12 Weeks No Diets – Week 6 – Making Peace With Food
We’re at the halfway mark of 12 Weeks No Diets.
I hope you’ve been enjoying reading these posts as much as I love writing them!
To recap, these are goals we’ve covered so far:
- Eat when you’re hungry, stop when you’re satisfied
- Make water your beverage of choice
- Break mindless eating routines
- Increase fiber intake by increasing fruit and veggie intake
- Pay close attention to meal timing and portion control
- Pay attention to your body – focus on eating consciously
- The importance of meal planning
This week I wanted to talk about making peace with food. The biggest thing I believe in when I talk about not dieting, is the importance of NOT following a restricted eating regimen. The way human nature works… or at least with me… the minute I try to restrict myself from any food, or say I won’t let myself eat a certain food… I instantly want that food.
For example, how long would you last if you vowed to not eat sweets for the next six weeks. I know myself all to well… I would crack.
If we tell ourselves that we can’t or shouldn’t have a particular food, it can often lead to intense feelings of deprivation and uncontrollable cravings. When we finally “give-in” to a “forbidden” food, its often done with such strong intensity that it can result in the Last Supper syndrome where we just eat and eat and eat. Or, it could be followed by extreme guilt.
It’s extremely important to NEVER deprive ourselves of the foods we love. In my book, there is no such thing as a good or bad food, but there is such a thing as an bad portion. Eating healthy is important, but how much we eat is even more important. I’ve mentioned before that I believe in the 80/20 rule. Eighty percent of what I eat is healthy, twenty percent is whatever else I want. There’s no particular order of how this happens either. I’ve had days where I’ve eaten a healthy breakfast, a cheeseburger for lunch, and something small and healthy for dinner. Or, I might have a piece of chocolate after breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It changes everyday.
Goal for this week:
Every day this week, I want for you to think of one food you truly love, and eat it. For example, if you’re craving pizza, there’s no need to eat the entire pizza. Wait until you’re truly physically hungry, and eat a mindful portion. When I say “mindful portion” you want to eat enough until you are satisfied. Not overly full, but satisfied. If you’ve been overly restricted with your diet in the past, this can be challenging. Take your time and slowly start to mindfully incorporate more of the foods you love, or food you thought you loved. When you start to eat them, you may even realize that you don’t like it too much.
I know this can be tough for some, so if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to email me 🙂
Don’t forget your workout of the week! 🙂
Click here for Jessica’s No More Resolutions Workout!
No More Resolutions will run for 12 weeks along with No Diets in the New Year
There are beginner, intermediate, and advanced workouts for everyone!
i’m the same way – restriction makes me wanna scream!!!
Loved this post, Estela! I totally agree. Restriction is the worst way to diet. It can 1) trigger a binge or 2) lead to an unhealthy obsession with food, and eventually an eating disorder. This may sound really drastic, but you don’t get an ED from a day. It’s a gradual process until before you even realize it, it’s taken over you.
I love how practical, and wise, and down-to-earth your advices are!
Excellent post, I agree with you. This is basically my diet/weight loss philosophy, which I am still learning and practicing. It’s a process and we have all of our lives to enjoy it. 🙂
Jenn
Great post! You said: “For example, how long would you last if you vowed to not eat sweets for the next six weeks. I know myself all to well… I would crack.”
I wouldn’t crack. But on Week 7, Day 1 I’d eat myself into a sugary oblivion.
I totally agree with those eating tips and I try to follow all of them.
making peace with food is something that should come so naturally, yet is now so difficult! i would give anything to have the same attitude towards food now as i did when i was 2 years old. kids at that age eat what they want when they’re hungry, and stop when they’re full. so simple.
I love this philosophy. I think, especially for us women, it takes practice because most of us have “restricted” in some form or another in our lives. Great, great tips!
I can’t eat a number of foods due to health reasons and this has proved to be interesting in my quest to eat intuitively. Thankfully, I had made peace with most foods before I had to stop eating gluten, sugar and dairy. Ironically, giving up sugar has been the easiest for me. I am not ravaged by sugar cravings all the time and I can actually hear what my body is telling me now. I also feel that I can better identify actual hunger from cravings.
I feel like I’m drilling these points into patient’s heads with all the lap banding we’re doing. And I just don’t feel comfortable recommending someone for surgery that hasn’t had that “Ah ha!” moment with portions and satiety signaling. Also, I love the water comment! Water, water, water! Yes!!
Love your eating tips. I’m trying to embrace all of them wholeheartedly. Some of my negative talk inhibits this, but I’m getting there.
I usually say to my clients “I won’t ever tell you not to eat something. You’re an adult. You can make that choice yourself. But if I think a food is unsupportive for you, I WILL tell you why.”
BODA lose weight
LOVE THIS! Everything is moderation is KEY. 🙂
i really appreciate this challenge, and will definitely be following along! i know it’ll be hard, but i think that the phrase “making peace with food” says it all 🙂
These are really good points…I especially love the one about eating a piece of chocolate after breakfast, lunch and dinner. I have yet to do it but knowing that a nutritionist does, well then I may just give it a shot!
great post, as always girl!
i ALWAYS have dark chocolate after a meal..the little piece is just enough.. you dont need a whole chocolate bar to be satisfied!
LOVE That you are tatted up too girl!! whoo!
Hi – I am new to your blog. Excellent info on nutrition. Thanks for sharing your insights.
Great post, Estela!
I SO believe in this philosophy. It sounds like common sense, but unfortunately, the prevalent “dieting mentality” makes this priciple very hard for most people to follow.
Thanks for sharing such an important concept!
I love all the topics you’ve discussed but I’ve missed them! Your feed isn’t showing up on my google reader 🙁
Amen sista! Love this one. Well said. Succinct. Perfect. Making Peace. It;s what I try to say on my blog; and I love when others say the same thing using different words 🙂
Great points! I remember a time quite a few years ago, when I finally made peace with food. It was liberating!
Great post. I try to tell my clients not to deprive themselves of the things they love, and sometimes they just don’t get it. For some of them, however, it’s dangerous to eat a piece of chocolate because they simply CAN’T stop. For them the issue is psychological, they really need to talk to someone and figure things out. But for most people, depriving themselves of the things they love will only dig them into a deeper hole. When I had an eating disorder, for about three years, I deprived myself of all the things I used to love. When I was coming out of the ED, I started binging on those things (mainly peanut butter and chocolate!). It was because I had been SO GOOD at depriving myself that now that I allowed myself to eat it, I just didn’t want to stop.
I will go ahead and do this challenge, and I will not fail!!
I love your goals…not only because they are a lot like mine (!) but because they are sound and reasonable and achievable! You go girl!