Sipping my coffee on a Friday morning, I read this quote by Traci Mann in The New York Times Morning Brief.
A diet is an unpleasant and short-lived way to try to lose weight.
This made me pause for two reasons. One, I felt excited that a mainstream publication was calling out diet culture! Two, I felt for everyone on the all too familiar yo-yo diet train.
Have all your attempts at dieting been unpleasant and short-lived? What if I told you that there is a way to take care of your health that is PLEASANT and LONG-TERM? Today, I’m sharing what to try instead of dieting.
Tired of Dieting?
Before I share an alternative to dieting, let’s establish who this is for.
- Are you tired of logging what you eat in an app? You just want to eat what sounds good and not worry about tracking it!
- Do you dream of the day you can order french fries instead of the side salad without guilt? You’re consumed by guilt and shame if you eat a “bad” or “unhealthy” food item.
- Are food-related thoughts taking up too much of your precious time? You go to bed thinking about breakfast. You end breakfast thinking about lunch. You’re constantly thinking about food.
If any of these statements or questions resonate with you, you’re in the right place. Deep in your heart, you’re fed up with dieting. You realize that trying the latest diet (hello Noom, WW, & Keto) is no longer an option. You’re desperate and READY to learn about the non-diet approach to health: Intuitive Eating.
Try This Instead
Intuitive Eating is an integrative mind-body approach to honor your health. It offers a path out of diet misery and to food freedom. With Intuitive Eating, you won’t see calorie counts, food restrictions, or weigh-ins (sigh of relief). Instead, Intuitive Eating guides you back to internal cues around hunger, fullness, satisfaction, and food preference.
There are over 100 studies to date evaluating the effectiveness of Intuitive Eating. Among the evidence-based benefits of Intuitive Eating, here are a few notable references:
- Improved eating, weight- and psychological-related variables among women struggling with weight and body image (1)
- Lower risk for obesity and eating disorders (2)
- Lower triglycerides, improved HDL (good cholesterol), and reduced overall risk for heart disease (3)
- Increased body satisfaction, self-esteem, and self-awareness (4)
All of this to say, Intuitive Eating is an evidence-based framework rooted in self-care and body respect.
Pleasant & Long-Term
If dieting is an unpleasant and short-lived way to try to lose weight, then Intuitive Eating is a pleasant and long-term way to take care of your health.
What makes Intuitive Eating pleasant?
You begin to enjoy food again. Instead of starving yourself, you’re actually encouraged to eat when you’re hungry! Once you begin honoring your hunger, you discover that it becomes easier to respect your fullness. Plus, you aren’t limited to “bland” or “diet” food. You’re encouraged to eat foods that taste good and make you FEEL good.
What makes Intuitive Eating long-term?
Diets rules are black-and-white, which is unsustainable to maintain long-term. A diet says: don’t eat after 7 pm! But what if your dinner reservation is set for 7:30 pm? Rigid diet rules don’t mix with our flexible lives. Conversely, Intuitive Eating has higher rates of completion because it promotes eating based on internal cues. You learn the skills to listen to your body, instead of going against it. (5)
Intuitive Eating Application
Now you might be thinking, “this all sounds wonderful, but how do I get started?” I understand that Intuitive Eating is a leap, especially if you’ve been following rigid diet rules for most of your life. That’s why I created this free 5 Step Guide to Eat Intuitively. In this interactive guide, discover:
- My Top Tool to Listen to Internal Body Cues
- How to Build Satisfying Meals & Snacks
- The Secret to Tackle Emotional Eating
- Prompts & Affirmations for Embracing Joyful Movement
Plus, when you download the guide, you will receive a week of emails with additional Intuitive Eating tips!
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