Dear Dieter Introduction To Diets Are Fattening

When I was a dieter, eating was never fun.   

At a cookout, I would look at the hamburgers and hotdogs, not with happy anticipation, but with angst.   “Okay, what here can I eat that won’t blow my diet.”

Or, if I was on a break from dieting my mindset would be the complete opposite, “Well I am going to diet Monday so I am not eating just a hamburger, I am eating a cheeseburger, and all the sides, and dessert too.”

It didn’t occur to me to look at the food, take it all in, and decide what would be the best, most satisfying choice for me, in that moment.  I never even asked myself if I was hungry.  I was at a cookout, so I was supposed to eat.

Does this sound familiar?

When I finally figured out that this was not how I wanted to live anymore (after 25 years of dieting) everything changed.

I began to see food differently, and more importantly, I began to see myself differently too.

I realized that ironically, all my good efforts at dieting kept me so focused on food, that I got stuck in a world where hunger was no longer respected as a cue to eat.  I thought that I was a big eater and would always want more food .  And, I ate based on what the latest diet book I was reading told me.

I am sad when I look back at this. What a waste of….me!

But I am happy to say that it is within your grasp to change this.  I didn’t think I could.  But happily, I was wrong.  I realized that dieting had fundamentally changed me.  It had robbed me of my own body’s voice.

Luckily, we are strong and resilient.  As soon as I started trying to “hear” my voice again, it responding by getting louder and louder.

Let me help you make this transition too.  It is life changing and, I always like to say, is the best present you will ever give yourself.

Remember, whether you are at a cookout, birthday party, or any celebration that involves eating, make sure you ask yourself the big question first:  am I hungry?

And if you are not hungry, you are betraying yourself by eating something your body is NOT asking you to provide.

If that sounds like it would take a lot of “willpower” (a true diet mentality word) let me assure you that it is easy to turn down food when you are not hungry if you know that when you ARE hungry you can eat whatever you are craving.

You may find that hard to believe.

I understand, I used to think that.

But your skepticism that you could happily turn down food has been bred by your diet mentality.  You feel like food has power over you.  You “can’t” resist!

When you ditch your diet mentality and develop your thin mentality you will realize “resisting” has nothing to do with it.  Eating when you are not hungry is not enjoyable, no matter what the food.  Eating when you are hungry is fantastic.  So why would you eat that great looking cookie when you are not hungry.  It would be okay, but if you wait until you are hungry, it will be amazing.  But remember, when you are hungry, you may not want that cookie!  You may want meat and potatoes– whatever!

Give yourself a chance to reconnect with your body’s inner voice, the one that says “I’m hungry, I’m not hungry, I need some protein, I need something green and crunchy, I need a big glass of water, I need a dense calorie food.”

We are supposed to love eating and we are supposed to crave different kinds of foods everyday.

My diet mentality crippled my ability to do either.  My thin mentality has set me free.  You can do this too.