8 Signs That Your “Healthy” Eating Ain’t So Healthy

We’ve all experienced (or at least seen) some sort of “perfectly healthy eating” scenario. Maybe a friend who doesn’t eat dessert, or you see someone whipping up an acai bowl on Instagram — these situations can make us feel like if we aren’t eating the same things then we are unhealthy.

We often contribute health to what we are eating, how much we are eating, what we aren’t eating. It’s easy to become all consumed with the aesthetic of “healthy” eating. But this need to eat “perfectly” can often come at the cost of our mental and physical well being.

ORTHOREXIA

You are so focused on “healthy” eating – that you use it as a means to feel in control. It’s become so obsessive that you have to pack your own food to social events and have a hard time eating out. You only eat “ healthy”, “raw”, “organic” food, and can’t function if you eat something you classify as unhealthy. Is it hard to feel truly satisfied by the food that you are putting in your body? If you can relate or recognize this within yourself, then you might be on your way to becoming obsessed with healthy eating. This obsessive desire to only eat “healthy” or “clean” is called orthorexia.

8 SIGNS YOUR EATING ISN’T “HEALTHY”

1. You spend tons of time researching food
   Do you spend hours after hours researching and studying food? Trying to figure out the perfect diet and strategically planning out what you’re going to eat? Overtime, this will wear you down!

2. You feel guilty after eating
   After eating a no-no food or something off your “bad” list of foods, do you you often feel regret or guilt? Does it often lead to eating more of your “guilty pleasure” foods? Food’s purpose is not to make you feel guilty!

3. You cut out entire food groups
   Having a balance in your diet is important. Unless you have specific allergies or food sensitivities, you really can eat all foods. And they all have a place in your diet (yes, even sugar).

4. You have a hard time eating food prepared by others
   Worrying about others making your food, because you don’t know every ingredient in there, is fucking stressful! Having someone prepare a snack or meal for you should be a treat, not an anxiety filled event.

5. You judge what other people eat
   Everybody is different. Each of our bodies look and need different foods at different times. Believing one is better for eating one thing or worst for another is place high morality in food. Food should be neutral, no good, no bad, just food.

6. You spend an enormous amount of time thinking about food
Do you find yourself thinking about food all day? Planning your next meal over and over again or counting down till you “get” to eat again? Maybe your mind is trying to tell you something. Maybe you need more food, now, not later.

7. You avoid social gatherings
Being at parties or get togethers should be fun and exciting. Stressing about what food is going to be available, worrying if people will judge you for what you’re eating, or feeling like you’ll be too “tempted” by the food there isn’t healthy.

8. You have a hard time concentrating
When your body doesn’t have what it needs -nutrition- it can’t do everything you need it to. Brain fog often can come from not having a variety of food.

THERE HAS TO BE A BETTER WAY

There has to be a better way than feeling trapped in an unhealthy relationship with food. There is! Tuning into your body and its needs can be an incredible shift in your food mentality. Instead of asking whether or not something is healthy, ask yourself what does my body need right now? The more you listen (and trust), the more you'll be able to recognize what your body needs and spend less time focused on food. This is the start of Intuitive Eating—and we think it's worth checking out!

Learn more about Intuitive Eating and its principles here. There is a way to break this cycle of unhealthy eating! We have dietitians and therapist ready to guide you to a better relationship with food. Book a free consult call here.