The Wellness Diet—the sneaky, modern version of diet culture—likes to pretend there’s a single path to “health” that's about following rules, counting and tracking everything you eat, and cutting out entire food groups.

But for the vast majority of us, that path only leads to worse health outcomes, both physical and mental.

Getting caught up in numbers and rule-based thinking about food takes you away from the things in life that promote true well-being: Social connection, stress reduction, self-compassion, fulfilling work, pleasure and play, food security, a peaceful relationship with food, and so much more.

Of course we all need to eat enough food and enough variety to sustain life—and if you’re recovering from an eating disorder and need a meal plan to help you do that, then please do. But know that what The Life Thief is whispering in your ear about food just isn’t true.

Your health, let alone your life, can’t be measured with numbers. When we think of our eating simply as a set of stats, we miss out on the joy and connection that food can bring—and we miss the moments that truly make life special.