We all know that things like ice cream, pizza and French fries are unhealthy choices. From a nutritional standpoint, these foods have lots of cons. Foods like these are often loaded in calories, saturated fats, salt and/or added sugars.

Recently, I read the following quote by Elisa Zied, MS, RDN, CDN:

I don’t like saying there are good foods and bad foods - it’s so judgmental! I’m not saying French fries aren’t loaded with calories, fat and sodium, or ice cream isn’t rich in calories, fat and sugar, but saying they’re ‘bad’ foods invokes guilt on those who enjoy these comfort foods. Eating and enjoying food - even foods that aren’t the most nutritious - shouldn’t ever be done with guilt or shame. Eating should be one of the great pleasures of life! And if you learn to eat with pleasure, you may even feel more satisfied with less food.

When we eat with shame and guilt, these negative feelings can actually result in eating more unhealthy foods. That’s because many of us turn to food as a way to comfort and sooth through emotional eating. And as we eat even more of these unhealthy foods, we feel even more guilty - and the spiral of shame continues downward. It’s a cycle that needs to be stopped.

Moreover, labeling foods as good or bad isn’t doing you any favors. Dividing foods into categories of good and bad - and especially depriving yourself of those so-called bad foods - is the perfect way to trigger a binge. What you resist will always persist.

If you want a slice of cake, eat it. Enjoy it. Savor each bite.

But also pay attention to how your body feels afterwards. While healthy foods like salads, vegetables and fruit nourish our bodies and energize us, less healthy foods tend to make our bodies feel sluggish and unhappy. This is part of the eating experience, and when you tune in to it, it may make those unhealthy foods like ice cream, pizza and French fries a little less desirable.

If you love life (and I hope you do!), you must honor the vehicle through which you experience life. That vehicle is your body. When you look at your body in this way, the food we eat becomes more than just flavors. It’s also fuel. And because we want to keep our bodies in good working condition, it becomes easier to make food decisions that support your goals.