All Or Nothing, Re-Examining DIET

Okay, confession time. Raise your hand if any of these apply to you. And just to be transparent, I’ll be raising my hand on every one.

• Have you ever skipped a party or an event because you knew the food wouldn’t conform to your diet plan…and you didn’t think you could resist it once you were there?

• Do you cook two different meals at dinner time, maybe one for you and one for your kids, making food prep a huge burden?

• Have you bought all the ingredients to make your own diet menu, only to have it spoil during the week because you end up cooking for your family and eating with them?

• Have you ever lost complete will power link to https://www.strivewithjanelle.com/philosophy/cheer-pressure/and found yourself eating that piece of *insert your weakness here* then feeling:

1. Stressed out and beating yourself up the rest of the day
2. Hopeless, which leads to you to eat everything “forbidden” and not getting back on track for several days
   

• Despite your knowledge (and better judgement) you have seriously contemplated jumping on the newest diet trend that promises quick weight loss. You are “done” with it and think somehow you can fix everything with one more gigantic sacrifice. What you did before must not have been epic enough or you just weren’t strong enough to endure it.

I think it’s time we put our hands down and step back to see the bigger picture: We are so obsessed with food. But why? It’s really just necessary fuel for our bodies. 

Here is what I propose: Let’s make peace with our food.

Joshua Rosenthal, founder of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN), has a term: the 100% diet. Basically, you are 100% on a diet or 100% off a diet. Restrictive diets are not sustainable. 

Instead of a diet, let’s observe how our bodies react to different foods and different ways of eating, and make adjustments based on individuality. 

Trust that you know your body. Honor that.

Figure out for yourself how your body needs to be nourished. Let’s decide there are no bad foods, just foods that personally don’t serve us. 

Yes, let’s make eating well a lifestyle. But let’s also have sanity and balance. Maybe for you that means an occasional dessert, or having some chips with your sandwich. Whatever it is, the point is to really enjoy and appreciate it.

Let’s not eat in secret or shame, with feelings of failure like we have done something wrong. We haven’t! It’s time to focus on figuring out for ourselves what works for us individually instead of just mindlessly following a diet.

So who’s ready to join me in making peace with our food? Share your thoughts in the comments!