Are Your Thoughts Perfectionistic?

Written by: Emily Bach, MSN, CNP, CHWC

Revised 3/5/2025

Have you ever said to yourself, “well I already overate and feel like s**t, so what’s a bowl of ice cream going to do?” Or, “I’ll just wait until next week when this wedding is over and my family leaves town to start paying attention to what I’m eating.” These are both perfectionist thoughts.

When you have perfectionist thoughts, you start to have discomfort or displeasure with anything that doesn’t meet your extremely high standards. It’s waiting until all circumstances in your life are juuuuuuust right so you feel like you can go all in and be “100% good.” Can you think of a time when your life was juuuuuuuust right? Maybe, but I can guarantee it didn’t last very long. What we DON’T want to do is implement healthy habits and a healthy mindset only when life is just right. Why? You guessed it: because it’s not sustainable and the time is never right. Life is always in motion. You’ll end up riding the diet roller coaster and wasting time!

When we wait for the right time instead of adapting to life, we confuse our bodies. We start and stop so much that we may feel super hungry, overly full, or unsure about the next meal. Our bodies don’t know what they really need or want. Our bodies will likely go into fat-storing mode for protection, rightfully so.

I know what you're thinking: "So then Emily, what do I do?" You start small and you start now. You are confident that each decision you make is a vote for the person you want to be. You stay flexible and take responsibility for your choices. You learn how your body responds to food, drinks, and your surroundings. You also make the most of your time.

What does this mean in real time? Instead of putting butter and syrup on your pancakes, you choose one or the other, and know that it is good enough for today. You say to yourself, “I’m the person who doesn’t have to have it all at any given time. I can pick and choose.” If a friend asks you to dinner at the last minute, you can easily change your food plans for the day. You won’t need to make a fuss or offer many excuses. You know it’s not your friend’s fault that you can’t eat on plan. You prioritize researching recipes and cooking. You know that time will pass either way, so why not start now?

Think about and implement an easy change to your diet or lifestyle you can make. This could be something like the butter and syrup example, or getting mustard instead of mayonnaise on your burger. This could mean scooping ice cream into a bowl at night instead of eating it straight from the container.

I hope you found this helpful, and please email me with any questions, comments or feedback. I would love to hear from you!

Talk soon,

Emily

emily@emilybachhealthcoaching.com

instagram: @emilythehealthynurse