Dear Fellow Chronic Dieter,
I too was once a chronic dieter like you. I tried diet after diet after diet. For much of my late teens and early twenties, I can’t really remember a time when I wasn’t on a “diet”. Then it seemed normal. But it also seemed impossible.
I think we both know that - dieting is hard. There is the restriction and temptation of foods you're trying to restrict. There’s the calorie counting and obsessing about how many calories are in everything. But we don’t only obsess about the calories in food, do we? We obsess about the number on the scale and the size of our jeans.
Our relationship with food is complex and when we reduce food to calories and macronutrients we remove any pleasure from food. I’m sure we all have a favourite meal or two that remind us of special times or of connection with loved ones.
What dieting is really doing is inviting in the fear of missing out. Have you ever noticed that as soon as you decide you’re going on a diet; you immediately want all the foods you just told yourself are off-limits?
Most of us are familiar with this situation, but as a reminder, it unfolds something like this… You declare that you’re on a diet, so no cupcakes allowed. Then you suddenly crave cupcakes. You see cupcakes everywhere that you go. You try your best to ignore the delicious cupcakes, but you feel miserable and angry that you aren’t “allowed” to have them. You beat yourself up for even wanting them. And you end up overeating a wide range of “good” foods trying to satisfy your desire for cupcakes. Which is followed by, finally breaking down and eat the cupcake. BUT at this point, you eat way more than just one cupcake. You now feel guilt or shame and swear that you’re going to be "good" tomorrow. And the miserable cycle continues on...
By removing the idea of good and bad foods you can really change your relationship to food and to yourself. Because if you know that you can have your favourite foods anytime you want, you’ll be less likely to obsess over them.
When you stop restricting and start tuning in to how your body feels, reacquaint yourself with your hunger and fullness cues and focus on nurturing your body – your relationship with your body will begin to shift.
If you’re ready to transform your relationship with your body – click here to download my FREE workbook to Create More Love for Yourself!
xoxo,
Jenna
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