6 Signs You’re in a Dangerous Relationship with Food

It's okay to have some guidelines around your eating-no dessert until after your workout, perhaps. But when certain unhealthy practices become habits, you put your well-being at risk, says sports dietitian Suzanne Girard Eberle. Here are six common-but-damaging food "rules" to avoid:

1. EATING ENERGY BARS AS MEALS
Energy bars are a convenient way to supplement your nutrition. But if you're eating only them, it's a red flag. "It's best to get calories from whole foods," says Eberle. Although many bars are enriched with vitamins, they don't provide the quality of nutrition gained from real food.

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2. AVOIDING FAT. OR CARBS. OR MEAT. OR WHATEVER!
Avoiding certain ingredients is common, whether for health or personal reasons. (Think vegetarians, gluten-free diets.) But if you're nixing entire food groups to lose weight, tread carefully. "It makes you prone to injury and can compromise the immune system," she says.

3. OBSESSIVELY TIMING YOUR MEALS
Let's say you like your routine of eating lunch at 1 p.m. every day. So what, right? "It's a problem if you're restricting food when you're hungry," says Eberle. You fatigue more quickly and take more time to recover from workouts when your body doesn't get food when it needs it.

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4. LOGGING CALORIES METICULOUSLY
If your calorie counting evolves into the "I want that orange, but I can only have 57.5 more calories today" variety, then you're overdoing it. Your body sometimes requires more fuel. Deprive yourself and you risk a host of health woes. Cut yourself some slack.

5. GOING AWOL WHEN A RESTAURANT INVITE COMES YOUR WAY
If your response is always, "Thanks, but I've got a (insert faux excuse here)," then you may need to examine your reasons for skipping: Consistently avoiding social eating so you can control the menu can portend or evolve into an unhealthy relationship with food, says Eberle.

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6. SKIPPING FUEL DURING LONG WORKOUTS
Purposely not fueling up in an attempt to burn more calories and lose weight is self-defeating. If you don't feed your body properly before, during, and after intense workouts, you're much less likely to have a quality performance, says Eberle.

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Now you tell us: How do YOU make sure to stay healthy with your diet?

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