Cheetos Have Nutrition (And That Doesn’t Mean What You Think It Does)

I recently had a conversation that got very quiet, very quickly.

I was talking with a group of women who genuinely care about their health. These are women who are intentional about taking care of themselves, learning about nutrition, and making choices that support their bodies.

During the conversation, I said something that I honestly did not expect to be controversial.

I said, “I don’t believe food is good or bad.”

Then I added, “Technically, all food has some nutrition. Even Cheetos have some nutrition.”

And suddenly, it was silent.

One woman finally said, “I have to disagree with that.”

I understood why she reacted that way. In the past, I probably would have reacted the same way.

But I was not saying that Cheetos are a highly nourishing food or that they are going to provide everything your body needs. I was not saying that Cheetos and a balanced meal are nutritionally equal.

I was simply saying that Cheetos contain carbohydrates, and carbohydrates are a nutrient.

That does not make Cheetos a nutritional powerhouse.

It simply means that food is more complicated than labeling everything as either “good” or “bad.”

And the way we label food matters because, eventually, we start using those same labels to describe ourselves.

When Food Becomes a Measure of Your Worth

Most of us have been taught to put food into two categories.

Salad is good.

Pizza is bad.

Fruit is good.

Cookies are bad.

Grilled chicken is good.

Cheetos are very, very bad.

Then we begin judging ourselves based on which category our food came from.

When we eat the salad, we say, “I was so good today.”

When we eat the cookies, we say, “I was so bad.”

But eating a salad does not make you a good person.

Eating a cookie does not make you a bad person.

You are a human being who made a food choice.

That choice may give you energy. It may leave you feeling satisfied. It may keep you full for several hours, or it may leave you hungry again soon.

It may make you feel great, or it may make you feel sluggish and uncomfortable.

That is useful information.

But it is not a reflection of your character, your worth, or whether you deserve to care for yourself.

Food should not have that much power over you.

Guilt was never meant to be attached to food.

All Foods Are Not Nutritionally Equal

When people hear someone say, “All food has nutrition,” they often interpret it as, “All foods are nutritionally equal.”

That is not what I am saying.

All foods do not offer the same nutrients.

All foods do not affect your body in the same way.

All foods do not help you feel the same way.

A balanced meal containing protein, fiber, healthy fats, and carbohydrates will likely support your body very differently than a bag of Cheetos.

Of course it will.

Some foods provide lasting energy, support your muscles and bones, promote healthy digestion, and help you stay satisfied longer.

Other foods may primarily taste good and bring you enjoyment.

We are allowed to acknowledge both truths.

We can recognize that one food supports our body more than another without turning the less nourishing food into something shameful.

The goal is not to pretend that every food is exactly the same.

The goal is to stop believing that eating a less nourishing food means you did something morally wrong.

Choose Food Based on How You Want to Feel

I do not want you to choose nutritious food because you are afraid of being bad.

I want you to choose it because you understand how you want to feel.

You want energy.

You want to feel strong.

You want to be able to focus at work instead of feeling like you could fall asleep at your desk in the middle of the afternoon.

You want to take care of your body because your body deserves to be cared for.

As you become more connected to your body, you may begin noticing things such as:

• Eating enough protein at breakfast helps you stay full longer.

• Balanced meals reduce the urge to snack all evening.

• Some foods give you steady energy.

• Other foods leave you feeling tired, bloated, or unsatisfied.

• Certain foods simply do not feel as good in your body as they used to.

This is not judgment.

It is information.

Your body is constantly giving you feedback.

Instead of asking, “Was this food good or bad?” try asking:

How did this food make me feel?

Did it give me energy?

Was it satisfying?

Did it keep me full?

Did I enjoy it?

Would I choose it again?

These questions are far more useful than asking whether you were good.

When you make food choices based on how you want to feel, you are caring for yourself.

When you make food choices based on guilt and fear, you are trying to control yourself.

Those are two very different things.

What Happens After You Eat the Cheetos?

Let’s imagine that you really like Cheetos.

I actually do not even like Cheetos. They were simply the first food that came to mind during the conversation.

But let’s say you love them.

You decide you want some, so you open a bag and start eating.

What happens next?

For many women, guilt begins almost immediately.

“I should not be eating this.”

“I have no self-control.”

“I ruined the whole day.”

“I might as well keep going.”

“I’ll start over tomorrow.”

Suddenly, the Cheetos are no longer just Cheetos.

They have become proof that you cannot be trusted around food.

They have become proof that you failed again.

They have become the beginning of another all-or-nothing spiral.

But what would happen if you simply ate them, enjoyed them, and moved on?

No punishment.

No skipping your next meal.

No extra workout to burn them off.

No promise to be perfect tomorrow.

No eating everything else in the kitchen because the day is already ruined.

You ate the Cheetos, and then you continued with your life.

At your next meal, you ate again.

Maybe you chose protein, fiber, and something that helped you feel nourished and satisfied.

Not because you needed to make up for eating Cheetos.

Because your body still deserved to be cared for.

That is food freedom.

What Food Freedom Really Means

Food freedom does not mean eating Cheetos all day and pretending every food affects your body in exactly the same way.

Food freedom means you can make an intentional choice without allowing shame to take over afterward.

It means you no longer feel like you need to eat as much as possible because you are starting another diet on Monday.

It means you do not feel the need to hide what you ate.

It means one food choice no longer ruins your entire day.

It means you do not wake up the next morning believing you need to start over.

Instead, you can say:

“I chose to eat that.”

“I enjoyed it.”

“Maybe it made me feel great, and maybe it did not.”

“I can learn from that experience.”

“And now I am moving on.”

That is a peaceful relationship with food.

Food freedom does not mean that you stop caring about nutrition.

It means that you care about nutrition without using shame as your motivation.

You choose nourishing foods because you want energy, strength, confidence, and health—not because you are afraid of what eating something else might say about you.

Why This Matters During Perimenopause and Midlife

This message matters at every age, but I believe it becomes especially important during perimenopause and midlife.

Your body may be changing.

You may notice differences in your energy, sleep, hunger, cravings, digestion, body composition, or how certain foods affect you.

Because your body is changing, you may feel tempted to become even stricter.

You may begin thinking:

“I need to cut out sugar.”

“I need to stop eating carbohydrates.”

“I need to be more disciplined.”

“I cannot get away with eating anything anymore.”

But becoming more fearful of food is not the answer.

This season is an invitation to become more connected to your body, not more controlling of it.

You may need more protein.

You may benefit from more fiber.

You may feel better when you eat regular meals instead of grazing throughout the day.

You may discover that certain foods no longer make you feel as good as they once did.

But none of that requires you to call yourself bad when you eat something simply because you enjoy it.

You can take your health seriously without taking every individual food choice so seriously.

You can care about nutrition without becoming obsessed with perfection.

You can make choices that support your body most of the time while still making room for foods that bring you pleasure.

Those things can exist together.

Replace Judgment With Curiosity

The next time you hear yourself say, “I was bad today,” pause and ask yourself:

“What did I actually do?”

Maybe you ate more than you planned.

Maybe you ate past the point of comfort.

Maybe you chose a food that did not make you feel your best.

Maybe you ate because you were stressed, bored, tired, or overwhelmed.

Maybe you had not eaten enough earlier in the day and were genuinely hungry.

These are all things you can learn from.

But none of them make you bad.

Instead of judging yourself, get curious.

What was happening at that moment?

Were you physically hungry?

Had you eaten enough during the day?

Were you distracted while you were eating?

Did you actually enjoy the food?

Were you trying to follow food rules that were too strict?

What could support you differently next time?

Curiosity helps you grow.

Guilt usually keeps you stuck.

Take the Morality Out and Keep the Information

This week, begin noticing how often you use moral language to describe food or yourself.

You may use words such as:

Good.

Bad.

Clean.

Cheating.

Guilty.

Junk.

Off track.

You do not need to judge yourself for using these words. Simply begin noticing them.

Then replace the judgment with something factual.

Instead of saying, “I was bad,” you might say:

“I ate past the point of comfort.”

“I chose a food that did not give me much energy.”

“I ate something I really enjoyed.”

“I was hungry because I had not eaten enough during the day.”

“I made one choice, and now I can make another one.”

Take the morality out of the experience.

Keep the information.

Yes, Cheetos contain some nutrition.

No, they are probably not the food you will rely on to help you feel strong, energized, and nourished.

But eating them does not make you unhealthy.

And it definitely does not make you bad.

Your health is built through the choices you make consistently over time.

It is not destroyed by one snack, one meal, one weekend, or one vacation.

Choose foods that build you up.

Choose foods that give you energy.

Choose foods that your body responds well to.

And sometimes, choose a food simply because you enjoy it.

Eat it.

Enjoy it.

And move on.

That is grace over guilt.