Weight is not a moral issue.

Weight is not a moral issue.

When you’re wandering through the grocery store, have you ever noticed how many food products are labeled “guilt-free”? There’s even a new line of ice cream called Halo with an angelic halo, of course, as the logo.

Essentially, these products are saying: “Eat this reduced fat, reduced sugar, lower calorie option... and then you can feel guilt-free! Eating this means you are a virtuous person! Eat this and then you can feel good about yourself… instead of feeling shame and disgust like you usually do!”

he diet industry is a multi-billion-dollar industry that has managed to convince millions of people that “thin” is “good” (desirable, virtuous, moral) and “fat” is “bad” (undesirable, lazy, even immoral).

But this message simply isn’t true. In fact, if we break it down, it doesn’t even make sense.

Eating low calorie ice cream doesn’t make you a “good person.” Food has nothing to do with goodness or morality. Nor does weight. Nor does health.

For instance, you can be a thin person and be a vicious bully, a ruthless dictator, a murderer, or worse. You can be a larger person and be kind, generous, and compassionate. Your size has absolutely nothing to do with whether you’re moral or immoral, ethical or unethical, caring or cruel.

Deep down, of course we all know this. And yet, millions of us still reach for that “guilt-free” snack, thinking, “If I eat this, then maybe I will lose weight, and if I lose weight, then I will become a ‘better’ person and I can feel ‘good’ about myself.”

Here’s a wild idea:

What if you could feel 100% good about yourself whether you’re eating full-fat ice ice cream, or low fat ice cream, or no ice cream at all?

What if your self-esteem could remain steady and strong, regardless of what you eat or don’t eat today?

How might that change your life?

If you notice yourself putting food into “good vs. bad” “guilt-free vs. sinful” categories, try to interrupt those thoughts. That’s not the truth. That’s just decades of diet industry marketing residue in your brain.

Create some new thoughts. Remind yourself:

“I am a good person and my ‘goodness’ has literally nothing to do with what I eat or don’t eat or how much I weigh. I can feel great about myself as a human being regardless of what I put into my shopping cart. My inherent ‘goodness’ has nothing to do with food.”

No matter what we eat or don’t eat, we are all lovable and worthy of care, compassion, and respect. If we all believed this, the diet industry would be bankrupt by the next fiscal quarter.

But what should I eat?

Right now, at millions of restaurants and kitchen tables and grocery stores around the world, women are anxiously wondering, “But what should I eat?”

Women often wonder…

“Should I eat this?”

“Is this on my meal plan?”

“Am I allowed to eat this?”

“If I eat this, will it make me fat?” (Or: “will this help me maintain my weight” or “lose weight”?)

These are not the greatest questions.

These questions typically leave you feeling worried, paranoid, and excessively preoccupied with food and with your body. It’s like a hamster wheel spinning continuously in the back of your mind. “Am I allowed...?” Spin spin spin. “Is this okay...?” Spin. “Should I…?” Spin. “But I already had a bagel earlier, so…?” It’s all very stressful and distracting.  This hamster-spinning clogs up your brain, making it harder to focus on other things--your work, relationships, creative projects, things that you value deeply.

Here are some different questions.

“What sounds delicious right now?”

“Why is my body asking for right now?”

“What kind of meal or snack would feel good right now?”

“I have a body. It’s my home, every day of my life. I want to feel comfortable living inside my home. What choices (food, movement, sleep, etc.) would help me feel the most comfortable?”

And my personal favorite question:

“How can I take the best care of myself today?”

The next you notice yourself thinking about food, instead of asking a fearful question (“Am I allowed to eat this?”) try asking yourself some new questions, like, “How can I take care of myself?” and “What would feel best right now?”

If you want life to feel different, start by asking different questions.

xoxo,