Have you skipped a meal because a “diet” told you to?  Have you replaced meals with shakes or avoided entire food groups?  Do you restrict your favorite foods or force yourself to eat foods you don’t like because your “diet” says you should?

 

You may have fallen prey to the many fad diets out there, but you don’t have to anymore.

 

Let’s celebrate International NO Diet Day tomorrow, May 6^th by stopping the diets.  Use this day to celebrate body acceptance, body shape diversity and to raise awareness of the harmful effects unhealthy dieting can have. The goal of International No Diet Day is to teach people how to have a healthy relationship with food and ditch restrictive eating habits.

 

Effects of Dieting

 

Diets can be filled with restriction, deprivation and cravings, which may lead to bingeing, emotional eating and guilt.  This can move you further away from having a healthy and balanced life.

 

Diets can cause you to ignore your internal hunger signals that your body naturally gives you for when and what it wants to eat.  This can lead to an altering ability to recognize these signals and affects how you feed yourself.  The change in mindset also alters the “brake” system your body has in place to avoid overeating.  If you restrict, you are more likely to binge.

 

Remember, a diet provides you with a set of rules about what you can or cannot eat.  They are a short-term strategy to reach long-term goals.  Fad diets, diet products, and the way body image is portrayed in the media are detrimental to forming healthy eating and lifestyle habits. Body discrimination can be seen all around, from advertisements showing off thin models to the current “fat acceptance” movement which is quite the opposite and celebrates curves while shaming smaller physiques.

 

Here are 3 tips to help you break the never-ending diet cycle:

 

1. Become an attuned eater. Choose foods based on an internal sense of hunger, appetite and satisfaction. This will help you learn more about what your body craves and help avoid overeating.

 

2. Eat without distractions. Chew thoroughly and enjoy what you’re eating.  Listen for the internal cues your body will give you as you reach satiety.

 

3. Do not deprive yourself. Instead, eat what you want and savor it.  Avoiding deprivation will help limit the temptation “avoided foods” have.

 

Remember, dieting is about restriction which can lead to feelings of guilt and ultimately alter your relationship with food and your body.  Stop the diets by accepting your body where it is now.  With acceptance comes admiration and you will naturally feed your body better and avoid restricting to provide your body with all the nutrients it needs.

 

Celebrating and loving your body and yourself is the drive behind much of the work I do. Rather than restricting yourself, focus on nourishing yourself. I stress this to all my clients. Self-care and loving yourself go hand-in-hand. Please stop comparing yourself to others! Embrace your uniqueness and celebrate your body by treating it with nourishing foods and mindfulness.

 

If you need help celebrating your body, head over to www.TalkWithBonnie.com and request a time to chat!

 

Take the “International No Diet Day Pledge”.  Repeat the following as many times as you need to:

 

“I will accept myself just as I am.
I will feed myself if hungry.
I will feel no shame or guilt about my size or eating.
…and I will LOVE MYSELF for who I am, not who I feel pressure to be!”