Tag Archive for: diet rules

“Eat this, Don’t Eat That” Never Works: 2 Case Studies

After years of being told “eat this, don’t eat that”, it’s logical that you just want to be in charge of your own eating decisions. Yet, that can be a scary proposition if you aren’t sure any longer how to eat. It’s more than likely all the food rules you’ve been given have been for the end goal of weight loss, and mostly under the guise of “for your health”.

But what if we put weight loss on the side for now. What if learning how to eat to manage blood glucose levels, lower cholesterol levels and improve energy can be done without the worry of your weight?

That would be amazing.

Charles’s Story

Let me share a story with you. Charles (name changed for privacy) came to see me with a diagnosis of uncontrolled diabetes. He has type 2 diabetes for many years, is on several medications but is still having a hard time getting his blood glucose into target range. He’s been focusing all these years on losing weight to manage diabetes and has been busy counting calories and restricting his intake of wholesome food that he was told to avoid if he wants to lose weight. “Eat this, don’t eat that” became a mantra he heard all too often. So, he chose pre-portioned meals and snacks that were marketed for weight loss. He didn’t lose weight, nor was he able to bring his blood glucose down.

I suggested he put the worry of weight loss on the side for now and instead focus on understanding what is happening is his body in terms of glucose tolerance and insulin resistance. He started working with my in my Healthy Living with Diabetes Program™ and he quickly learned how his body processes carbs, how to plan meals to match this ability, and the many variables aside from food that can impact his blood glucose.

Fast forward 4 months and Charles’s blood glucose and A1C are well within target range and he has minimized his risk of diabetes complications. Did he lose weight? It just so happens he did, but the weight loss was an OUTCOME of his habit and behaviors changes. It was never the focus.

James’s Story

Now let’s look at another client, also with type 2 diabetes, not well-managed. His lovely wife reached out to me for help. She is so worried about James’s health (name changed for privacy), she’s at her wits end.

James had a history of yo-yo dieting, having lost and gained 100 pounds a few times in his life. But now things are different. He was diagnosed with diabetes yet he’s not taking responsibility to learn how to manage his blood glucose levels. She made an appointment to see me, and I asked her to speak with James about joining the session. He did.

While James was reluctant to share too much in session, he did listen as I shared with him the process I use to educate and empower my clients to learn about their diabetes, and how to best care for themselves. He did seem somewhat interested but was unable to commit to stop dieting in an effort to get healthier.

James’s wife told me after the session that he doesn’t like people telling him what to do, which is what happened his whole life when dieting. I assured her that in weight-neutral diabetes care, it’s the exact opposite. The client is in the driver’s seat. I am a passenger and act as a co-pilot in teaching and educating.

Letting Go of the Diet Mentality

Whether you have diabetes or not, if you’ve been dieting to lose weight with hopes of getting “healthier”, chances are you are still dieting and on the proverbial diet roller coaster (and not much healthier!). Getting out of the diet mentality is not easy, but it IS possible. It means trying something you’ve never tried before – that is to learn to trust yourself to make the best decisions for yourself around food and eating.

Free Resource if You Have Diabetes

If you have diabetes and want to learn how to manage your blood glucose without restriction and dieting, download my free eBook: 5 Keys to Manage Diabetes Without Dieting.

Free Resource if You’ve Been Yo-Yo Dieting

If you’ve been chronically dieting and are at your wits end, take this short journey towards Breaking the Spell of Diets in 3 Days Online Experience (or pop your name and email in below).

And, if have any questions along the way, be sure to reach out.

3 Big Reasons to Take Down Diet Culture

How many times have you seen, heard, or gotten into a heated discussion on the topic of the latest diet trends or weight loss tricks?  It’s everywhere these days, on TV, social media, books, and people claiming they have the hot new approach to help you shed weight fast!

Being a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, I am constantly asked what I think about the latest diet trend that has been pushed on us.  I have spent the last many years of my career helping clients break the spell of diets and dismantle Diet Culture beliefs.  And, when I’m asked those questions about recommending a new diet, it reminds me that there is so much more work to do to help people learn to trust in themselves again.

A major reason that I am so passionate about helping people break free from diets is because of the harm that Diet Culture causes.  Diet Culture is a system of beliefs that focuses on and values weight, shape and size over health, and it equates thinness with higher status and worthiness.

I see the damages of Diet Culture starting younger and younger. Little girls just 9 and 10 years old asking their moms for a diet. These little girls covering themselves up with sweaters and baggie clothes because they are ashamed of their bodies.

This makes me sad. But it also makes me angry at Diet Culture and lights the fire under me to continue to push back against Diet Culture and help women, and these young girls, love themselves for the beautiful person that they are  and respect their bodies for the amazing things it does every day to keep them alive.

3 Reasons to Shut Down Diet Culture

#1: Diet Culture is Dishonest

“Stay away from carbs, they make you fat”.

“The reason you aren’t losing weight is because of all the dairy you consume”.

“Cut out gluten from your diet, it’s really bad for you”.

Diet Culture has spent a lot of time and money trying to convince you that there are certain foods out there that are “good” or “bad’ for you. The food they characterize as “good” will help you lose weight, while the “bad” foods will make you gain weight.

Food fads are encouraged by Diet Culture with the support of the food industry. When scientific research is published, Diet Culture cherry-picks the information that best supports their agenda and launches campaigns to herd consumers to jump on their bandwagon, spending money on their products, lining their pockets.

Listen, there is a difference between implementing nutrition guidelines for your health, and demonizing foods because of the belief that it’ll make you gain weight (or prevent you from losing weight). Now, you might say “no, I’m avoiding this food because it’s not good for my health”. If in fact, this belief is not tied in any way to your thoughts about your weight, then yes, perhaps not eating that food might be in your best interest. But if that belief is tied in any way into your body size, then it is being co-opted by Diet Culture.

If you need further clarity on this, just hit reply!

#2: Diet Culture Disregards Your Best Interest

Any eating pattern that emphasizes how you look over your mental and physical well-being is detrimental. Diet Culture thrives on black-and-white thinking. Eat foods on the “good” list and you’ll lose weight (“good”); eat foods on the “bad” list and you’ll get fat (“bad”). Thin = win in Diet Culture’s mind.

Here’s the thing – people are literally dying to be thin and Diet Culture completely disregards this. Maybe you have suffered with an eating disorder or know someone that is. It destroys your life. Every waking moment is spent worrying about what you’re eating, wearing, how you look, how other people are looking at you etc. It is all consuming. Yet Diet Culture continues to push and push and push.

Your body does so many amazing things for you every day. Just imagine if you didn’t have the use of your hands, legs, or eyes. Would how small your body is be important then?

There is peace in accepting your body as it is in this very moment. This doesn’t mean that you’re “giving up”. This just means that you refuse to let Diet Culture push you any longer. And, instead, you will focus on giving your loving body the respect it deserves, while feeding it well and moving in a way that feels good.

#3: Diet Culture Destroys Your Self-Worth

One of the biggest reasons to shut down Diet Culture is because it’s constantly giving you the message that you’re not good enough. It makes you question your self-worth, often calling attention to things you never considered flaws before.

“Got a muffin top? Never eat these 5 foods again to get rid of it!”

“Do your thighs touch? Do this cleanse to fix that problem!”

Messages like these are toxic to women of all ages. It’s teaching them from a young age that they are nothing more than a sum of their parts and if those parts don’t add up to an unrealistic ideal, they need to do whatever it takes to get there. This has the potential to lead them into a dangerous relationship with food and exercise, twisting their self-perception. Diet Culture destroys your self-esteem and ultimately your self-worth. You come to believe that you are not worthy of love, not worthy of that job you are going for, not worthy of friendship, kindness etc. Diet culture steals your happiness and breaks you down.

It’s Time to Defy Diet Culture

The truth is that body size doesn’t always equate with health. There are plenty of people who are in smaller bodies who have a plethora of health issues. On the flip side, there are people in larger bodies that have no medical issues at all. Diet Culture wants you to be at war with your body because that’s how companies who support it make their billions of dollars every year.  Don’t fall for these tricks, it’s time to break free of Diet Culture and get off the hamster wheel of dieting, for good!

Do you want to join me in shutting down Diet Culture? Let me know in the comments below

Is Drinking 8 Glasses of Water a Diet Rule?

If you’ve been trying to lose weight, you’ve probably come across the recommendation to drink 8 glasses of water a day, right? This magic number 8 is supposed to help you lose weight. It’s part of the diet guidelines, along with eating “this and not that”, and of course starting an exercise program.

 

Water is an essential nutrient, one that many people don’t get enough of. Your body is made up of 60-70% water, so it would make sense that you would need to hydrate properly to replace fluids lost throughout the day (sweating, peeing, breathing etc.).

 

The Role of Water in Your Body

Water is responsible for such things such as:

  • Helping every cell, tissue and organ in your body function properly
  • Maintain bodily temperature
  • Remove waste
  • Lubricate joints
  • Improve digestion
  • Prevent constipation

 

Another Diet Industry Hijack

The problem is that the diet industry has co-opted the recommendation for drinking water. So, if you’ve been a chronic dieter who has finally said NO MORE DIETING, you may find yourself dehydrated most of the time.

 

This came to my attention as I was speaking with a client who I’m working with in my Intuitive Eating for Adults Program (let’s call her Terry). Terry has come so far in her journey towards making peace with food and her body. She is regularly listening to and honoring her inner signals of hunger and satiety and is making great strides in healing her body image. Yet one thing stood out to me last week when we met. She was complaining of feeling sluggish, tired all the time, and very fatigued.

 

When I asked her about her fluid intake, she said she doesn’t drink much. When we dug a little deeper, we uncovered the fact that she associates drinking water with dieting. And, she has a disdain for dieting at this point and wants nothing to do with anything that reminds her of dieting. And that incudes drinking water.

 

When Terry realized this, she had a big aha moment. She realized that she is in fact hurting her body by not hydrating it throughout the day. We worked on decoupling water drinking from dieting and reframing her beliefs. She just emailed me to say that this realization has made such a difference in her energy level. Now that she views water differently, she is hydrating each day and gets a lot more done.

 

My Question to You

 Do you associate drinking 8 glasses of water with dieting? Is this dieting thought preventing you from properly hydrating your body and being the best you can be? Let me know in the comments below!

 

Haven’t broken the spell of diets and diet rules yet? Join the free Break the Spell of Diets Experience – enter your name and email below!

Shutting Down the Food Police

Do you have a set of unreasonable rules that dieting has created? Is your head constantly filled with chanting words that promote or demote you from eating food that you love?

 

This is the “food police” voice that is constantly telling you what you should and shouldn’t eat. It’s sort of like the angel and the devil sitting on your shoulders, one telling you it’s okay to eat the chocolate cake, but the other yelling “NO” don’t do it.

 

Let’s say you decided to have that chocolate cake and the “devil” is sitting on your shoulder beaming with pride because you followed her advice. But, as soon as you eat that cake you feel guilty about the amount of calories and fat that you just consumed. Even though you enjoyed the chocolate cake, you still feel guilty.

 

Most chronic dieters have this sense of guilt each and every time they eat something that the “food police’ is saying they shouldn’t.

 

This is the voice that can make it hard to choose foods your body is really asking for.

 

The media and various companies place thoughts in your head related to nutrition and ways to “cheat” and make yourself feel guiltless because of the way these food items are advertised. The slogans and jingles are created to convince you that this cookie will prevent you from being “bad” on your diet, and will keep you on track.

 

These are the advertisements that cause you to have negative food thoughts and judgments towards food.

 

You are not born with these food judgments; you develop them over the years of dieting and being influenced by the media (or friends/family) penetrating these images of good vs. bad in your head.

 

The next time you pick up a food item that you enjoy and you contemplate “should I or shouldn’t I”, take a moment to listen to your body and the food talk going on in your head.

 

Push away the negative thoughts and change the tape that plays in your head. If this is a food that you truly desire, go ahead and enjoy it without guilt in a very mindful way. Eat the food slowly, truly savoring each bite. Put your fork down between each bite and let the food settle in your body. Describe the texture of the food? How does it taste? Are you enjoying each bite?

 

When you start to eat food mindfully, you’ll learn your true food preferences and be able to identify fullness more easily because you are giving your body the time to talk to you.

 

It is important to realize that this one food eaten in this one moment will not make you gain weight. You may actually find that you don’t love the chocolate cake as much as you thought you did.

 

Are you stuck in a dieter’s mindset due to your “food police” and negative self-talk? I can help you reframe that negative talk and turn it into something powerful. You can change your thoughts and get rid of the guilt around food!

 

Head over to TalkWithBonnie.com and answer a few questions – we’ll pick a time to talk that works best for you.