The holidays are in full swing, and food is always a big component of our annual celebrations. However, some of us may feel guilty about consuming particular foods at this time of year. You know what we’re talking about: mashed potatoes with pools of gravy, mounds of stuffing, grandma’s delicious lasagna, and an abundance of pie. Also, cookies. There’s also cake. And, for good measure, a couple libations. Feeling bad for consuming foods heavy in carbohydrates, sugar, fat, or substances you try to avoid stems from dieting. Most of us have been on a diet at some time; it is estimated that 36% of Americans identify as eating in a certain way.

And when we follow diets with stringent limits, feelings of guilt might emerge when we consume foods that violate the diet’s principles. We feel as if we’ve messed up, as if we’re being “bad.” Essentially, we believe we are failing.

Delicious holiday foods aren’t a huge issue for some folks. On Thanksgiving, they eat green bean casserole and then go for a run at 6 a.m., followed by a green smoothie. Others, on the other hand, may feel guilty for the rest of the day, week, or year.

They feel like they failed because they overdid it, so they reason, “Well, I already screwed up, might as well eat these brownies too.” And before you know it, they’re bingeing on foods they’ve previously limited, and they wind up feeling a lot worse, a lot more guilty, and trapped in a vicious cycle of binging and dieting.

This is why we should never feel bad about eating anything. Beating yourself up over a single meal or cookie will not help you or your health; it will just make you feel worse.