Affects of Your Own Negative Language on Your Relationship with Food

The more you talk about a certain topic, the more you will convince yourself of these beliefs. This is why you should be mindful of the words you use when describing food because it can impact the people you are in conversation with as well as yourself. The more negativity you bring to food and body image, the more you will concentrate on the negativity, which can lead to developing a poor relationship with food and more rumination. Here are some explanations on the negativity that certain descriptors bring towards someone’s relationship with food:

“Bad” – makes it seem as though it’s horrible to be eating certain foods and can cause someone to feel guilty about their food choices. No foods are good or bad; equalize your thoughts about food to take away the judgment and negative connotations. There is no reason to make yourself feel bad about eating, whether it’s a candy bar or fresh fruit.

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“Skinny” – using this term can cause someone to feel as if a skinner look is more valued than being non-skinny. This term can also be viewed negatively, and we should refrain from commenting on people's bodies and appearances.

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“Clean”- This word, when describing food, has a similar affect as labeling food good or bad. Calling foods clean puts foods into the good or bad category and can make people, again, feel bad about their food choices. A nourishing diet has a variety of foods, and no one is able to maintain a perfectly ‘clean’ diet.

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“Healthy” – This term is too subjective. It would be better to replace this word with the term ‘nourishing’ because that term can mean something can be physically and/or emotionally nourishing, which provides a more holistic outlook when describing foods or lifestyle choices. It’s difficult to not use this term because people don’t realize the negativity that comes with it, at times.

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“Guilt-free” – guilt and food should never be paired together when describing a meal. This creates a negative association with certain foods. This can also make someone feel guilty about eating the foods they enjoy, which can develop into a poor relationship with the food they like.

“Toxic”- Food in normal quantities is never toxic for your body; it’s nourishing. This can create a fearful judgement of certain foods. But it’s important to note that our food supply is safe and does not put toxins into our body.