Let’s chat if you’re so done with dieting. You know diets don’t work. You are tired of sacrificing and restricting. You know that it’s just not worth it.
Would you like to feel peaceful around food and your body? That’s what I wanted most. I wanted to just relax around food and appreciate my body’s strength. I also wondered if maybe, someday, I could even love my body. Imagine that?!
When I recognized that dieting was getting in my way of feeling peaceful around food, I felt like I was walking into unchartered territory. Dieting was all I knew, but I didn’t want to do it. I no longer wanted to diet and restrict what I ate. Yet, my relationship with food and my body wasn’t getting any better. I was still overeating. I was still feeling guilty. I was still worried about gaining weight. Doesn’t sound so peaceful, does it?
Can you see yourself in that uncharted territory with food? I found the hardest part about being in this place was that I was constantly questioning myself. Could I trust myself to stay in control around food? Did I always need the security of a diet plan? Was I eating the right thing?
Here’s the thing. Dieting habits lingers. We so dutifully follow certain rules when we were trying to lose weight. When we stop dieting, the rules don’t just disappear. Instead, they stick around. A part of us, possibly without realizing it, still tries to follow these rules that are so ingrained in us.
There are some common dieting symptoms that I’ve noticed with my clients. Check these out. They may give you a good idea if you may still be dieting without realizing it.
You’re always thinking about food and when you will eat again. You’re searching for recipes and talking about what you just ate or plan to eat with friends and coworkers.
Before you eat, you consider if you “should be eating that”. Should you be hungry? Should you eat that piece of cake? Should you have the stir fry or the cheeseburger? Food decisions are made from your head and not from your body.
You’re trying to “be good” by not eating certain foods or not eating during certain times of the day. You try to not eat before 12pm or after 7pm. You try to eat only 3 meals a day or just 2 meals a day or 3 meals a day and 2 snacks a day.
You plan for big meals or certain food treats by limiting other meals or increasing exercise. You plan to burn off that dessert with a spin class, long run or extra time in the gym. You’ll skip breakfast for lunch out even though you’re hungry. Or, you’ll eat a small meal in anticipation for a big one even when your body wanted more food at the time.
You’re counting, either in your head or on an app how many points, grams or calories you’ve just eaten. You’re budgeting for how much more you can eat.
Considering these symptoms for yourself can help you create more awareness around your relationship with food. When you realize that old patterns may be holding you back, you can let them go. We can’t let go of something we don’t realize we’re holding onto.
If dieting is still lingering in your relationship with food and you’re interested in finding a way to a peaceful place, check out The Connection Experiment. This 14-day online program offers you concrete practices on listening to your intuitive body’s wisdom and ultimately, feel relaxed around food.
You may feel like you’re in uncharted territory now. But you don’t need to be there for long. The practice of connecting with your body is simpler than you may think. I discuss this at length in Hungry: Trust Your Body and Free Your Mind around Food. Check out a copy for yourself!
And lastly. Let me offer you ONE simple thing that I find so helpful. When you feel uncertain and are questioning how to make food choices, take a few moments and become aware of your breathing. Feel your breath. Watch it. Listen to it. Your breath is a concrete physical experience that can calm and center you. Let your breath remind you that you’ve got this.
With love and connection~
Tara