we look online, right, or when we see influencers say if you try to lose weight, if you're trying to lose weight, you should not eat chips, you should not eat cookies, and so then we automatically think, okay, that is a bad food, and so we put it in the bad food category. And so then, when we do eat a cookie or when we do eat chips right, there is so much guilt and so much shame, right, that rushes into our mind and our thoughts because we are enjoying this food so much, but it's a bad food. Right, and so it creates this unhealthy relationship with food.

Speaker 1: 2:37

Right, because we want to have that food so much, we enjoy it. Right, it's something that we like. But because we also have these goals right, we shouldn't have that food, and so we can create restrictions. Right, and we can essentially create these rules around food that they are so hard to maintain right, because they're unrealistic. And so when we break those rules, right, we feel horrible, we feel like we have failed. Right, we feel like why can't we do it? And it's not so much that we cannot do it, right, it's because we have these rules that we have created are so unrealistic, right, and so unhealthy. And so the other things, you know, other factors that could contribute to that is that if we went, if, growing up right, we had a lot of food trauma, either we had, we grew up with, you know, learning that we should clean our plate right, or that we shouldn't eat junk food, right, or X, y, z, then it's hard to not think about it that way because we grew up that way, right, and so there's a lot that we have to learn.

Speaker 1: 3:52

So oftentimes, when I have clients come to me, right, and they have these goals, most of the times it's about weight loss, right, and we sit down and we really, really look into, you know, the behaviors, we look into history and, mind you, my initial sessions, when I first meet with clients, they can go, you know, from 60 to 90 minutes. I've had some clients we've spent out like three hours together, right, just learning about different things and truly understanding the behaviors. And so oftentimes it's not as simple and this is another thing that also bothers me a lot, right Like when someone says, oh, if you're trying to lose weight, then just eat less and move more. We know that is not correct, right, because if that were the case, then everybody would be able to do it, no problem. Problem, that is not the case for a lot of people, and so there's so much going on, right, mentally, physically, some traumas are happening that it requires a deep understanding of the person, right, that is trying to reach these goals. And are these goals realistic, right? So there is so much that is happening and so oftentimes, right as I'm having these sessions with my clients, if I see, okay, there's probably something that needs to be addressed by a therapist, right, because maybe there is a lot of food trauma and that is out of my scope of practice, right, that is something that I wouldn't be able to help my patient. I can support my patient, right, patient, by going through this new journey, but I don't have the skills like a therapist or psychologist would have that can help the patient, and so I oftentimes refer patients, I encourage patients to talk to a therapist to look at that deeper, right, because it's not until we are able to be on the same page that we're going to make a lifetime change.

Speaker 1: 5:51

There's some other things that happen when we label food, right, is that it can lead to restriction and binge cycles. So if we, let's say, we restrict so much, okay, I'm not going to have pizza, right, I'm not going to have cookies and we have such a strong willpower for a period of time, right. But oftentimes when we go through something emotional, when we go through these strong emotions or some stressful situations and we just are trying to feel better, our brains are trying to make us feel better for survival, right? Usually that's when we quote-unquote give in, right, but you know, we're human. And so then we start eating some of these foods that create comfort and in our minds, right at first, we might feel like we feel euphoria in a way, right. And as we start to eat these foods and as we start to dissect and think about what we're doing, then a lot of resentment, right, a lot of failure and sadness rush in and we feel like, okay, man, why did I do that? Right? Or I'm just going through all of this amount of food and I'm just not going to do it ever again. So there's so much happening, right?

Speaker 1: 7:10

We go from one stream to another stream and essentially we create these binge cycles because we are labeling food, right, things that foods that we enjoy, as bad, and if it's something that, again, that creates comfort. Because, for whatever reason, we have chosen that food to create comfort right, and our brain has made that link, it has created a link between that food and feeling good that, even if we have the strongest willpower, when we are needing to have that comfort right, everything else goes out the window. Because, in order for us to be able to create new pathways, new links in our brain right, we have to essentially replace that link with something else. That's usually when the therapist comes in, but oftentimes we also kind of have this disconnect with, uh, listening to our bodies, right, and so this is another thing. That and this is probably another episode that I'll have to do, but this is another thing that I work with my clients right is learning our hunger and our satiety cues right.

Speaker 1: 8:19

Learning when we feel hungry right, when we do have that hunger and our satiety cues right. Learning when we feel hungry right when we do have that hunger, and learning when we feel satiated and content versus full and bloated and uncomfortable, right. That means that we have bypassed our hunger cues, and it's not because we don't listen to our bodies, right, it's because, maybe at one point growing up or whenever, that we for some reason ignore those satiety cues, right. And so now it's hard for us to understand. When do I feel content? And it's okay to still be a little hungry, right, but if I continue to eat, then I'm going to feel really full and uncomfortable. So I always tell my clients this is not something that you're going to be able to find out right away. Right, it's going to take months, because we have gone years, right, ignoring those tidy cues.

Speaker 1: 9:13

Now we have to pay attention to our bodies. We have to pay attention to our brains, right, and those cues that our bodies are giving us. And also that would be really difficult to do in such a chaotic environment, like you have to choose a meal where you know that it's not. There's not so much chaos to be to truly understand why your body is telling you. So I have a client that said you know what? I don't know when I feel satiated, I just know when I have had too much to eat. And I grew up cleaning my plate, right, because I was told that I shouldn't waste food, and that is understandable, right, because we do, especially if someone grew up being really poor, or our parents were poor or our grandparents were poor, that, hey, there might not be food tomorrow, right, let's essentially feast up just in case. And so when that happens, right, we do get those satiety cues for a period of time and then after a while, because we have ignored them for a long time, then we just don't know, right, that we are satiated, and so now we have to kind of learn that again and that will take time, and that's okay, right, I always tell my clients be graceful with yourself, be patient, right, and it's okay to have ups and downs in this journey because, unfortunately, we're not going to have a straight pathway, right, it is going to be windy, and that's okay too to have a straight pathway. Right, it is going to be windy, and that's okay too.

Speaker 1: 10:50

The other problem that can cause when we put foods into good and bad category is that it can lead to a higher risk of disorder eating and eating disorders. Right, although my expertise is not working with the eating disorder population, I have an amazing coworker colleague, mary Ellen Benavidez, that has worked with my son is sick, so he's here right now. Come, come here, love. And so I always refer my, if I get referrals for eating disorders. I always refer my, my, those referrals to her because she's amazing.

Speaker 1: 11:25

But that is another problem that can happen, right, that it can lead to disorder eating or eating disorders. It also affects kids and family dynamics around food, right, because if the kids, if we ask our kids, to finish their food on their plate, right, and maybe they don't like something or maybe they are satiated, because we have to respect that, right. I am a mom and so sometimes maybe I am worried that my kids are not eating enough, but I can force them to eat, because then that means that I'm telling them to ignore their satiety cues and that is not my responsibility, right, my responsibility as a parent is to provide safe foods, to provide them nourishment, um, to encourage them to try things, and the responsibility of the child, right, is to try foods and to learn, to learn their body. So I learn when they're hungry, later when they're satiated, and that creates a healthy relationship with food right with kids. And so if sometimes I do see that that if a child doesn't want to eat something specifically, right, or they feel anxious around food, right, because maybe mom or dad or whoever's taking care of them are so pushy that they get anxious, right, and then they see mealtime as something that gives them anxiety or that feels unnatural or inorganic, and so it's important to think about those things too and how our kids are going to grow up right Following those steps.

Speaker 1: 13:03

So what should we do? Instead? We should practice neutrality. Right, food is just food. I always tell my clients we should not place foods into categories right. We should not put food into like this is good food and this is bad food because we are going to create these restrictions. Food is not bad right, because unless the food is poisonous, right, or it has gone bad, then it is bad. But just regular food right is just food. And so when we start practicing that, when we start really understanding that food is just food, then we might have, like, we might not feel as anxious about eating something right or we might not go into extremes.

Speaker 1: 13:51

The next thing is that we can tune into our hunger, fullness and satisfaction right, really understanding our cues, really paying attention to our bodies. And, like I said, we might not be able to do that with every single meal, but we can try that with maybe a meal where we feel more, we have more time to do that right, maybe a snack, and then slowly add the other meals, and that can help us, right, slowly, really learning about our cues, use curiosity over judgment. Right, why do I want these? And I work with my clients on these too right, because oftentimes, again, it could be comfort. It could be that we're stressed and we're eating when we're really stressed and so asking ourselves okay, I ate already and I want something sweet or I want something salty, or I feel like I want something sweet or I want something salty, or I feel like I want to eat more. Right? So, really paying attention to and being curious as to like, why do I want that? Right? Is it because maybe my meals were not balanced? And that can happen too? Right, and you can go back to my previous episodes where I talk about balancing meals. And so if we're not having balanced meals, even though we're having the volume right and the amount of food, we might still feel hungry. Right, because maybe we didn't add enough protein or enough fiber from vegetables, so we don't feel truly satiated. Or maybe we ate so fast right, so we didn't allow our bodies to have that connection. Right, our brain and gut connection, connection, right, Our brain and gut connection. So there's so many factors that we can work through and be curious about.

Speaker 1: 15:31

Let's focus on how food makes us feel, right, know what it says about our words. I am Mexican, right, so food is our culture. Right, that's oftentimes how we show love and that's okay, right. So understanding how food makes us feel and know that because we're eating a tortilla, right, that that's bad for us, right, or that we are eating rice. So understanding what feelings you have around food, right, and keeping them positive, Because if you start adding negative feelings to the foods that you enjoy, again we go back to putting these foods into good and bad categories.

Speaker 1: 16:15

We want to steer away from that right. To build this healthy relationship with food. Include all foods right. Be flexible, which is part of balance, right, flexibility is part of balance. So try to have the foods that you enjoy right on your plate. So sometimes I have clients that say you know, I'm going to eliminate chips, right, or I'm going to not have ice cream, and so then when they do end up having it, right, they have a massive you know a huge amount, because they're like I'm not going to have it again, right, instead of creating this balance and be like you know what. I have control over how much I can have, right, and I also have control over how often I want to have it. So when we do that right, it eliminates the restriction. It eliminates the need to have those really strict rules.

Speaker 1: 17:18

Use the add-in approach right what can I add to make this meal more satisfying and nourishing? And approach right what can I add to make this meal more satisfying and nourishing? I love this one because I practice this with my clients all the time. Right, I always ask them look at your plate right and ask yourself how balanced is this plate? Right? Do I have my protein? Do I have my grains? Do I have my vegetables? Right, can I add a piece of fruit right To make me feel a little bit more satiated? Or some healthy fats? Or maybe I want to have a treat? Right, and that's okay too. So, instead of like looking at your plate as what can I eliminate? Or just your nutrition in general, what can I eliminate? Because oftentimes, again, it's going to be those foods that we enjoy. Think of your meals as that right, what can I add to this meal to make it more nourishing? Or what can I add to this meal to feel more balanced? And it's a healthier way to look at food and meals and let's work on reframing right. Swap good and bad with maybe more nourishing and less nourishing, or the sometimes foods versus, like all the time, foods.

Speaker 1: 18:33

Right, avoid labeling yourself. Right, as I was bad today for eating pizza. Again, it's negative, right. Focus on the positive. Again it's negative, right. Focus on the positive. Okay, I really want a pizza today and I really enjoyed it. Right, and that is more. It's going to create again, not such a negative result. Right, because we eat pizza and because we think that the pizza is bad. Right, so we have to refrain, right, from saying that. So, instead of saying I was bad today for eating pizza, you know, I wanted some pizza today and I really enjoyed it. It was delicious. And move forward. Right, there is no justification as to why we want a pizza, because it's the same thing, right. Why do we have to justify something? It's just something that we wanted and that's it. Right. Let's keep moving forward.

Speaker 1: 19:27

Use mindful eating techniques, right. This one goes back to being able to understand and listen to your hunger and satiety cues. Mindful eating just means that. Okay, how is this food making me feel? Right, how satiated do I feel now? Right, how hungry do I feel? But in order to do that, you have to allow that to happen. Right, if you choose a meal that is chaotic, if you choose breakfast that is on the go and you're like we need to leave, right, if you have kids and it's just, you know, um stressful, then it's not going going to happen because there's so much happening around you. So you have to, again be mindful and choose a meal where you're able to do that and allow that to happen.

Speaker 1: 20:14

Talk kindly about food and your body around others. This one is huge, especially again, if you have kids, because the way that you talk about yourself, the way that you talk about food, is the way that your children are going to talk about themselves. This is so profound Because even when we think that kids are not paying attention to what we're saying, they are little sponges and they are going to imitate what we do, what we say about ourselves. But also, I always ask my clients this question to you Whatever you're saying to yourself about yourself, will you say that to a friend, to someone that you love very much? Oftentimes the answer is no. So then I ask them why will you say that to yourself? Treat yourself as that other person. You are your sister, you are your mom, you are your own daughter or son right, tell yourself those beautiful things, too, because it makes a difference, right, the way that we see ourselves.

Speaker 1: 21:16

It doesn't matter what goals we have. We have to focus and reframe those things, those negative things that we think about ourselves, and more positive things, because that's going to help us long-term, right, that's going to motivate us to be like. You know what I'm seeing myself past, maybe the things that I don't want to see, but more so the positive things, right, and that's going to keep me motivated and that's going to help me to continue to work on my goals. Okay, my friend, remember, and that is going to help me to continue to work on my goals. Okay, my friend, remember that food is not good or bad. Right, I want you to reflect on your food beliefs and try one small shift this week.

Speaker 1: 21:56

Right, if you have struggled with that, if you struggle with any kind of disorder eating, I have an amazing referral, a colleague that can help you right. Or if you just want to establish a healthy relationship with food, right, we can do that. Let's work on these things together. Right, let's try to create more positivity around food, around our bodies around, just our goals, right? Just around everything, because it can make a huge difference. All right, my friends, that is it for today. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend, don't forget to leave a review, and you can follow me on my Instagram page at nutrition underscore with underscore Leonila. I will see you and talk to you in another episode. Take care, bye-bye for now.