3 Signs Your “Healthy Lifestyle” Might Be Unhealthy

We often hear “healthy lifestyle” and assume it always equals wellness—but sometimes, what looks like discipline is actually fear in disguise. Especially during pregnancy and postpartum, it’s easy for habits that feel “healthy” to actually be rooted in anxiety, control, or shame.

Here are three signs that your “healthy lifestyle” might actually be an unhealthy relationship with food or your body:

1️⃣ Panicking at pregnancy weight gain instead of trusting your body

Pregnancy weight gain is normal, essential, and miraculous. If seeing those numbers or changes triggers panic, it’s not because you’re failing—it’s your body signaling that old dieting messages are still running in the background.

2️⃣ Feeling ashamed of postpartum hunger because it feels “too much”

After pregnancy, your body may need more food than it ever has before. If hunger feels shameful or excessive, that’s not a reflection of your willpower—it’s a leftover message from diet culture teaching you that eating more is wrong.

3️⃣ Trying to control postpartum body changes with restriction or extreme exercise to feel safe

It’s common to feel like we can regain “control” through strict rules or intense workouts. But these behaviors often come from fear, not true health, and can keep you stuck in cycles of anxiety and body mistrust.

Your body is literally doing everything it needs to keep you and your baby safe and nourished. The fact that food and body feel scary right now doesn’t mean you’re failing—it means you’ve been taught to fear them. 💛

Here’s the good news:

You can feel safe and cared for in your body. You can trust yourself again. And you deserve that peace.

Recovery doesn’t mean perfection—it means learning to notice fear disguised as control, and choosing trust, compassion, and nourishment instead.