Food is not a moral issue. There is no food that is good or bad. Food just is. Food is neutral.
When we think of food as something other than neutral we give it power. Food doesn't want power and it doesn't need power. Sometimes you'll eat a nightshade plant. Sometimes you'll drink more alcohol than your prescriptions recommend. Sometimes you'll really be craving a huge slice of chocolate cake with extra frosting. That does not mean that you're a bad person. That doesn't mean that you're going to do it over and over again and that all your work to be healthy was for nothing. It only means that you made a decision. Your body wanted something and instead of denying your body, you gave it that thing. That food is not good or bad and you are not good or bad for eating it. You are human. On that same note: you are not superior or noble or a good person just because you follow all of your food rules. That isn't how food works. Food is just food; it is delicious, healthy, nourishing, and sometimes even decadent, but at the end of the day it is just the fuel that makes you run. We want the best fuel for our body but sometimes we don't give ourselves premium fuel, sometimes we just give ourselves the fuel that is available. That is okay.
Sometimes you just have to say to yourself: "Cultivating a culture of food enjoyment is really important to me. I would love to enjoy this delicious food instead of assigning value to it!" Instead of assigning moral value to the food that we eat, we should instead think about the situation that we are in. If the situation merits stepping away from your food rules, then do. It is neither good nor bad to step outside of your food rules. You have those rules for a reason. Your reason might relate to living your best anti-inflammatory life, you might have food allergies, or you may just simply feel better when you don't eat that type of food. Whatever your reason for not eating a food, it is not the food's fault. You are the one that assigned it the "DO NOT EAT" bad food status.
If there are times when you feel like you'll be missing out on an experience because of your food restrictions, try to avoid thinking: "I'm being so bad by eating this sugary, fattening, carb filled wedding cake!" Instead, re-frame your thinking. Say to yourself: "I'm making a choice about participating in the food-centered nature of this celebration and accept the physical consequences that will surely develop tomorrow."
Food doesn't follow you. It doesn't stick with you and tell you how bad you were being for eating it. Those thoughts that you're having about your food have nothing to do with the food itself. When you assign moral value to your food, you are assigning moral value to your own behaviors. It is you telling yourself that you are not good enough. You made a mistake. You did the wrong thing. You were being bad. I am here to tell you right now: you were not doing something wrong. You were not being bad. You were just living your life. You were making a decision. You will make many decisions in your life.
You will make many decisions in your life. The decision to assign moral value to food hopefully won't be one of them.
