Trying to be perfect
Eating healthily is not the same as eating perfectly.
You do not have to eat perfectly healthily, or have a perfect body, or look perfectly beautiful, or eat perfectly beautifully presented food.
It’s ok to be an imperfect human being.
In fact, I would say it’s good to let yourself be an imperfect. Being perfect is an unattainable goal, and perfectionism can be correlated to eating disorders (1), body dysmorphia (2), depression (3), anxiety (4), OCD (5), self criticism (6), low self esteem (7) or exhaustion (8).
In my opinion, healthy nutrition is about balance. A balance of giving yourself healthy nutrients to thrive, whilst also giving yourself healthy pleasure and social connection from food.
I see lots of beautiful images on social media, of beautiful people, eating beautiful healthy food, in beautiful surroundings. These ideals are inspiring and exciting and aspirational, but I think we need to be mindful of not putting pressure on ourselves to adhere to this level of perfection.
You can be eating healthily and taking really good care of your wellbeing, but not look like a model. You can be eating really nutritious food that tastes amazing, but doesn’t look like a magazine shoot. You can be eating nutritious food most of the time, but include chocolate, or sugar, or biscuits in a healthy balance.
It’s ok to be imperfect, it’s what makes us human. I would like to see more social media that allows and encourages compassion for our imperfections, rather than pressure or expectation to be perfect.
Anna M. Bardone-Cone, Stephen A. Wonderlich, Randy O. Frost, Cynthia M. Bulik, James E. Mitchell, Saritha Uppala, Heather Simonich,Perfectionism and eating disorders: Current status and future directions,Clinical Psychology Review,Volume 27, Issue 3,2007,Pages 384-405,ISSN 0272-7358,https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2006.12.005 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0272735806001590
Foroughi A, Khanjani S, Mousavi Asl E. Relationship of Concern About Body Dysmorphia with External Shame, Perfectionism, and Negative Affect: The Mediating Role of Self-Compassion. Iran J Psychiatry Behav Sci. 2019;13(2):e80186. https://doi.org/10.5812/ijpbs.80186.
Travers, M. Perfectionism can lead to depression. Here’s how to tame it. https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/social-instincts/202205/perfectionism-can-lead-depression-here-s-how-tame-it. Accessed 15th December 2023
Wang Y, Chen J, Zhang X, Lin X, Sun Y, Wang N, Wang J, Luo F. The Relationship between Perfectionism and Social Anxiety: A Moderated Mediation Model. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Oct 10;19(19):12934. doi: 10.3390/ijerph191912934. PMID: 36232234; PMCID: PMC9566146.
Randy O. Frost, Caterina Novara, Josée Rhéaume, Chapter 6 - Perfectionism in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Editor(s): Randy O. Frost, Gail Steketee, Cognitive Approaches to Obsessions and Compulsions, Pergamon, 2002, Pages 91-105, ISBN 9780080434100, https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-008043410-0/50007-6 (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780080434100500076)
P. Gilbert, R. Durrant, K. McEwan, Investigating relationships between perfectionism, forms and functions of self-criticism, and sensitivity to put-down, Personality and Individual Differences, Volume 41, Issue 7, 2006, Pages 1299-1308, ISSN 0191-8869, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2006.05.004. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191886906002054)
University of Maryland, counselling centre. Perfectionism/low self esteem. https://counseling.umd.edu/cs/commonconcerns/perfection (Accessed 15th December 2023
Good Therapy staff. Perfectionism and burnout, address stress and find balance. https://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/perfectionism-burnout-address-stress-and-find-balance-0707187#:~:text=When%20perfectionism%20becomes%20overbearing%20or,a%20prolonged%20period%20of%20stress. (Accessed 15th December 2030