There is a healthy movement toward anti-dieting, and for a good reason. As an individual loses weight, they feel good about themselves; however, if they put the weight back on or weight loss is much harder than anticipated, feelings of failure take over, which can increase eating and sabotage weight loss goals. The psychological effects of yo-yo dieting can lead to depression, lack of confidence, feelings of inadequacy, guilt, self-blame and anti-social behaviour.
Anti Dieting is the movement away from yo-yo dieting to more intuitive eating. Intuitive eating means you make peace with all types of foods, and rather than looking at them as good or bad, you use your voice of reason, listen to your body and make decisions that are right for you and your weight loss journey. According to the National Eating Disorders Association, intuitive eating is about trusting your body and wisdom to make food choices that feel good for you without judging yourself or the influence of diet culture.
When you choose intuitive eating, you let go of the idea that you must lose weight to feel good about yourself or look a certain way. Instead, you use what you know and apply it to your life and food choices.
Intuitive eating starts with rejecting the diet mentality that offers false and unrealistic diet plans that are not sustainable.
Intuitively we know what food choices are better for us, and we see what happens when we choose a daily diet of foods that are not. Using your voice of reason and intuition, you set your daily food goals, journal etc. back on the path of wellness rather than weight loss
You eat when you are hungry and only until you are satisfied, not full. Always stop eating before you feel the sense of fullness because, intuitively, you know how awful that full feeling is. Give your body permission to eat when you are hungry.
Think about how the food tastes and assess your hunger levels to determine if you need more. Pay attention to fullness and pause frequently to check in with your body when you eat. Savour the eating experience; when you feel satisfied, you will know you have had enough.
Don’t deprive yourself of foods; depriving and restricting what you can eat can trigger sugar cravings and lead to binge eating. Eating intuitively is about choosing foods that satisfy your health needs and your taste buds.
Respect your emotions- Recognize why you are eating out of emotion, anxiety, loneliness, anger or boredom and remove yourself from the temptation. Find kind ways to comfort, nurture, distract, and resolve your issues because, intuitively, we know that food will not fix any of these problems. And long term, using food as the resolve for mental health problems may only make you feel worse
Forget the militant exercise and just get active every day. Shift your focus from having to run 5 km a day to lose weight to moving your body every day to stay healthy and to make you feel better both physically and mentally.
“The Japanese have the wisdom to keep pleasure as one of their goals of healthy living. In our compulsion to comply with diet culture, we often overlook one of the most basic gifts of existence—the pleasure and satisfaction that can be found in the eating experience. When you eat what you really want is an environment that is inviting, the pleasure you derive will be a powerful force in helping you feel satisfied and content. By providing this experience for yourself, you will find that it takes just the right amount of food for you to decide you’ve had “enough.”
“Author unknown”
Give Yourself Permission to Breathe
Remember to breathe!
Wherever you are in your life, we hope you give yourself permission to breathe. We hope that you take time every day to take stock of all the amazing parts of yourself, and you check personal criticism at the door.
The world we live in today is not easy; demands and stresses are bearing down on us every day. Our hope for you is that in a world that is always rushing, you can find a moment of stillness in your life to just be in the moment. Whatever that moment is.
If you feel grief, give yourself permission to feel it. If you feel tired, give yourself permission to take a rest. If you feel joy, then allow yourself to celebrate happiness. If you are not sure what you are feeling, release the pressure of trying to define the feelings and just be in the moment
Whatever happened today, this week or this month, give yourself “Permission to Breathe
- To remember
- To honour
- To celebrate
- To nurture
- To practice thankfulness
- To laugh
- To cry
- To Breathe
