The Worst Calories

Wouldn’t life be so much easier if things were just black and white? Unfortunately, nutrition never works that way.

Eggs used to be “bad,” and now we know they’re packed with nutrients. Some cultures have lived on carbohydrates like rice for centuries, and now carbs are supposedly the enemy. One doctor says red meat causes cancer, while another talks endlessly about its micronutrients. What the hell are you supposed to do?

Nutrition may be complicated, but even the charlatans can agree on one thing: junk food probably isn’t great for us.

And you know what else isn’t great for us? Junk input.

In Arthur Brooks’ book The Meaning of Your Life, he talks about ditching “cultural calories.” These are things that consume your attention, overstimulate you, provide short-term pleasure, and leave you feeling emptier afterward while simultaneously making you crave more.

In my opinion, they’re the worst kind of calories we consume, yet most of us indulge in them every single day.

Things like:

• Listening to constant gossip about celebrities or people you don’t know

• Mindlessly channel surfing because silence feels unfamiliar

• Watching short clips and reels for an hour and remembering none of them afterward

• Reaching for your phone during every spare moment

• Consuming outrage-based news that leaves you emotionally depleted but adds nothing meaningful to your life

• Constantly seeking tiny hits of distraction instead of deeper engagement

• Mistaking consumption for fulfillment

• Replacing hobbies with passive entertainment

• Living on mental “snack foods” all day long

• Chasing convenience in every area of life and wondering why life feels less meaningful

• Having constant access to pleasure but very little satisfaction

• Overconsuming things that feel good in the moment but hollow afterward

  
  

Oof.

Our minds develop cravings for whatever we repeatedly consume. And if you constantly feel low-energy, there’s a chance you’re overstimulated rather than physically tired.

Our bodies and minds were not designed for endless opinions (although obviously you should still read mine 🙂), 14 hours of content a day, artificial urgency, constant accessibility, or comparison at scale.

Casually consuming negativity, noise, outrage, shallow entertainment, and endless advertisements is no way to live.

This is not the part where I tell you to throw away your phone and meditate for 30 minutes a day (does anyone actually do that?).

What I will tell you is that it may be time to add more mental “protein” to your life:

• Deep conversation

• Sunlight

• Books

• Silence

• Creating instead of consuming

• Meaningful work

• Prayer or meditation

• Walks without your phone

• Real community

  
  

I know this was a lengthy post, but so much needs to be said. We’re like fish that don’t realize they’re swimming in water. These cultural calories are everywhere. But now you know.

What’s your next move?

P.S. Not AI written....do I really need to keep saying this in every post?