FOLLOWS DIET
DIET DOESN’T FOLLOW BACK
UNFOLLOWS DIET…!
Does this sound familiar?
Just like a game on social media. So many of us have said at some point; “its Monday, the diet stars today “or “” I am going to lose that bulge before summer “or after this packet of biscuits there are no more!!” … over the years I know that I have certainly made these statements!
I have tried many of the fad diets during university, along with my share of binging on decadent food and wine. I have put on jeans that are too tight and said (next) diet starts today….
When was the last time a diet worked for you?
I mean, did the calorie restriction, eliminating foods and upping your fitness regime actually result in sustainable results for life? Did you lose weight and keep it off? Could you keep up the strict regime forever?
As a physiotherapist, Pilates and yoga teacher I have worked with many clients who have dieted with an unsustainable long-term result. Ending in regaining the lost weight and feeling disappointed and frustrated.
I would say that, through trial and error, “letting my self down”, “loss of willpower ‘I too have only experienced more disappointment and self-judgement.
It took me years of juggling a business, motherhood and a social life to finally realise that it all comes to a change in mindset. I learned to think positively about the way I fuel my body and mind rather than restricting food or getting into a pattern of eat- repent-repeat”.
Those old thought patterns led me to eat more by setting up a reward pattern in my brain… this is common and can actually lead to dietary habits that result in an unhealthy relationship with food.
Weightless through dieting causes the hormones, that are responsible to make us feel full, to drop. The diet also increases your hunger hormones (the famine cycle).
Long term dieting can cause our metabolism to slow down, making us burn kilojoules less efficiently… All of this dieting makes us struggle to understand what it means to approach food in a natural intuitive way. We don’t learn how to truly nourish our body and mind, instead opting to be driven with dissatisfaction in our bodies … a mind game…
Can anyone else relate to this?
Experts recommend a different approach. That is to learn to change the way we think about food. Focus on feeling good. Focus on mindful eating. Focus on moving, being active both incidentally or as a workout. Enjoying the process and allowing it to become a habit, a way of life.
As I said, it took me a while (and I still have my days) to not covet food, to not feel guilty for having a treat and for not punishing myself… then repeating the cycle.
Fundamentally mindful eating involves:
- Eating slowly without distraction
- Listening to physical hunger cues and eating only until you’re full
- Engaging your senses by noticing colours, smells, textures and flavours
- Learn to cope with guilt and anxiety about food
- Move our focus from looking good, to feeling good.
This is all about changing from the inside out. When we are In touch with what we truly need we can make sustainable choices that make us feel good… that’s the mindful bit…
It can all be easier said than done that’s for sure as self-acceptance doesn’t cure everything.
It is however the start of truly taking care of our physical and emotional wellbeing. Diets motivated by self-judgement don’t cut it as we eventually give up.
I am still working on the concept of self-worth and using this to treat my body with respect and love.
