If not dieting, then what? That question tends to loom heavy in your mind when you’ve decided it’s time to get off the diet rollercoaster, but aren’t sure what life after dieting would look like. And there are many reasons for saying goodbye to dieting, a.k.a. the intentional pursuit of weight loss.
- Maybe you’re tired of the lose-regain-lose cycle—a.k.a. yo-yo dieting—or you’re (rightly) concerned that continuing to yo-yo isn’t doing your physical health and emotional well-being any favors.
- Perhaps you are tired of never feeling certain about what to eat. Is this food bad? Is that food good? And do the answers change depending on whether you’re talking about eating to support health or eating to promote weight loss?
- Maybe you are sick of feeling like you can’t fully live your life when you continue to diet. You’re either on a diet or thinking about starting a new diet, taking up mental bandwidth you could be devoting to something else. Plus, when you are on a diet, you find it difficult to go to a restaurant, a party or a vacation without worrying whether there will be something that you’re “allowed” to eat.
- Or, do you find that the diet rollercoaster leaves you swinging between being tightly controlled and being totally out of control? This restrict-binge cycle isn’t good for health, it certainly isn’t good for your well-being (oh, the guilt!) and it doesn’t allow you to settle into a place where you can find peace with your food choices.
How to step off the rollercoaster
Generally, when you remove something from your life, you replace it with something else. You fill the vacuum left behind. If you start spending less time watching TV or scrolling through your social media feeds, you might start reading more. If you start saying “no” to some of the zillion volunteer activities you’re asked to help out with, you might start spending more time with friends and family—or maybe you’ll finally have time to take that Zumba or yoga class.
Similarly, if you decided to stop dieting, you might start practicing intuitive eating so you can learn to replace restrictive diet rules with the guidance of your body’s natural hunger and fullness cues. If your years—or decades—of dieting were fueled by poor body image, you might start working on ways to cultivate body respect instead of body hatred.
My big, exciting plans
One reason I did not have a blog post last week was that I was traveling all week, attending one conference and then speaking at another. In between those conferences, I spent a few days in Whistler, B.C., a place I had not visited for decades. After some long walks spent inhaling the forest-scented air (I’m not coordinated enough to ski) and goggling at the spectacular mountain peaks, I was able to spend some quality time in front of the fireplace laying the groundwork for my virtual private practice, which opens May 1.
My focus will be helping people learn how to develop healthier, more peaceful relationships with both food and body, including how to nourish yourself with food that supports health and brings pleasure. As a certified Intuitive Eating counselor, a licensed Be Body Positive facilitator, and a nutrition science geek, I’ll be bringing all of that into our sessions. In fact, we’ll use either “Intuitive Eating” or “embody” as a textbook—your choice. I’ll help you build that path to a life after dieting that enriches both health and well-being.
To learn more about my nutrition coaching program, and to get on the waitlist, just click the button below!
