Why weight loss, dieting never seems to stick? because we keep looking in the wrong place to solve our food and body obsession.
Diet is not about restriction, crashing intake of specific food groups or about eating only dictated foods. Diet is simply what nourishes the body.
Many people think that” dieting” will keep their eating and weight in control. That they need these rules and some kind of structure to keep them eating right or eating healthy or” eating slim” and they think that giving up” dieting” will make them feel out of control and all over the place. But it’s actually quite the opposite: dieting keeps you captive and, while it gives the illusion of control and freedom, there’s nothing empowering about it.
When you’re caught up in the dieting mindset, you spend a tremendous amount of mental energy on what you should eat, what you shouldn’t eat, how much, when, etc. Most often we are oppressed and preoccupied with food.
In mindful eating you’re free from obsessing about food. This not only gives you more energy to enjoy life and health but you also learn to welcome your hunger, enjoy what you eat, feel satisfied, and you’re ready to move on with your day. Mindful eating gives you the freedom to be fully present to your routine life, without being chained to calorie counts, diet foods or other forms of restrictions.
A diet for most people today is about controlling your appetite or avoiding certain foods. So, you might want a certain food, but you’re going to use your control to stop yourself from having it. You’re only going to eat the foods that are okay. But sooner or later, you’ll have a rough day or you’ll be at a party, and you’ll turn to the very foods you’ve been avoiding. You’ll lose control, and find yourself overeating and feeling guilty.
Today, food that has been your culture and tradition is your enemy. There’s always a struggle you versus some food. Eating mindfully is all about breaking this struggle. Pay attention to your hunger cues, and decide to eat when you’re hungry. You decide what foods feel good. Eating is supposed to be sensible not reckless, of course. Mindful eating does not mean eating whatever you want, whenever you want. It means eating the right foods, at the right time and when needed by the body. So, eat what you’re hungry for when you’re hungry. Use your internal cues so you’re making decisions based on what’s best for you physically, emotionally and spiritually.
Diet is an act of nurturing and taking care of oneself. Think about what really nourishes your body and weight loss or health will follow.
Be free from” dieting. Don’t go” on or off” the diet wagon. Nourish your way to health, don’t let it be a controlled and suppressed journey.
There are two freedoms from dieting- the false, where you are free to eat whatever you want and the true, where you are free to eat what you ought.
-Jennifer Dhuri