3 Misconceptions About Eating Healthier

With so many diets, protocols, programs and books about how to eat healthy, it’s very difficult to know where to start. Once you feel overwhelmed and confused, you’re more likely to mentally check out and make poor decisions. 

I changed the way I eat in 2022, and as a result, I regained my health, healed my body from hypothyroidism and lost 30 pounds.

Here’s 3 misconceptions about eating healthier that I discovered along my journey:

1) You have to make the changes all at once

Even if you have concerns about your health (for me it was being diagnosed with Hashimoto’s, an auto-immune disease that affects thyroid function), making tons of radical changes all at once will be unsustainable and cause you more stress than it’s worth. Giving yourself grace, making incremental changes and starting with the easiest swaps is what made this lifestyle change feel more attainable for me. For example, you can choose to swap white rice for brown rice.

2) Your way of eating needs a label or title

People are obsessed with labels in society right now in every realm, but especially when it comes to labeling their chosen way of eating. Paleo, plant-based, vegan, keto…

You don’t need to call yourself or your eating choices ANYTHING. When friends and family members get curious about the changes you’re making, you can simply say “I’m eating healthier now”. You don’t owe anyone an explanation or further details.

Follow directives from a trusted healthcare professional (I recommend a great naturopath but maybe a nutritionist could support you too), make decisions based on sound, up to date research, and get your bloodwork done so you have a clear picture of what’s happening inside you.

3) If you deviate, you’ve failed

Eating healthy is not an ‘all or nothing’ game. I had a double cheeseburger at 11pm on Thursday. Does it mean I slipped up? Failed? No. It’s just life, my schedule that day didn’t allow me to have a healthy meal so I swung by the drive-thru. I enjoyed every bite of that burger, with no regrets. BUT, I also have a deep belief in my ability to continue eating healthy long-term, for the rest of my life. I am not on a diet. I have changed who I am from the inside-out. That fundamental identity shift is the key.