Eat to Flourish & Ditch Your “Diet”
I think going on a diet is probably one of the worst things you can do for sustained weight loss, mental health, and overall vitality. I feel like this is such a hard concept for people to truly understand when the dieting industry has grown so large. We are constantly bombarded with new fads, shakes, and pills that are supposed to solve our weight problem. I feel like for women especially, the diet mentality can be one of the most toxic to take on. If it is true that you want to shed some excess weight and it’s coming from a loving place, not a place of self hatred and restriction, there is much greater success in not only keeping the weight off, but also feeling and looking your best. So be honest with yourself… Do you restrict your food intake during the day and then consume most of your calories at dinner? Do you weigh yourself every single day or throughout the day? Does the number on the scale influence how you feel inside? Do you find yourself eating something you think is “unhealthy” then commit to dieting on Monday or January 1st? Do you use caffeine as a means to suppress your appetite? Do you know the calories or grams of sugar, fat, and protein in most foods you consume? If some of these questions are true for you, it’s ok. Some of these are true for me too, but what I want to do in this post is to inspire a shift in your thinking around food and weight.
Our bodies are a sacred space that houses our soul for the period of time we are on the Earth. When you truly care and love your body, you’re not going to 1. deprive it of nutrients and 2. fill it with junk. I can’t remember the last time I ate fast food… and that’s not coming from a place of restriction, but its coming from a place of I love my body and it deserves food that’s going to make it feel amazing. It’s really that simple. Also, if you really want some desert or something that maybe your diet book would label as “bad”, go ahead and have it! The effects of slowly enjoying a delicious piece of chocolate cake is more beneficial than chopping on some carrots all stressed out wishing you were eating chocolate cake. I’m going to go into more detail of the best foods to fill your body with in my next post, but I promise that once you make this mental shift, eating healthier will become second nature.