Does overeating make a person bad or good? The voice inside my head almost always tells me that I’m a bad person for not having enough control over myself to stop after 1 cookie or 1 plate of pasta, or 1 dinner roll (and anything else that is loaded with carbs or sugar).

But am I really a bad person or just making bad decisions?

The sensible part of myself says I’m not a bad person because I haven’t broken any laws (didn’t run a red light, didn’t steal, and didn’t hurt anyone) and I wasn’t mean to anyone (didn’t yell at my husband or kids, didn’t let the door slam in someone’s face who was loaded down with packages, and didn’t hurt anyone’s feelings), yet I insist on beating myself up and telling myself how bad I am when I don’t make good food choices. I guess I am hurting someone – myself (I’ve obviously perfected the art of self-hate).

When I am being honest with myself I know I’m not a bad person.

There is no food in the world that makes me either a bad person or a good person.

Food is just food. Obviously the food choices I make affect my weight, my energy levels, and my overall health but it’s still just food – neither bad nor good because the day my food looks up at me from my plate and starts talking to me is the day someone better haul me off to the loony bin!

I need to remind myself that my food choices don’t make me a bad person, because when I feel like I’ve been a bad person I compound my food issues by eating even more bad for me food in an effort to pacify myself which only leads me to being harder on myself (yes, a crazy self destructive cycle but there’s no denying that’s one of the biggest reasons why I got to the point of being overweight).

Here’s my self reminder number one: “I’m not a bad person!” (now I’ll just have to repeat to myself about a thousand times today since the voice in my head is very talkative and doesn’t want to shut up so if you see someone walking down the street mumbling and talking to herself it’s probably me).

Related posts:

1. I Have a Sugar Hangover