Why You Think Healthy Food Tastes Bad

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Healthy food tastes bad. How many times has that thought occurred to you? And why have you learned to think that?

For years we have been taught to think that healthy food tastes bad. Yet, what we’ve taught is healthy food is actually bad for us. It’s time to learn that healthy food can be delicious.

I recently read something in an otherwise good article that was very disturbing. It kind of made me mad. Because it repeating something that just isn’t true.

It said something along the lines of,

to be healthy you need to eat foods you don’t like.

Seriously?

How many of you believe that?

A lot of people do. We equate healthy food with food that doesn’t taste good. And we think to lose weight we have to use WILLPOWER to make ourselves eat food that we don’t even like. So not true! (Read here How to Lose Weight When You Don’t Have Any Willpower.)

The story of how we came to believe that healthy food has to taste bad is the result of 60 years of bad medical advice. That advice has caused millions of people to eat crappy-tasting food in an attempt to be healthy. The results though have been anything but! People are fatter and sicker than ever! 

Why did we quit eating good food?

Once upon a time, people ate food. They ate food that tasted good.

Then some things happened. Men started having heart attacks. At first there was a genuine attempt to figure out why. One of the ideas was that saturated fat was the problem.

As the years progressed this became a recommendation that a low-fat diet was best for EVERYONE. No more eggs. No more chicken skin. No more fat in milk. The research was faulty from the beginning.

Believe it or not, most people do want to be healthy and fit. But understandably, the advice given was REALLY hard to follow. It’s hard to eat really low fat and at the same time for your food to taste good. Yet, people have really attempted to eat this way.

The Truth Behind the FAT Scare

But it wasn’t true. It was never true. And it’s still not true.

Saturated fat, including animal fats does not cause heart disease and doesn’t cause people to get fat. The research never ever proved a link between saturated fat and any health problems. In fact, it is now thought that it is actually protective.

In the meantime, people religiously cut fat out of their diets. Men and women and then they cut it out of their children’s diets. They began substituting vegetable oils, starches, and sugars to take the place of fat.

This was not a good thing!

This misinformation is killing people and wrecking their bodies while they should be in the prime of their life!

We’ve been taught to:

  • Eat lean meat
  • Avoid saturated fats such as butter, lard, and other animal fats
  • Eat steamed and undressed vegetables
  • Eat few eggs, and avoid the egg jokes. (Egg whites—grossest thing ever!!!)
  • Use fat-free dressings, cheese, etc.
  • Eat processed carbohydrates such as cereals, breads, and pastas

This BAD information has been force-fed to the nation for over 60 years and it is just plain WRONG.

All along, there have been studies and research that have shown that low fat is not good and that saturated fats are not dangerous.

Yet, the force with which this information was spread has made it very difficult for anyone growing up during this time to accept this information. I get that.

Yet look around. People are fatter and sicker than ever. This isn’t because they eat too much fat. People are trying and trying really hard.

We are fatter and sicker because of the food we eat. We just all eat wrong. Really really wrong.

We eat processed foods round the clock. We eat sugar, breads, and cereals like they are diet foods. We avoid healthy proteins such as fatty meats and eggs.

We avoid food that actually tastes good. We avoid food that satiates us and makes our bodies work better. We avoid the foods that make our skin look nice.

We avoid food that tastes good and wholesome and that satisfies us.

Because yes, food that is healthy can taste good.

Food tastes better with fat.

Food tastes much better with fat

Not only does food taste better with fat but it’s healthier with fat. It keeps us full longer. It keeps us from snacking and overeating on unhealthy carbs.

I used to keep snacks with me at all times. I had bought into the idea that I needed to eat round-the-clock. And I did need to do that. Two hours after eating breakfast, I needed a snack or I’d start feeling very anxious about getting hungry.

I ended up fatter and unhealthier. Antacids and other digestive aids were always with me: in my car, in my purse, in my medicine cabinet, and in my desk. This is no way to live.

How I Broke the Cycle

The first thing that made a huge difference was that I quit eating wheat. Within days of giving up wheat, all my digestive symptoms cleared up. I never looked back. Yet, that wasn’t quite enough. I still was eating too many processed foods and such.

Eventually I found Whole30 and made big changes in my diet. If I had to describe my diet, I would call it Paleo.

Back then it seemed weird to eat only real food. It felt weird to eat meat, eggs, vegetables, fruits, and healthy fats.

Even though it was tough, I believed in it. I still do. Eventually, as my body adjusted this way of eating, I was able to make other changes that allowed my body to shed weight and keep it off for years. It’s all second nature now.

People usually think I’m a good ten years younger than I am. I fit in a size of jeans, I haven’t worn in 30 years. And I do this without dieting or ever being hungry. I only need to eat three times a day and I eat food that tastes wonderful.

I’ve been able to maintain this for 2 ½ years.

The best part is that the healthy food I eat tastes delicious.

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6 Comments

  1. Shannon on May 9, 2017 at 11:06 pm

    Great article Sara. It’s definitely an uphill battle to keep my weight where it needs to be. I’ve recently been trying to retrain myself, after years of the non-fat, low-fat diets, that fats are not the enemy. It’s all the sugars and processed junk! Totally agree and loved the post!!

    • Sara on May 16, 2017 at 9:13 pm

      Shannon, fats are so NOT the enemy. They will become your best friend! Your skin will love them. They make you feel so good..along with the other good foods you are already eating.

  2. Kate on May 9, 2017 at 4:03 am

    Having grown up with fat is bad, it’s kind of scary to see how wrong we got it. I wonder how much damage we’ve done to ourselves and our bodies with the huge amount of processed food that in New Zealand is always cheaper than the healthy stuff. My goal is to try to get as back to unprocessed food as much as possible. Is that what Whole 30 is?

    • Sara on May 9, 2017 at 7:27 am

      Yes, to some extent, that is what Whole 30 is. It eliminates pretty much any food that could cause inflammation. After the 30 days or so, you can add things back in and see what your body can handle. My own example would be that I can tolerate some dairy and I continue to enjoy it even though it isn’t allowed on Whole 30. But I can’t handle wheat, so I avoid it as much as possible. The 30 days of eating super clean really retrain your brain and taste buds.

      • Kate on May 9, 2017 at 9:46 pm

        Ah that makes sense! Sounds like a good challenge. Thank you.

        • Sara on May 16, 2017 at 9:15 pm

          Kate, real food really does taste good–and living a life without food cravings or gaining weight feels really good too.

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Hi, I'm Sara Garska and I'm so happy you're here! Big changes can happen with a shift in thinking. Over time, you transform your life into the one you always dreamed of having. As a certified life and weight loss coach, I can help you create a life you love. Click here to schedule a free 50-minute coaching session.