Diet Culture Was Ruining My Life- How I Stopped Dieting

Countless energy poured into thinking about dieting, what to eat, what’s allowed and not allowed, checking menus before going to restaurants with friends and family, reading and listening to conflicting information, left me unsure and confused on how to heal my body.

So, I stopped.

I let go of diets all together.

I stopped hyper focusing on what I was eating and punishing myself for not sticking to my latest diet.

Let me tell you, I have never felt freer.

I have been able to eat until I am full and make decisions about food based on how I feel.

For example, quinoa was on my list of “okay” foods to have, but it made me sick to my stomach and caused a lot of pain when digesting. So, I don’t eat quinoa, regardless of some diet guidelines saying it is good for me.

Through this journey I have found many examples of food that I tolerate better and some I don’t, because I am listening to how my stomach and body feel.

I have also found that I am less hungry.

Turns out when you focus your energy less on food and stop giving it such importance in your life, you aren’t constantly thinking about eating food, therefore, you don’t.

Instead, I eat when my body’s hunger que is triggered.

I have truly simplified my thinking around food and because of it, I can confidently say I am less hungry, and I gravitate to eating healthier foods; because I enjoy them and am not fixated on the things I can’t have.

It makes healthy eating less of a chore and more enjoyable.

How did I do it?

Stop Consuming Diet Information

In a world full of easy to access information, you can quickly find yourself in a rabbit hole of dieting advice, YouTube videos, reading books on the topic, saving things on Pinterest, etc.

Give yourself a detox from the information surrounding all things dieting.

For me this meant getting rid of my social media platforms, no longer searching related topics on YouTube, and no longer reading books pertaining to diet and health.

I needed a break.

Talk about information overload!

Every message coming my way was about the latest diet and its benefits.

This overload caused self-hate because “why wasn’t I able to follow this diet?” “Why was it harder for me than other people?”

These negative thoughts only pushed me away from successfully sticking to a diet even more.

Buy The Foods I Want

Yep, this meant the chips or cookies that I always avoided buying but would find myself picking up at the vending machine at work.

This allowed me to enjoy the treats I want and no longer made them off limits.

Instead, if I wanted it, I would have it.

But to my surprise, I don’t really want it.

Because these items aren’t marked with a big NO in my mind, I am not tempted to go binge them after having been restricted.

I can now determine if I want these snacks based on how I feel and not because they are off limits.

It’s like telling a kid they can’t do or have something, but it only makes them want it more.

Stop Overcomplicating Meal Planning

As the person in the household that cooks and plans the meals for the week, I always found myself overwhelmed trying to come up with meals that meet my diet rules and make enough food to feed my family (and something they would like).

Talk about stress.

When the infamous question of “what’s for dinner?” is asked, I truly didn’t know.

Even though I had done research on the diet and looked over the recipes and bought items at the grocery store to make them, it all seemed daunting.

Trying to adopt a new way of eating and cooking, while just getting home from work after picking up the kids from daycare, left me stressed out and reaching for convenience.

By not sticking to a diet, I found I create more well-rounded plates for my family that were not over the top complicated.

For example, if we have pasta, I will use a bag of frozen peas that I can stick in the microwave to heat up and serve those or add some precut-up strawberries or blueberries. The kids love it, and it simplified trying to make some complicated recipe.

When cooking I now ask myself “how can I dress this up some?” with fruits or vegetables that will support our health then to change everything I know about cooking.

Move Slower

This is a larger topic I will explain more in another post, but without the unnecessary rush of life pushing me around, I am able to make sound food choices because I am not caught up in the hurry.

Meaning, my mind has time to analyze my choices, feel slower and calmer to prepare something to eat or approach food with patience, rather than rushed and ultimately settling on some quick, usually the Burger King drive thru.

This change of pace has allowed me to reconnect with food on another level. Along with moving slower to prepare food, I have slowed down the pace at which I eat.

I love the Japanese principle of Hara Hachi Bu “Eat until you are 80% full.” While it seems straightforward, when I tried to adopt this at first, I struggled. I would get to the end of my plate and think “damn, I’m still hungry… how would I ever eat 80%?”

Long behold, I was distracted. I would eat, while watching TV, or on my phone, at my desk at work, and of course, while my kids were eating, which only led to interruptions in my meal.

Cue the Christmas Story line of “My mother had not had a hot meal for herself in 15 years.”

Yep, I feel that.

No wonder my brain couldn’t signal my full cues, it was busy thinking about the emails, texts, or show playing.

So, naturally I silenced it. I chose to eat at a different time than my kids so I could avoid the interruptions and help them better, and I turned off digital devices.

However, while that all helped something else was missing.

I couldn’t silence my mind.

It was still running a million miles an hour.

I was thinking about work, what I needed to do around the house, plans for the weekend, etc.

I was still distracted and unable to sense my fullness.

It took adopting a more mindful practice around eating and intentionally slowing my mind and body, to feel calmer and in turn more “tuned in” to my fullness ques.

Conclusion

The diet industry is a multi-billion-dollar industry designed to cause confusion and provide overstimulating information. This is how they make their money. I encourage you to be the advocate of your own health and sifter through the information presented to you to make sound decisions that support your physical and mental health.

If your weight is affecting your overall livelihood and impacting your physical and mental health, I do encourage you to speak with your doctor about ways to improve your weight in a healthy way.

Through this approach, I can now “diet” by not dieting, but simply eating when hungry and stopping when full. Without fads and restrictions. Being mindful and more intentional with food, and life in general, has connected my mind and body to register the foods that make me feel great from those that don’t, honor when I am hunger verses full, and have a greater appreciation for my body and its intuitive ability.

The information provided on this blog is for general informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always seek the guidance of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking it because of something you read on this blog. The blog’s content is based on personal experiences and research, but it may not apply to your individual health needs. The author and the blog take no responsibility for any potential health issues or adverse effects arising from the use of the information provided.