Losing excess weight shouldn’t be so difficult – but it is for many people
Here you are sitting in the nutritionists’ office asking for yet another diet plan. But, deep in your heart you know this is not what you want. You know that you will follow the diet plan for a while, you will lose some weight, but then the weight will start creeping back on.
Why do you do this to yourself time and time again? Why do you try each and every new diet that hits the market thinking that this will be THE one?
You no longer trust yourself to listen to your body to guide your eating
You only know how to listen to and follow the diets. Let’s face it. When you go on a diet, you are following the eating recommendations that the “diet expert” is telling you to follow. Why do you think that expert knows what your body’s cells are asking for?
They don’t.
Yes, if you are speaking with a reputable registered dietitian nutritionist with training in nutrition and whole foods, he/she can teach you a lot about how to nourish and fuel your body for best performance and optimal health. But that is not what I am referring to here.
Does the following scenario sound familiar to you?
You’re standing in front of the mirror having changed your clothes three times already this morning. Nothing seems to fit right. You are discouraged and start with the negative self-talk you are all too familiar with. “Why can’t I just stick to my diet”, you say to yourself. “I am such a failure; I will never succeed at weight loss”.
This inner conversation and negative self-talk is cementing that lack of trust in yourself, your body and your food choices. You then say…“Tomorrow I will start my diet again”.
If you have been battling your weight for some time, then you are reading this and shaking your head in acknowledgment. You have been on countless diets that have not worked long term and you have become very good at berating yourself for your failures.
The commercials all sound so promising! The radio ads promise fat burning powers of the miracle pills you just bought at the health food store.
Why aren’t you able to lose weight?
The answer likely lies in the fact that you are trusting the diets, and not yourself. Yet the diets fail you each and every time. It’s not you who fails, it’s the diets. You see, nobody lives on a diet. One goes on a diet but eventually goes off the diet.
The statistics on dieting
40-50% of American women are trying to lose weight and are on a diet at any point in time. Half of pre-teen and teenage girls are on diets. However, 95% of all dieters regain their lost weight and and add more on top within 1 to 5 years.
These are very alarming statistics because dieting clearly doesn’t work and repeated “yo-yo” dieting has been shown to have negative health effects, including an increased risk of heart disease and long-lasting effects on the metabolism.
The best solution to achieving weight loss and a body you love is to embrace an intuitive eating approach to food.
Intuitive eating is eating based on your physiological hunger and satiety cues, not based on situations or emotional cues. So that means eating when you are hungry and stopping when you are satisfied or comfortably full.
I recognize that for the chronic yo-yo dieter, this is not necessarily easy. It requires you to explore how you got to where you are today in your eating habits and understand deeply what it means to become an intuitive eater.
During this process, it is important for you to begin to get rid of the diet mentality that you have, and to truly believe that you will never diet again.
If you continue to think there is “just one more diet, this time I’ll be good”, then you won’t be able to move forward to becoming an intuitive eater. You will continue to have foods that are “good” and “bad” and you will continue to think of yourself as being “on” or “off”.
It all starts with your mindset
Here are 3 ways to change your mindset around weight loss:
1. Commit to NEVER following a diet again. I know, this sounds scary. But until you recognize that you must give up the restriction and deprivation that dieting brings with it, you will continue on the diet roller coaster you are on.
2. Understand your big WHY. Why do you want to lose weight? What lies underneath your desire you shed the excess weight and how will it affect your life long term?
3. Seek out caring support to help you on your journey. Don’t think you have to “go it” alone. Changing your mindset around losing weight is a process and it’s important to surround yourself with like-minded people and a supportive coach who can provide guidance and positive feedback along the way. Here is a FREE Online Support Group for women who have committed to giving up dieting and are supporting each other on this new journey. Come and check it out.
Losing weight and keeping it off does not have to be impossible
You were born with the natural instinct to eat when hungry and stop when full; to trust your inner wisdom to guide your eating. You can reclaim this and achieve guilt-free eating, a body you love and a life free of dieting. Intuitive eating is the answer you have been looking for and it all starts with your mindset.
Comment below mindset strategies you've found helpful to assist in your weight loss journey. Love to hear your tips :)
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