The top five things to quit to improve your wellness and feeling of self-worth

A number of wellness messages in the media focus on what we need to quit—or cut out—in order to be healthy. We're often told certain foods are the most important thing to quit if you're going to achieve longevity, happiness, success and the validation of everyone around you.

But here's the deal, how you eat doesn't determine your worth as a person. Eating healthy is certainly an important part of overall health, but you don't need to quit the food you love in order to be happy and healthy.

Instead, think about quitting these five things to increase your feeling of worth:

1. Guilt
Try to let go of feeling bad about food, exercise and your body. Food is neither 'good' nor 'bad.' You can enjoy all foods and still be healthy. Instead, learn about mindful eating and think about a non-diet approach to eating. Similarly, let go of feeling bad about inactivity. Do your best to move most days and do activities you enjoy. If you have a few inactive days in a row don't feel bad, just get back to moving and doing something you enjoy.

2. Shame
Quit shaming yourself and others for their food choices, their exercise habits and their body. There is more than one path to wellness. We all have to choose our own way.

3. Comparison
Stop comparing yourself to strangers on the internet. It's a recipe for unhappiness. Also stop comparing your body to others. We're not all supposed to look the same.

4. Seeking quick fixes and miracle solutions
Almost every day, we're told about another 'miracle' diet or exercise plan that will be the end to all your insecurities and help you find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Unfollow the fads and find what works for you.

5. Believing you can see wellness
Health and fitness comes in all shapes and sizes. You cannot tell by looking at someone how fit or well they are. You don't know if they have strong mental health, absence of illness, physical strength or if they have a disordered approach to food, suffer from mental health conditions or struggle with fatigue. A person's size cannot tell you these things. Try setting wellness goals that are not related to appearance and stop thinking you can see who is fit by their body size.