Toxic Nutritional Beliefs that Keep You Stuck

How many diets have you tried? How many years have you been trying to lose weight? How long have you been trying to stick with a fitness routine? How long have you tried making healthy lifestyle changes?

Oftentimes when we find ourselves stuck, we have to step back and reevaluate what we are doing.

Toxic nutritional beliefs could be holding you back from reaching your goals.

A toxic nutritional belief is a belief about nutrition that you believe is true and no one can convince you that it is not true.

A toxic nutritional belief usually does more harm than good. You see your toxic belief as a good thing, but in reality it is not a good thing. Holding on to toxic nutritional beliefs results in being stuck in your mind, body, and spirit.

Toxic Nutritional Beliefs

Belief #1

“If I eat dietary fat, then I will get fat.” – Healthy fat does not make you fat. The body needs a certain amount of fat and when you lower it or even cut it down to almost nothing, you can become fat deficient. You can have trouble losing weight (because you are eating more carbohydrates or constantly snacking), dry skin, dry, brittle hair and some women who eat an extremely low fat diet will sometimes lose their menstrual cycle. When fat is added back in the diet the menstrual cycle returns. Healthy fat is an important macro-nutrient.

My experience.

There was a time when I thought that if I ate too much dietary fat, that I would be fat. I experimented with eating a low-fat diet and I was always hungry. I never felt like I was getting enough food, which resulted in constant snacking. Today, I eat healthy fats and I no longer worry about getting fat. Can you believe I am not fat?

Belief #2

“I have to eat the perfect diet.” – There is no such thing as a perfect diet, even though experts would have you believe that their diet is the best diet on the planet. The perfect diet is the diet that works best for your body right now. The perfect diet is the diet that meets your nutritional need and one that does not cause you nutritional deficiencies. Do not search for the perfect diet, instead eat a balanced diet that is good for your body.

My Experience

I experimented with many different ways of eating a plant-based diet. I was on a mission to find the perfect diet, but after experimenting I realized that a plant-based diet was not the best diet for me. I once believed that plant-based diet was the perfect diet and that everyone on the planet should eat a plant-based diet. I finally learned that one diet does not fit everyone. I am no longer on a mission to find the perfect diet, because I know the perfect diet does not exist.

Belief #3

“I will not eat that food because it is bad, it is my enemy.” – Food is neither good or bad it is neutral. We are the ones who put food in the good or bad category. There is nothing worse than having someone tell you not to eat a certain food because it is bad. Some people will automatically think that if they eat the bad food then they are a bad person. When we have a relationship with food like this it creates a stress response.

Side-note: Each of these toxic nutritional beliefs creates a stress response in the body.

My Experience

I had a big problem in this area. There was a time in my life when I experimented with eating a raw vegan diet. It was a very restrictive diet and my body told the story. One day, while stepping out of the shower, I noticed my body and that was my wake up call. That was the day, I stopped eating a raw vegan diet and also the day I got my life back. Food restricting can lay the foundation for an eating disorder to manifest itself and it can also mess up your metabolism. These days, I only restrict foods my body cannot tolerate.

Side-note: I do not push food restrictions, but if a certain food does not work for you, then do not eat it. Listen to the wisdom of your body.

Final Words

The above toxic nutritional beliefs are not the only toxic beliefs, I only listed a few, specifically the beliefs that I once held because I want you to know my experience with these toxic nutritional beliefs.

If you are stuck, examine your beliefs about nutrition. If you do have these toxic beliefs, let the toxic beliefs go. Toxic beliefs can have a strong hold on your mind, body, and spirit. Let it go and watch the magic happen.

“You change your life by changing your heart.” ~ Max Lucado

Source of Information:  The information that I share in this post is a little snippet of what I have learned from my training at the Institute for the Psychology of Eating.