In addition to the series I am doing on the 10 Principles of Intuitive Eating, I also want to give examples of real-life scenarios where these ideas play out and provide practical tools to help navigate. Today is all about Intuitive Eating In Real Life Principle 1 Reject the Diet Mentality.
In case you missed it:
Intuitive Eating In Real Life Principle 1 Reject the Diet Mentality
The snapshot of Intuitive Eating Principle 1 is: “Throw out the diet books and magazine articles that offer you the false hope of losing weight quickly, easily, and permanently. Get angry at the lies that have led you to feel as if you were a failure every time a new diet stopped working and you gained back all of the weight.”
Intuitive Eating In Real Life Principle 1 Reject the Diet Mentality
I believe the first step is being aware. Being aware of diet culture messaging and the food rules you have created for yourself either knowingly or unknowingly.
Diet culture messaging is everywhere! TV, radio, movies, magazines, social media, advertisements, friends and family conversations, etc. It’s so prevalent that we often don’t even realize how much of it we come in contact with every day.
For instance, when I see an Instagram account with 172,000 followers with a description that reads:
- “I help you lose weight FAST!”
- “Creator of the best Detox Tea!”
Ugh. I get so annoyed and angry and sad that 172,000 people are following this person’s posts and therefore being subjected to these diet culture messages.
So What Can You Do?
- Unfollow anyone on social media who is trying to sell you quick fixes and unrealistic results.
- Unfollow anyone on social media who makes you feel bad about yourself, what you ate, how you look and feel, etc.
- Follow accounts on social media that are body positive, intuitive eating promoting, offer an opinion or viewpoint that’s different than yours (but also positive!).
- Define HEALTHY for yourself.
Define Healthy for Yourself
What does it really mean when you say you want to “lose weight” or “be healthy”? It’s time to really dig deeper and understand what you actually mean and want. SO OFTEN it is not really weight loss that we want, but the IDEA of what weight loss will give us. This may be more confidence, better relationships, more adventure, a promotion at work, more respect, etc.
This is for YOU to define for YOURSELF. Don’t let someone else tell you what healthy is or what it means for them. It is different for everyone. Once you identify what you REALLY want, you can begin to pursue those goals without focusing on weight loss and changing your body.
It’s time to get real with yourself and decide, is it just about the weight (which is an arbitrary number on the scale that a LOT of factors play into) or is it about something ELSE; something deeper and more meaningful. I think you’ll be surprised to realize it’s not really about the weight AT ALL.
Connect to Your Values
Another helpful activity and exercise can be to really define and connect to your values. There are lots of values lists online that you can find. Typically the lists are quite long and the goal is to sift through and circle or highlight the values that are most important to you. You then can narrow down to say, your top 5 values. I did this exercise recently and came up with:
My Top 5 Values:
- Connection
- Freedom
- Growth
- Meaning
- Security
Your list will likely look different from mine. Your list may also change over time. I have my list printed out and hanging above my desk so I can look at it often.
When you know what your VALUES are, you can set GOALS that are in accordance with your values and you can then focus on BEHAVIORS that lead you closer to your values and the kind of life you want.
You can also use your values to help you avoid falling back into unhelpful patterns and habits such as wanting to try the latest fad diet your best friend is trying.
Here is a personal example, not related to food and nutrition: During this pandemic and quarantine, it is a goal of mine to spend less money. This is in line with my VALUES to have freedom and security. Whereas before this time, I would often make impulse purchases such as when I got an email advertising a running race! It looked so exciting and I love having races and trips to look forward to so SIGN ME UP!
Now, the triggers and desires are still there when I see advertisements or think about something I would like to purchase. But I PAUSE and consider whether or not it’s something I really need and if it’ll lead me closer to my values or further away. The triggers, desires, and temptations are still there (and likely will always be there in some way, shape, or form) but I can CHOOSE not to act on them and rather ACT in a way that aligns with my values and goals.
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT INTUITIVE EATING
As some of the individuals in my online Intuitive Eating Focus Group are saying as they begin to bring awareness to these messages of diet culture, their own food rules, and the ways that previous dieting experiences have interfered with their life and well-being:
“It had never occurred to me how the world of dieting crosses personal boundaries. This is starting to make sense to me.”
“The diet mentality has been with me since I was about 8-years old, maybe earlier. My weight fluctuated so much over the years, that I eventually lost all hope. I saw myself in such a negative light. The diet mentality took over and I felt that I had to punish myself if I ate “bad” foods. But Intuitive Eating gives me hope that I can change that mindset and trust my internal signals.”
“When I was in the depth of my diet mindset, I turned down almost every social situation…because of the “non-diet” food and because I was already so emotionally and physically drained. I find it ironic that at least a part of my dieting was motivated by appearance and relationships yet it’s dieting that also destroyed my social life.”
WOW! These are real-life messages and struggles that I hear SO OFTEN from clients, family, friends, and see online.
Stay tuned as we continue to explore Intuitive Eating In Real Life.
As always, if you need additional guidance and support via individual nutrition coaching or counseling, please reach out and/or join the waitlist to be notified of future Intuitive Eating virtual support groups!
This was informative! Thanks!