Food Rules Suck

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Last updated on September 1st, 2024 at 09:04 pm

If you’ve got a long list of do’s and don’ts when it comes to what you eat, you’re probably a victim of food rules

Diet culture and food shamers have basically taught us that food rituals and regulations are the “gold standard” when it comes to being a moral, valuable, and ethical human being. 

I’m here to tell you that all of those rules that the diet world has to offer up SUCK! 

Restriction and rigidity around food are a problem because they: 

The problem with restrictions around food is most of the time we deem these as culturally appropriate expectations we are personally responsible for if we do not meet them. 

Labeling food as “good, bad, healthy, or unhealthy” can really disrupt our food freedom. They can cause us to distrust ourselves around food in making decisions about our bodies. 

Food rules suck. Let’s dig into what food rules look like, where they come from, and how to say no to get rid of ritualistic eating for good!

Where Food Rules Come From

Food rules are the restrictions we create in our minds that dictate what we believe we should and should not eat.  

These rules might constantly be in your thoughts. However, these rules about food don’t actually belong to you.  We inherited these regulations from generations of fad diets, unrealistic body expectations, and our cultural obsession with healthism.

Ideas about good and bad foods are passed down to us from: 

Diets come with a set of rules.  The rules of dieting are called food rules. 

Food Rule List

Some common restrictions people might set for themselves around food include: 

  • I don’t eat carbs 
  • That’s a meal, not a snack
  • I only eat zero or low-calorie foods
  • Sugar is just like cocaine 
  • I don’t eat anything after 7 p.m. 
  • I can only eat in a certain time window
  • Chips are bad for you 
  • I don’t eat more than 1600 calories a day 
  • If I eat cookies I have to work out 
  • I eat clean 
  • I don’t eat anything that’s not organic
  • I only eat sweets on special occasions 
  • If I eat fried food on Monday, I can’t have any more for a week
  • If I eat pie, I have to make myself vomit 
  • I can only eat if my stomach is growling 

Even if you are somehow able to meet these rules about food during the day, they could lead to binge eating at night.

The main transformation of intuitive eating is breaking up with any ideas of morality surrounding food.  Try keeping a running list of all the rules about food that come up as you’re going through your day. 

We cannot choose to accept or dismiss the rules we’ve created around food unless we have a clear idea of what they are. 

its just a potato eating disorder recovery pdf

How Restrictions and Regulations Around Food Harm

Every food on this planet has some sort of nutritional value to offer us.  No single food or food group has all of the vital vitamins, minerals, and macronutrients in them necessary for keeping us alive. 

Yet, food rules attempt to offer a “cut and dried” philosophy for eating that is usually impossible to sustain long term.

Rules about food can decrease our quality of life and lead to a decline in our mental health. They can also cause us to crave off-limits foods even if we are not physically hungry.

Food rules harm you because: 

  • They make generalizations about food that can leave us deficient in nutrients
  • They cause rigid thinking about food which increases anxiety
  • No single food (unless an allergy is present) is going to alter the body in a profound negative say 
  • You may begin to associate breaking self-imposed food regulations as being an indicator of your own failure and reduced self-worth 
  • You’ll often feel hungry after eating because you’re not having enough or what you want
  • They can lead to diet pill addiction
  • They are a hallmark of eating disorders

If you feel like the rules you have about eating are significantly impacting your life, you should be mindful of other warning signs of an eating disorder and seek help as soon as possible where necessary.

infographic with examples of a food rules list

Eating Disorder Rules 

Rigidity around food is the hallmark of eating disorders. 

We find food rules frequently in our most common eating disorders including: 

Eating disorders follow the same restrictions as mainstream diet culture rules. However, these eating disorders “good and bad” foods are often taken to an extreme, intensified, and piled on top of one another. 

If you are struggling with an eating disorder you may feel that the inability to meet your eating disorder restrictions around food makes you: 

  • Unloveable
  • Unmotivated
  • Undisciplined
  • Glutenous
  • Uneducated
  • Overly emotional
  • Lazy

If you have an eating disorder, you likely have a loud eating disorder voice that dictates all day long about how you are failing to meet the expectations of your established food rules. 

Examples of Rules About Food In Eating Disorders  

Rules about food are the main players in keeping eating disorders alive. 

Often people will see ideas about good and bad foods becoming cyclical in their minds and cascading into ritualistic food behavior they have an eating disorder.  

Eating disorder food restrictions someone might follow could look like this: 

  • I don’t eat until 5 p.m.
  • I don’t eat more than 600 calories a day 
  • If I eat 1200 calories I must burn 1200 calories in exercise
  • I must fit into a size one comfortably or I won’t eat today 
  • I won’t eat anything with fat 


Often a person with an eating disorder will take a diet culture’s negative ideas about food and modify them to be even more restrictive and meet the high demands of the eating disorder. Lingering food rules can also prolong getting hunger cues back after an eating disorder.

This will typically lead to malnourishment and a need for weight restoration from an eating disorder. 

infographic on why to say  no to food

No Food Rules For Life

Next time you find yourself feeling guilty about food or setting up food restrictions say out loud “this rule doesn’t belong to me. I’m going to give it back to the diet world.” 

Letting go of food rules will also likely require grieving the thin ideal and letting go of all of diet culture’s false promises.

If you want to break up with restrictions around food for life, you will have to learn to honor and respect your body when it comes to eating and body size. 

You likely will not give up on food rules until you detach yourself from weight-centric beliefs. 

Break up with food rules by: 

Getting rid of rules surrounding food will require adopting both body and food neutrality.

© 2022 Peace and Nutrition

Shena Jaramillo. Registered Dietitian
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