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Full Episode Transcript:

9 Misconceptions About Healthy Eating Habits

Hi there, welcome to the podcast. So, one of the very important things around eating habits is not just making sure that you understand how to improve your eating habits, but also to make sure that you understand the misconceptions about healthy eating habits. Meaning, you understand what’s not necessarily true about healthy eating habits that you may have believed to be true. And this is not your fault. This is typically because of what you’ve been fed either via articles that you’ve read things you’ve seen on TV or heard on the radio or even have heard in a podcast.

But don’t worry, I have 9 misconceptions about healthy eating habits that I’m going to share with you. And this is not the entire list of misconceptions, but these are just nine common misconceptions that I’ve personally seen people have. Whether they were my clients or non-clients.

One of the reasons that I want to share these misconceptions about healthy eating habits with you is because if you are thinking that any of these things are true, that can be affecting your eating habit results. How you think about things always affects your behaviors. And your behaviors of course always result in something.

So, if you have any of these misconceptions about healthy eating habits, I have confidence that once you are aware that some of these misconceptions about healthy eating habits that you had are actually not true, you will have more success with changing your eating habits.

I’m also confident that you will love your new eating habits so much more, once you see how strict they do not have to be. And if you love your new eating habits, you’re much more likely to stick with them, right?

If you are currently thinking that you must be doing things a certain way or eating or avoiding certain foods, that may be making it difficult for you to stick with healthier choices. So, I have confidence that sharing these nine misconceptions about healthy eating habits will not only improve your success, but also make it more enjoyable and sort of be a bit of a relief for you to know that you don’t have to follow crazy strict food rules.

Before I begin, I want to invite you to get a weight loss mindset makeover next Wednesday, May 24th at 5:00 PM Eastern Time. I am hosting a free live workshop on zoom and it’s called Weight Loss Mindset Makeover.

So, we’re going to take some thoughts that you currently have about weight loss and shift those so that they cause better feelings, actions and results. I will course explain more about this in the workshop itself.

I know that not everyone can make that date and time, but if this topic interests you then sign up anyway, because I’ll send you the replay afterward. I will also send a worksheet to help you apply this work. That way it doesn’t just go in one ear and out the other. You can actually fill out this simple worksheet and start applying what you learn. You can start creating a new weight loss mindset for yourself.

So, sign up by going to https://katemjohnston.com/workshop. Or, if you are listening to this episode from my website on the episode page, you’ll find a sign up link as well, at the top of the page.

Alright, so let’s begin. The first misconception about healthy eating habits is that it’s all about what you eat. This is not true. It’s about a combination of what you eat, how much you eat but most importantly why you’re eating what you’re eating or how much you’re eating, meaning the volume.

So of course, we all know that human beings need food to survive, because of both the calories and the micro and macro nutrients in the food. We also know that humans were created with certain things in their body and brain to make sure that we eat food to survive.

One of those is hunger signals. Hunger signals or sensations prompt us to seek out food and eat it. So that is the primary reason that we eat food. Because we’re hungry and that’s just our body telling our brain that it’s probably time to eat.

Now, does that mean that you must only eat if you’re hungry? That’s the big question, right? This might be up for debate. I think most would agree that most of your eating should be due to true hunger and not cravings or another emotion, or just because someone offered you something that they made, or many other reasons.

But there are also some circumstances where you’re not necessarily hungry, but you want a little taste of something to experience and enjoy it. So, awareness of why you are eating is important. If you start becoming aware that you are eating in response to stress or boredom and you’re not hungry, that’s an eating habit that has several negative effects.

Also, how much you’re eating of course is important. Having a small piece of chocolate is very different from eating a couple large candy bars each day. Enjoying a couple of pieces of cheese is very different from mindlessly eating the cheese until the entire block is gone. These examples also fall into why you’re eating as well.

So healthy eating habits is a blend of what you’re eating, how much you’re eating, and most importantly why you’re eating.

Alright, the second misconception about healthy eating habits is that you should only eat the healthiest foods. I guess kind of in an ideal world, you would only eat the healthiest foods, right? But also in that ideal world, broccoli would be just as delicious as chocolate, right? But because it’s not an ideal world, you shouldn’t eat only the healthiest foods, unless you absolutely love the healthiest foods and don’t enjoy the less healthy foods.

It’s best to have a little diversity. It’s important to eat the healthy foods that you like, but also, it’s important to not feel completely restrained to just the healthiest foods. When you feel that restriction to eating just the healthiest foods, you’re not going to be as likely to stick with it, which means you won’t be as likely to form healthy eating habits.

When you must force yourself to do anything, your brain is going to be like “Nah, I’m tired of doing this.” You’re going to have to use a lot of willpower. Willpower is tiring after a while. More on this towards the end of the episode.

So, feeling like you should only eat the healthiest foods, will not be enjoyable and is not sustainable, unless like I said you LOVE the healthiest foods and don’t enjoy the less healthy foods. If that’s you, you’re a unicorn.

Okay, so the third misconception about healthy eating habits is that you ruin your progress if you fall off the wagon. This is simply not true. This really is something that perfectionists typically consciously or subconsciously think.

So, if you’re a perfectionist, listen up. You do not ruin your progress if you fall off the wagon. Perfectionists and also some non-perfectionists tend to have all-or-nothing thinking. This just means that it either has to be perfect or the complete opposite end of the spectrum. Basically, black or white.

For example, a perfectionist might think that if something’s not perfect, it should just be thrown out. Like maybe a piece of art for example. Or as it relates to eating habits, might start out being very intentional about what she’s putting in her mouth on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, but then come Friday falls off the wagon by mindlessly eating a few cookies and then feels like a complete failure, so continues to fall off the wagon for the rest of the weekend and then just start over again on Monday.

So, you don’t really ruin your progress if you fall off the wagon, but if you see it that way, and then continue with falling off the wagon, you’re not really going to make the progress that you want to make. If you fall off the wagon once or twice during the week but you get right back on, your progress continues.

It’s only when you decide that you are NOT going to continue with healthier eating habits by continuing to stay off the wagon, that you then don’t make progress forward.

That leads me to the 4th misconception about healthy eating habits. And that is you shouldn’t have treats. Healthy eating habits does not mean that you shouldn’t have treats.

Healthy eating habits means that you are paying attention to what you’re eating, how much you’re eating, and why you’re eating and feel very in control of these things, until it become more automatic, a true habit.

So, if you deliberately decide to have a treat one day, that does not mean that you don’t have healthy eating habits. If you spontaneously decide to partake in someone’s birthday celebration at the office and have a slice of cake, that does not mean that you don’t have healthy eating habits.

If you feel like these things are out of control for you, that’s when it might be an eating habit that you might want to address. But otherwise, you can have healthy eating habits and still have some very intentional or even a couple of spontaneous treats. Remember, it’s not just what you’re eating, but also how much and why.

And very importantly, it’s also a matter of being deliberate and intentional versus just being on autopilot. That is really what eating habits is all about. Breaking the automaticity of the eating habits that are causing a net negative result in your life. Plus, being intentional and deliberate about your eating habits until healthier eating habits become more automatic for you. Become easy for you.

So that’s very important. That is my role as an Eating Habit Coach. To help you to break the habit, the automaticity of those eating habits that are not serving you. The ones that are maybe causing weight gain or contributing to diabetes or that you just don’t want to have anymore.

Also, being very intentional and very in control of what you’re eating, how much you’re eating, and why. Until those healthier eating habits become actual habits for you. They become a part of your lifestyle and not because you’re forcing them, but because they’ve actually turned into habits that are easy for you.

The 5th misconception about healthy eating habits is that you should avoid carbs. This is not true. Your body needs carbohydrates. Now there are some forms of carbohydrates that are healthier and more nutritious than others. There are some forms that wreak more havoc on your body than others. But avoiding carbs is not a necessity.

In fact, lots of vegetables have carbohydrates in them. Fruits have carbohydrates in them. And then there are lots of whole grains that are of course carbohydrates, but also have high protein and other nutrients in them.

So, if you completely avoid carbohydrates, you are eliminating a lot of healthier foods. You’re also restricting your body from what it needs. So, eat some carbs. I can help you choose wisely though.

The 6th misconception about healthy eating habits is that you should not eat red meat. Red meat can be a source of good quality protein. Some red meats have more cholesterol in them than others. But there are lean red meats that are a very good source of protein. Your body needs more protein than you think. All of your body’s processes involve proteins. A lot of things in your body are built out of proteins.

Animal meats have a very high amino acid profile. They have all the amino acids that your body needs. The amino acids are just the building blocks of proteins. So if you enjoy a steak every once in a while even if it’s a fatty one, that’s okay. If you eat a lean piece of steak a couple of times a week, that’s okay too. Remember, it’s also about how much and why. It’s also about the other foods that you’re eating as well. It’s that blend.

Alright, the 7th misconception about healthy eating habits is that low-calorie is the way to go. This is simply not true. Sometimes, lower calorie is the way to go, but sometimes not. It depends on what the actual food is.

So, you may see a box of crackers at the store that say low calorie on the front. Those crackers are not necessarily healthy. They’re not necessarily going to keep you full for more than 30 minutes either.

Whereas, the avocado that has more calories or the small handful of nuts that has more calories, have much more nutrients and will keep you full for much longer. Also, you’re probably going to be a lot less likely to mindlessly eat a whole bunch of avocados than you are to mindlessly eat an entire box of crackers, right?

This leads right to the 8th misconception about healthy eating habits which is to avoid anything with fat. There are lots of healthy foods that are high in nutrients and also high in fats. And the word “high” is relative to of course.

Going back to the avocado and the nuts, they have what we call healthy fats in them, and that’s perfectly okay. In fact, the fats in these foods are healthy for your brain function and can even be anti-inflammatory.

The next time you go to the grocery store, and you see the box of cookies that says that there are low fat cookies, don’t be tricked into thinking that this is a healthier option than the higher fat cashews or almonds. Your brain and body need healthy fats, so don’t be fearful of fat.

The last of the 9 misconceptions about healthy eating habits is that you need to have a lot of willpower to have healthy eating habits. Not true. I think that the best way to explain this is to have you envision a machine that just runs. The only thing you need to do is to build the machine and then actually start up the machine. Once you do those things the machine continues to run indefinitely.

That’s kind of like what habits are. A habit will continue to just run on its own or just continue on its own due to the neural pathways that were built. Like the machine. So, in order to have healthy eating habits, you build those neural pathways. We do those together. And then, we also use some of your brain power (willpower can fall into this category) to start it up as well, but don’t worry, not a ton is required.

It’s more those neural pathways and much of that is formed with stuff other than willpower. I can probably find lots of other analogies to explain this to you, but that was the one that popped into my head the quickest.

Okay, so that’s what I have for you on the 9 misconceptions about healthy eating habits. Don’t forget to sign up for the weight loss mindset workshop with the link on the episode page or by visiting https://katemjohnston.com/workshop. I’ll see you there. Well, I won’t actually see you there, because your video will be off, but you know what I mean.

Take care and I’ll talk with you next week.