How Nutrition Goes With A Thin Mentality
I get it.
You are trying to ignite your thin mentality but you don’t understand how nutrition fits in.
The reason you are worried about nutrition is because you do not believe that your body can direct you to the proper food choices for your best health. You don’t think that your body will ask for nutritious food.
And, in the beginning of your “metamorphosis,” you won’t be great at listening for your body’s signals to eat “nutritious” food. Since you are so used to a diet mentality, you have a lot of “interference” running through your head.
For example- you won’t believe that you are actually “allowed” to eat a candy bar so you will really look for opportunities to “hear” that your body is asking for something sweet like that. And, since you are really hoping to “hear” that, you may actually hear it more often.
First, don’t freak out about this. A 280 calorie candy bar isn’t going to “ruin” you or your day! As long as you were truly hungry when you ate it, you won’t gain weight from it. Remember, eating when you were hungry is not what made you fatter than you want to be. Eating when you were not hungry is what got you into trouble…
Okay, but back to the topic here.
Over time, you will be less excited that you can eat whatever you crave. You will get used to it. It won’t feel like such a big deal. Yes, you, the former dieter, are free to eat like a normal, thin person. And a normal, thin mentality person is happy to eat a nice dessert, when that is what the body is craving. But since that is now an accepted part of your life, it loses some of its pizazz! And then you know what happens?
Just as you are open to eat desserts, french fries etc., you are also more open to eat what you now consider to be “good” foods. You will discover which of these foods you actually really like. And when you are eating “nutritious foods” under your own direction, they taste better. It is not a punishment to eat a big head of broccoli, for example. When you crave broccoli, it is just as rewarding, and satisfying, as the formerly forbidden treat.
Do you get that?
The foods that you aren’t allowed as a dieter lose some of their magic when they are no longer forbidden. And the foods that are pushed on you now, regain some of their magic when it is your choice to eat them. And it helps that if you like a little butter on your broccoli, you may enjoy it.
I completely understand the the nutrition aspect is tricky. We are inundated with messaging about good nutrition. Eat this for good eyesight. Eat this for longevity. Avoid this if you want to avoid cancer. Bla Bla Bla
Let’s get to a healthful, stable body weight first. Right? Not only is it great for your body, it is “good for the soul.” Think how many sad and depressing thoughts you have when you feel fat. Do you think those thoughts are good for your body? NO! Those sad thoughts are poison to you! Get happy and relaxed with your thin mentality.
Focus on listening to your body for good direction on what to eat. Despite what you think, your body has your best interests at heart. Your body will crave a wide variety of foods including “good” food and what you formerly considered “bad” food. I hate to even call food bad. Ask the starving child in a destitute situation if the fried chicken and coke are “bad.”
Food isn’t bad. Eating when you aren’t hungry is bad no matter how fabulously healthful that food is. Overdosing on carrots makes you feel sick too.
So- for your nutritional health, keep listening to that wise body of yours. If it asks for protein- by making you crave a steak, and you give it candy, you are not reinforcing a thin mentality. Let your body lead you. Do not allow a situation to determine your eating. Do not allow the “new fabulous food of the day by Dr. Oz” determine what you eat. Do not look to your friend, mother or spouse to figure out what you should have.
Stay within yourself. Quiet your brain. Let your body talk to you. It will ask for nutritious food. And, by the way, the only one who can “hear” your body is you. So if you don’t listen to it, who will?