Black or White thinking in relation to FOOD

Using judgmental and moralistic terms to describe what we eat can create feelings of guilt and shame around food.

If we overeat, we are weak.

If we punish ourselves with diets, we're being good."

These labels are like little parasites that crawl into our brains and set up shop, subconsciously changing the way we feel about ourselves as people and influencing the choices we make in our food.

Do you use any of these words to describe food?

Clean v/s Dirty

Good v/s Bad

Healthy v/s unhealthy

Dichotomous thinking can diminish our ability to make more considerate choices! Instead, we may choose the “good” or the “healthy” option because we think we should. Or we may feel a shame and guilt for eating foods we deem “unhealthy” or “bad.” We may also limit our food variety.

Let’s shift away from dichotomous thinking toward something more positive called- food neutrality. Food neutrality is the idea that no food is morally superior. This mindset allows us to make dietary decisions that are more in line with our values and can better foster dietary flexibility.

Dichotomous thinking may also lead to recurrent binge eating. In an analysis of various eating behaviors and cognition, those with concurrent high dichotomous thinking scores and low intuitive eating scores were the most likely to be classified as having recurrent binge eating with an incidence of 84%. (Analysis)

Strategies to move away from dichotomous thinking:

1. Notice your language around food. Are you using any of the listed words to categorize food? Instead, consider how your food choices align with your values. For e.g., instead of saying "I'm so weak for giving into this!" Try "I value the freedom and autonomy to enjoy all foods and I am choosing to eat this." You don't need to justify it any further!

2. Plate Fun Foods with main meals and snacks, rather than eating them separately. This allows you to reduce the specialty of certain foods and take others off their health pedestal. E.g., Add an oreo or more on the side of the main meal or crush some on top of your smoothie bowl. Do this regularly and notice if the specialty of oreo disappears.

Remember, what you eat is not a characterization of who you are.