Just like the language, you use around many other topics, how you discuss food does matter.
For example, let's say you tell yourself you are going to stay away from "junk" food. We all know it's delicious and tempting so when we, inevitably, eat that food, it can cause guilt and shame.
Who's ever felt "guilty" about eating a food or skipping a workout? I know I have.
The thing is, we don't need to place moral value on our food, movement, or body image. In doing so we may be causing undue stress which can ultimately lead to disordered eating or eating disorders.
On the flip side, when we talk to our kids, for example, about eating "good" food, meaning nutritiously dense, we are telling them that this food is morally superior to others, which can lead to the same issues.
So instead, we can work to incorporate language about what good does for us such as "this food helps us go to the bathroom"
"This food is fun but we may feel hungry after"
"this food can help keep us from getting sick"
"This is a fun food that tastes good but may give us a belly ache if we have too much".
By the way, those statements can work just as well with yourself as they do with your kids. 😊
These types of statements can help foster a healthy relationship with food and provide great feedback to facilitate curiosity about how different foods feel in our body.
So, if you've called good "junk", "bad", "good" or felt guilty because you ate a whole pan of brownies, breathe a sigh of relief because you're like every other human on the planet. It's something we have unknowingly been taught by society, but that we can get curious about what language we use and how it could affect our mental health or that of those around us. Then we can begin to unpack our thoughts and behaviors around food in a non-judgmental way.
Share something you learned or how you're going to start to incorporate morally neutral language around food.
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