Christmas day has been and gone – the day when we are told to indulge – we can eat all we want. Very soon we’ll be heading into the month of deprivation and getting back on that diet hamster wheel.
Sound familiar? Christmas time has an air of ‘last supper’ eating about it. This is the final opportunity to ‘allow‘ yourself the chocolates, cakes, biscuits and whatever else is on offer.
And yes, we should be able to enjoy the treats, in addition to the foods that will sustain us -keep us energised and optimise our health. But diet culture opposes the fact that to give ourselves permission to eat these treat foods at any time of year, reduces the desire for them and the likely hood that we will ‘over-do it’.
The diet and fitness industry invests heavily on this ‘New Year- New You’ narrative – after all it contributes to the industry’s multi-billion-pound bank balance. It suits them that we overindulge over Christmas, feel bad about it, and are propelled headfirst into our next diet.
At this time of year, we are hit by a deluge of this messaging, and it’s everywhere. The before and after images, the promises that this diet is the one that will help you drop dress sizes and shed pounds so that you can be ‘good enough’ too and everything will come right in your life.
So my message to you is different. Protect yourself from the misery that dieting brings. If you’ve been there before then don’t expect to go back and get different results. We know that in the long run dieting doesn’t work. We know that your body has inbuilt regulation mechanisms to slow your metabolism and increase your hunger signals when you try to restrict. It’s not that you have failed in the past. It is just that the diets have failed you.
And I get it – these messages are powerful. They hit you hard in the core because it feels important to you. My recommendation is to start just noticing where and when the diet culture messages are cropping up and how in the past you may have fallen for them.
What can you say to yourself this time when you see and hear these messages?
What can you do differently?
How can treat yourself with kindness and compassion? (If it helps imagine how you would talk to someone you love – what would you say to them if they were putting themselves down?)
And finally give yourself unconditional permission to eat all foods abut allow yourself to notice how all foods feel in the body. What tastes good? What energises you? What does your gut love?
If you are struggling with your eating, don’t battle with it alone. It is possible to find food freedom and create balance in your mind and your life.
I work with people just like you, who need a new approach to transition to a balanced approach to eating and live life to the fullest!
Book in a complimentary call HERE to find out how I can help.