Tag Archive for: diet free

Intuitive Eating on Vacation

Have I mentioned yet that summer is my favorite season? Yes, it is!

 

The hot weather, spending time outdoors, longer days, time off…I can on and on. I just love it.

 

Whether you’re planning a weekend away, a visit to a tropical island, or a staycation, food and eating challenges might come up, especially for those who are in the process of recovering from dieting. If this is you, then keep reading!

 

If you feel the urge to say, “I’m on vacation, I’ll enjoy myself and start over when I get home”, then please know that you’re not alone. This is what’s called the “vacation mindset.” When you’re on vacation, the sneaky diet mentality and food police might join you.

 

This never pans out well. So, let’s discuss how you can continue your intuitive eating practice while you’re soaking up the sun!

 

  1. Avoid the All or Nothing Mindset

If you go into vacation thinking “I won’t eat anything I shouldn’t, or “I’m just going to eat and deal with it when I get home”, you’re thinking in extremes. Instead, commit to staying fully present while on vacation, and continue to make purposeful food choices, just like you’re doing at home.

 

  1. Pay Attention to Your Fullness Signals

Go ahead and explore new foods and enjoy familiar ones. Remind yourself to check in mid-meal to see how you are feeling. As you become more satisfied, remind yourself that you can come back and order this food again. You don’t need to eat it all, to a point of being overfull and uncomfortable. That just takes away from the whole experience.

 

  1. Listen for Hunger

When you’re out and busy trying to jam all the activities you would like to do into a short time frame, you may forget to stop and eat lunch and then feel overhungry by dinner. Throughout the day check-in with your body and listen for those hunger cues. Make sure you carry snacks with you so you can answer the hunger when it calls.

 

  1. Make Movement Fun

Going to the hotel gym on vacation may not be your cup of tea, and that’s okay. However, there are many movements you may enjoy doing, that you can do while vacationing. Or you may want to try something new, such a hiking as local trail, or kayaking in the clear waters. Find an activity that is appealing to you, and remove all expectations. Just have fun!

 

We all need a break, and the summer is a great time to take a vacation! Tell the food police they are not welcome and enjoy yourself while making memories!

3 MUST HAVE Intuitive Eating Ingredients for 2022

It is almost New Year which means that my inbox (and probably yours too!) is being flooded with dozens of emails about the next latest diet. While all these diets are comprised of different rules, they all promise the same thing, quick weight loss.

 

When you see the before and after pictures attached to these emails you may be tempted to give in and try whatever diet they are promoting. You may even find success in your pursuit of losing weight in the first few weeks. Then a month or so later you notice your weight has plateaued and you stop following the dieting rules. Before you know it you say, “forget it” and drop the diet completely. Eventually, you regain all the weight you immediately lost and go back to your old eating habits.

 

If you have found yourself in this cycle, you are not alone. Most people who are chronic dieters find themselves in this never-ending loop. Studies have shown that this constant weight fluctuation that your body goes through is not good for your overall health. It is healthier for you to stay at the weight you’re at and practice healthier habits.

 

There are 3 essential ingredients I believe you need to have an overall healthier lifestyle:

 

1. Create a healthy mindset. 

 

Do not listen to all of those around you telling you what to do. Instead, focus on your body’s needs and wants. What makes YOU happy? What makes YOU feel good? What eases your mind and fills your stomach? Don’t let dieting books, relatives, and friends dictate what you need or what you should eat. Only you know how to make yourself the best you can be. Re-learn to trust your body. You may be surprised what you get out of it.

 

>> Join me today on Bonnie.Tube to learn how you can spot a diet a mile away!

 

2. Find caring love and support. 

 

Being on this journey alone can feel impossible, especially when your closest friends have all decided to diet. So, what are your options? There are plenty of support groups online full of people who have had a similar experience to you. Having a proper support system can help you stay on this journey and provide the help you may need along the way.

 

>> I’m personally inviting you to join a private group of women working towards creating a healthier relationship with food through Intuitive Eating. Accept your invite here.

 

3. Be open to learning about nutrition from a reputable source. 

 

While the internet can be a great resource for many things, it does not replace the information provided by an expert. It’s key to connect with a reputable nutrition source such as a registered dietitian nutritionist to learn about nutrition. Get to know what you’re putting into your body. The more you know, the more you will find yourself being more conscious about what you’re eating.

 

This year, focus on your health, not your weight. Say no to dieting and yes to body empowerment.

 

>> Get started with Intuitive Eating here.

How to Eat Intuitively While Traveling

I don’t know about you…but I am ready to go on vacation! Like most people, I haven’t traveled since the pandemic hit! While I know there are some people who’ve resumed their vacation travels, I haven’t been ready – until NOW!

I am itching to get away! And many of my clients are as well! With traveling opening again and vacationing returning to normal, eating intuitively while on vacation is a thought lingering in many of my client’s minds. And it may be on your mind too.

For many people, this may seem like an impossible task, especially if you’re a dieter or working on breaking free of dieting.

Typically, a vacation or traveling usually means “a break” from the routines of your regular life.

A break from your routine can mean—indulging in foods you don’t normally eat, experiencing new foods, and being spontaneous and flexible with your eating.

This “lack of routine”, especially for those just beginning their Intuitive Eating journey, can bring up a lot of difficult emotions surrounding eating, making food decisions, and being in a new, unfamiliar environment while vacationing. These emotions include shame, fear, guilt, and anxiety, and loads of “what if’s”.

What If…

There is often a lot of food fear and food worry when it comes to going on vacation, wondering if there will be food you can eat. The “what if’s” can fill your head leaving you anxious about the vacation that you really want to be looking forward to.

  • What if I go overboard?
  • What if they don’t have “healthy” foods for me to eat?
  • What if I can’t control myself?
  • What if my body lets me down?
  • What if I stop hearing my hunger/fullness signals?

To help combat some of these negative emotions and overwhelming “what if’s”, here are 4 KEY POINTS to keep in mind:

1.Eating is eating no matter where you are.

 Many people glorify and place unnecessary pressures on eating and making food choices while traveling. However, nothing has to change or look different from a usual day of eating. Eating can still be “normal” even while vacationing. This is a powerful mindset shift that will help take the pressure off eating while vacationing.

Think about it—if you are currently eating without rules and restriction, honoring your hunger and eating until satisfied… why should your eating look any different while you are traveling?

2.Intuitive Eating is not only about honoring your hunger and fullness.

Traveling opens the door to a whole host of great experiences. From trying new foods to learning about a new culture or cuisine—the experiences are endless, and you shouldn’t be denying yourself from having these experiences. Although it’s important to honor your hunger and fullness signals, there are times in which this shouldn’t be the only thing you’re focused on.

For example, while vacationing there may be a time you get the opportunity to try a new food that is incredible, and you notice that you ate past comfortable fullness. Or, while engaging in a fun activity, time gets away from you and you suddenly realize you’re way hungrier than feels comfortable.

In both scenarios, these are temporary moments of discomfort—they don’t last forever and it is absolutely OKAY! Avoid hyper focusing on those moments. Fixating on those moments (like beating yourself up, restricting, etc.) will cause you to miss out on experiences you may not get to experience again.

Remember, there is no perfection in Intuitive Eating!

3.Focus on satisfaction.

An important part of Intuitive Eating is the feeling of satisfaction. Intuitive Eating allows you to give yourself permission to eat what sounds and feels good for you without any conditions attached to it—and believe it or not, this permission is still present while vacationing!

Don’t be “conditional” with your permission. Eat what sounds good to you, allow yourself to eat everything on your plate or leave some behind, eat when others aren’t but you feel the need to, and say no when something doesn’t appeal to you.

You are in charge!

4.Remember compensating is not necessary.

There is no need to threaten yourself with an intense workout regimen or a “cleanse”, or “detox” while traveling or vacationing. Movement is great but if the intention is to “punish yourself” for eating a little out of “routine” or because you ate until a little bit overfull- I think it’s best if you hit the brakes to remind yourself that those are old dieting behaviors, and you don’t need them anymore!

You got this! Happy travels!!

 

3 Truths About What Happens When You Stop Dieting

Are you thinking about giving up dieting, but you don’t know what to expect when you make this life-changing decision?

Have you already made the decision to stop dieting, but you’re not so confident in this decision?

It makes sense! You’ve been on the diet roller coaster for a LONG time. It feels weird not to be following a set of food rules, even though deep down you know they’ve never worked. But what happens once you give up the food rules?

Let’s look at what your thoughts and fears might be. Then, let’s tackle what you really need to know.

 

Typical Thoughts When You Give Up Dieting

It’s common to have some uncomfortable thoughts and fears when you think of no longer dieting. Here are some common thoughts:

  • “I will gain weight!”
  • “I will eat out of control!”
  • “I won’t know what to eat.”
  • “What do I do without rules?”
  • “What if it doesn’t work for me?”

It’s important to be realistic in your expectations when you decide to not diet and to begin your journey towards Intuitive Eating.

What You Need to Know

1. You will want food all the time – and that’s normal!

When you first decide to get off the diet roller coaster and you begin throwing away your food rules, you will want to eat all those foods that were forbidden. And you will want to eat them a lot, and often. This happens because for months, years or even decades you’ve been restricting these foods. So, this reaction is totally “normal”.

Your mind and body are sort of saying “hey, what’s up?” It’s not used to you eating these foods, and it’s thinking “I’m never going to get these foods again! I better stock up while I can because these won’t be around forever!”

This will continue to happen as you continue to test the process of Intuitive Eating. “Can I really eat what I want?”

Yes you can.

2. It is a long process.

Please have realistic expectations. You cannot expect your body to adapt to giving up dieting and shifting to Intuitive Eating overnight. The communication between your mind and body has been suppressed for quite a while. Hunger, fullness, and satisfaction have been ignored—so you must rebuild this communication!

You might be feeling that it’s difficult to stay motivated and invested in the journey, especially if progress isn’t immediate. But that’s your diet mentality speaking. You are programmed to want immediate results but it’s important to build your patience muscle as you work on changing your relationship with food for the rest of your life.

Focus on the long game!

3. No two journeys are the same.

Working at your own pace is totally okay.

As a dieter, you likely have an “all or nothing” mentality—”going all in with something full force, or not doing it at all”. Having this mentality can hold you back.

Instead of diving headfirst, trying to rush the process and being “good”, take one step that you feel confident in and let it be that—just a first step. Once you feel ready, take another step forward and so on.

Take the journey at your own pace, be true to yourself. Don’t compare your journey to anyone else’s journey because you don’t know their story!

There is no race to any finish line! Intuitive Eating is a practice. It’s not something that ends when you get to a goal.

Want to know more about the 3 phases you will go through when you stop dieting?

Join me today for a LIVE training on this topic, right in my Facebook Group.

 

“But You Have to Lose Weight…”

Emily logged onto Zoom for her appointment with me and shared the following:

“I told my mom and best friend that I’ve decided not to diet anymore. They had a shocked look on their faces and said, “but you have to lose weight.”

Have you experienced this too?

You are probably reading my blog because you know that diets have never worked for you and will never! You’ve been searching for a way out of the dieting quicksand, and you think you’ve found it with Intuitive Eating. But you are struggling because no one around you has seen the light like you have.

It’s incredibly challenging when your inner circle is dieting and thinks you should be too. That’s why it’s so important to be a part of a strong community of women who are on the same journey as you are of leaving dieting behind.

3 Ways a Community Can Help

(1) It provides a safe and secure environment where you can share experiences, seek support when necessary, and ask questions, WITHOUT JUDGEMENT.

(2) It provides an opportunity to connect with others. Each person in the community is striving and growing toward a common goal

(3) It keeps you motivated and accountable. With everyone in the community working toward the same common goal (breaking free of dieting and becoming an Intuitive Eater), it’s easier to stay accountable and motivated because others around you are doing the same! Everyone in the community has similar thoughts, beliefs and values around dieting and diet culture. It helps to know that you are not alone!

Giving Up Dieting is a Foreign Concept

The dominant paradigm in “weight management” or “weight loss” is to eat less and exercise more.

You now know that this is a very flawed paradigm, yet many people are trapped in outdated beliefs despite all the evidence that restriction and dieting are not moving the majority of people toward healthier, happier and more vibrant lives.

Yet, health professionals, physicians, family, friends and more all fuel the “weight loss” or “dieting” paradigm with biased and incorrect information, which allows the beliefs of the paradigm to continue.

Join me for a LIVE training today what you need to make the paradigm shift happen for you.

It’s all happening in my Intuitive Eating for a Diet Free Life Private Facebook Group. If you’re not a member yet, click here to join (it’s free!).

6 Steps to a Diet-Free Commitment in 2021

Whoo hoo! We are just about ready to say goodbye to 2020 and hello to 2021! I don’t think there is anyone who isn’t happy to leave this year behind us.

 

The only problem is that with a New Year, comes all the pressure to start a new diet! Wherever you turn, you will be bombarded with diet talk- in the salon, supermarket, office, on the radio, newspaper ads etc. It’s sometimes difficult not to fall prey to the New Year diet marketing, even if you’ve already commited to no more diets! That’s how strong those messages can be.

 

The #1 barrier to a healthy relationship with food and your body is believing that “this will be the diet that works for me.”

 

And just like that, you hold yourself back from finally finding freedom from the battle with food and your body that you’ve been living with for years.

 

Busting through the Diet Temptation Barrier

 

I promise you that dieting is not going to bring you any peace in your life. All that dieting will do is keep you on the roller coaster of restriction – binge eating – guilt – shame.

 

If dieting was the answer, it would have “worked” a long time ago.

 

So, how do you bust through this temptation to do “just one more diet”?

 

6 Steps to a Diet-Free Commitment

 

First and foremost, I want you to know that I understand the temptation to try that one last diet. I’ve been there before, so I really do get it. Here are 6 steps to help you commit to being diet free in 2021.

 

1.Take quiet time: Take a few minutes tonight and sit with yourself quietly. Be sure that you are relaxed, not hungry, and tell your family that you don’t want to be interrupted for at least 30 minutes. You’ll need to have a pad and pen handy.

 

2.Reflect on your dieting history: Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and ask yourself the following questions:

  • What has been the emotional cost of all my years of dieting? (examples – depression, anxiety, poor body image etc.)

 

  • What has been the relationship cost of all my years of dieting? (examples – lost friendships, broken relationships, social anxiety etc.)

 

  • What has been the health cost of all my years of dieting? (Example – blood sugar swings, elevated blood pressure, hair falling out, menstrual irregularities, GI trouble etc.)

 

After each question, open your eyes and begin writing. Don’t edit your words, just write.

 

3.Review your responses: Read your responses to each question OUT LOUD (this part is really crucial), and now ask yourself this last MOST IMPORTANT question:

 

If I don’t break this chronic dieting pattern, how will that affect my future, and that of my daughters (and sons) who are watching me and learning from me?

 

4.Declare your diet-free commitment: “I am committed to never dieting again!”

 

5.Seek community: Join other women on the journey towards breaking free of dieting in my Intuitive Eating for a Diet Free Life Facebook Group. Click here to request to join! (Please answer the membership questions for admission).

 

6.Take a leap of faith: Click HERE to schedule a complementary call with me to get started on your intuitive eating journey in 2021.

 

You don’t need to walk this journey alone, nor should you. We all need support along the way. I’m here for you if you are ready.

 

Join me for a LIVE TRAINING today at 12:15 pm EST where I will dive deeper into living diet free!

 

It’s all happening in the Intuitive Eating for a Diet Free Life private Facebook Group right HERE. Join us!

 

3 Signs You’re Ready to Stop Dieting (and What to do Next)

“I’m planning to start a diet again after the holidays, but something in me is resisting. I’m not sure what to do, I’m so confused.”

This is a question I got recently from a woman who reached out to speak with me.

As the end of the year approaches and a New Year begins, it’s not uncommon to start thinking of the new diet you will start on January 1st. But there might be that little voice inside you that is saying “no, not again. I don’t have it in me to do this AGAIN!”.

This is actually a good sign! It’s a sign that you’ve hit “diet bottom” where you don’t have the bandwidth or energy to track another calorie, count another point, measure another morsel of food etc.

You want OUT of this diet game.

But you don’t know what to do instead.

In the video below, I’ve laid out the 3 signs that you’re ready to stop dieting, and 3 steps to take to start creating a healthier relationship with food and your body.

Click the video below to watch now.

 

If you’ve been dieting for years, and even decades, please know that you CAN learn to trust yourself, your body, and your decisions around food.

After watching the video, pop your name and email below to Break the Spell of Diets in 3 Days. It’s free, and you will have clarity of your next steps.

If you’d like to set up a consultation to discuss further, email me at Bonnie@DietFreeRadiantMe.com 

 

 

Last Chance to Get Freedom to Eat Forever™

I will be retiring my Freedom to Eat Forever™ Online Intuitive Eating Program at midnight Eastern on August 31st.

This program has helped MANY women and men break free of dieting, reclaim the trust in themselves and live their lives to the fullest (with guilt-free eating)!

And now is the LAST CHANCE for you to EVER get your hands on this program.

Why am I retiring the program you might wonder?

Because it’s going through an overhaul! Several of the Intuitive Eating principles have been updated and the new program will reflect these latest changes.

In addition, I will be adding new lessons so you can go deeper to uncover the root causes of your food and body struggles. I’ve been doing this deeper work with my 1-1 clients and it’s time I brought it to my online program.

You can get the updated program for FREE when you purchase the Freedom to Eat Forever Program now, before August 31st at midnight Eastern.

If you’ve been thinking about getting started on your Intuitive Eating journey but have been sitting on the fence, I would highly recommend you take advantage of this End of Summer Special. The new program (name will be revealed in a few weeks) will be at a MUCH higher investment.

Click HERE below to get your hands on Freedom to Eat Forever™ before it’s taken off the shelves for good.

BONUS: I’ve added a WhatsApp Chat Community to the program so you can get support and your questions answered quickly! You don’t need to do this alone. There are others waiting in the chat to say hello to you!

Plus there are a ton of other bonuses. Learn more HERE!

Don’t know what WhatsApp is? It’s a free app that you download to your phone. You join our group and type away. It’s just like sending a text to your friend, except this goes to your Freedom to Eat Forever family!

YES, I want Freedom to Eat Forever!

 

 

3 Ways to Stop the Food Shaming

Do you find yourself feeling “guilty” or “bad” after eating certain foods? Do you categorize these foods as ‘fattening” or “cheat meals”?

Or are you the one judging others based on what they eat?

Either way, you may be experiencing food shame. The concept of classifying food as “good” or “bad” and then judging others, or yourself, based on what you eat is called food shaming.  This can negatively impact your health.

Food-shaming is criticizing or judging someone (or yourself) for eating something that doesn’t match your definition of what food is “good”.

Examples of food shaming include judging your girlfriend for choosing pizza over a salad or making comments to your partner who has skipped breakfast, or shaming your colleague for being a vegetarian.

Food shaming can also be internal, when you shop at the grocery store and deprive yourself of buying ice cream because it’s “bad”, or you beat yourself up for purchasing the chips.

This is just a short list of the common types of food shaming that happens every day. The reality is that we need to watch what we are saying to others and to ourselves about food choices.

When You Shame Yourself for Your Food Choices

Judging yourself and speaking negatively about your food choices stems from influences and messages that you receive throughout life. These messages come early in life from parents and build throughout your years from the media, friends and even healthcare professionals.

Food shaming can lead to further problems down the road. Food shaming can create such a strong fear of what to eat that you become so rigid that you risk your physical and emotional health from either malnutrition, disordered eating, or eating disorders.

3 Ways to Stop the Food Shaming

  1. Embrace Intuitive Eating: Learning to break the spell that diets have over you and dismantling diet culture messages will help you relearn to trust your food choices again. Tuning into your physiological cues to eating is only one part of the journey. Developing a strong backbone to the culture you live in while learning to neutralize all foods will help you stop the food shaming.
  2. Acknowledge and Reframe Negative Self-Talk: When you find yourself going down the rabbit hole of negative self-talk around what you ate, immediately push pause, and recognize your inner critic at work. Let your inner critic know that you hear her but don’t value what she has to say any longer. Reframe into a more positive accurate statement that is aligned with who you are and the goals you have set forth for yourself.
  3. Remove All Judgement Around Food: When you label foods as “good” or “bad”, you essentially are giving power to these foods and placing them on a pedestal. This is why when you have a trigger and reach for these foods, you tend to overeat on them followed by judgement, guilt and shame. By removing the labels from all foods and taking the conditions off these foods, you neutralize them and they lose their allure.

Defend yourself from food shaming by breaking the cycle of dieting, stop labeling foods as good and bad, and reach out for support when you need it. You don’t have to do this alone!

Over time, you will find yourself more at peace with food so you can live your life to the fullest!

3 No Diet Day Action Steps (and a Free Online Workshop)

Today is International No Diet Day! At first, this may sound like “yay, I can go off my diet today and eat whatever I want, how awesome!”. But it doesn’t mean that at all!

International No Diet Day is a worldwide celebration of body acceptance and a day to declare a life free from dieting.

Mary Evans Young started this movement in 1992 after battling anorexia and body image issues. She wanted to help herself and her friends to fully embrace their bodies for a day! Little did she know that it would become a global movement!

Stop what you’re doing right now, look into your eyes in the mirror, and declare this the first day of NO MORE DIETING, NO MORE RESTRICTION, NO MORE BODY SHAMING! You got this!

Drowning in Diet Culture

In this age of social media, it’s almost impossible to go a day without hearing about a celebrity’s new diet miracle or seeing pictures of famous new moms strolling out of the hospital in skinny jeans and stilettos just days after giving birth.

Everywhere you turn, there are people trying to lose weight either by dieting, over-exercising, or both. There is an entire diet culture focused on highlighting the lives of famous people in order to feed your insecurities.

This is all a marketing ploy! The Diet Culture is a multi-billion dollar industry designed to make you feel bad about yourself. The diet companies aren’t interested in your well-being; they’re interested in how they can get you to hate yourself so you’re willing to pay them to make everything better. It’s a scam; you don’t need them – you’re fabulous just as you are!

Debunking the Diet Myth

Diets are set up to make it seem as if it’s your fault they don’t work, but the truth is, it’s them.

Dieting is a cycle of weight loss followed by weight gain, which leads to negative body image and the resolution to try harder next time. So you try again. And the same thing happens. So you try again. And so on, with some people dieting for decades without “success.”

Is that you?

As you know, I have dedicated my career to teaching people how to respect and love their bodies without continuing the chronic dieting lifestyle.

3 No Diet Day Action Steps

Today, I ask that you take part in this effort to change the mentality you have about dieting.

  1. Challenge the idea that there is a “perfect” body for everyone. Appreciate the beauty in everyone, including yourself.
  2. Look past the smoke and mirrors of the diet industry. Question the validity of their claims and scrutinize who benefits the most from chronic dieting.
  3. Commit to this day being free of diets, restriction, weight obsession, food worry…and the first day towards true food freedom!

I know this is a scary thought! But I do have faith in you! And, you know that I am here to take this journey with you; I will walk with you hand-in-hand! Reach out HERE if you’d like to jump on the phone for a quick call to explore this further!

FREE ONLINE WORKSHOP

If you’re experiencing emotional eating, know that diet restriction will only make it worse!

Learn how to triumph over emotional eating in my 5 Day FREE Online Workshop, starting Monday May 11, 2020!

There will be daily live training, an online community of support and PRIZES!!

Learn more and register at THIS LINK!