I recently posted that perfect doesn’t exist when it comes to healthy eating. On a message board I frequent, someone wrote in that she felt judged when she ate less than perfectly and felt that the “eyes on the board” were silently judging her when she made a nutrition misstep. I thought I’d share portions of my response in case they help you understand more about my personal view on the subject:

I’m one of the ones who — these days, anyhow — rarely eats anything [unhealthy] other than oil or salt in an otherwise vegan dish, but it took me a long time to get to this point, and I also used to give myself leeway to eat literally *any* one non-healthy thing I wanted every 2-3 weeks for several months when I started [eating healthfully] because it was the only way I could stay committed to eating basically well the rest of the time. That’s not to say that I started eating green smoothies and pounds of greens … [right off the bat] — I hated veggies, and it took a good bit of time before my palate changed enough so that I felt satisfied from eating an all-veggie meal. Even now, I still enjoy beans more than greens, and salads more than cooked greens.

I am now personally very, very careful about what I eat because I’ve discovered several VERY significant food sensitivities and allergies that make me sick to the point of severe asthma or severe dehydration from the stomach-flu-like response my body gives me when I eat something I shouldn’t. So I watch those things like a hawk. That’s unfortunately a long list of things to avoid — particularly when you add up all of my household’s severe sensitivities (my husband and son have additional/different things on their own personal lists) — so it makes eating [unhealthy] food pretty unpleasant, for the most part.

But I certainly don’t expect others to eat like I do if they don’t have similar sensitivities. I’d be glad to see a huge number of people I care about eat a salad and/or some fruit every day, maybe cut back on their dairy and meat intake, etc. and skip the Cheetos and trans fats. Certainly I wish lots of people I know would feed their kids better, especially the ones who complain about their kids’ attention spans while serving them sugar and caffeine. I do see a lot of people (not all SAD [Standard American Diet] eaters, certainly) who deal with food addictions they don’t know they have, and I think more people have the problem than are aware of it (but for some of them, that’s due to the fact that SAD food is physically addictive), but I see a huge difference between habitual food addicts, folks who are sensitive to certain foods, and wanting to eat an occasional piece of chocolate or lasagna or whatever and otherwise eating healthfully … I think there’s always room for improvement and also plenty of room for flexibility within the realm of nutrient-dense eating.

I’m glad this thread got started, and I hope that those who feel somehow judged for not eating 100% perfectly (and who does? not me!) see that most of us who’ve been here awhile certainly don’t think poorly of anyone who doesn’t eat as strictly (particularly not as strictly as those of us for whom being pretty strict is a necessity for health — I was sick for 30 years, and I refuse to be sick due to food even 1 day the rest of my life of my own doing, so for me, that’s why I’m so careful). Staying healthy and keeping my family healthy are my priority, and that’s why this is now my entire household’s lifestyle, but in a balanced way. And we continue to improve and tweak what we eat, and our tastes change as time passes without our even trying.

As you can see, while I personally strive for nutritional excellence in my meals nearly all the time, I haven’t always done so, and I never, ever judge anyone for how they eat or any unhealthy foods they might have now and then. I just am so passionate about how healthy eating can improve your life that I wish more people did it!

Have a great weekend, everyone.