Diet Culture is a lie!

This is a topic I feel strongly about. 

Why do we live in a society where when I was overweight and had 70 lbs to lose everyone said good job when I ate a salad or was on the latest fad diet. 

But now that I am at a weight that is viewed as ideal, now people will say I bet you only eat salads, or I bet you barely eat.  No and fuck no!! I barely eat salads, and I eat more now than I ever have! I love food. 

Or people would see me out eating a burger and fries and  they would say I could never eat that and look like you. WHY can’t you?? Do you even know the answer to that?  Because I promise you that you can!! 

Let me make this very clear, I know the struggle of being overweight and the struggle of dieting. 

I don’t diet now because it's absolute bullshit. Created by people to make money off of our insecurities. They profit by making us think if you reach a certain number on the scale you will be happy. They sell us one size fits all fitness and nutrition programs. They convince us we need supplements and pills to be healthy. They call them “all natural” so we think it’s ok and good for us. 

Again it’s bullshit. Dieting is disordered eating and is not healthy. 

Supplements are made to supplement your nutrition needs not intended to replace food. But the health industry has strategically marketed a supplement for literally everything that can possibly affect you. Now of course there are medical diagnoses that may require a supplement. That is what supplements were originally made for. 

I love when people try to push their all natural supplements on me. I don’t know where they grow their supplements but I have never seen pills, capsules or powders grow out of the ground or on trees! Just saying. 

So what exactly is diet culture and food freedom: 

“Diet culture” refers to a set of beliefs that values thinness, appearance, and shape above health & well-being. It labels foods as “good” or “bad”.

Truth Bomb: 

You have to heal your relationship with the scale. You have too. I don’t even own a scale anymore. I used to weigh my clients because they wanted me too. But I won’t now. If they want to weigh themselves, absolutely. But I won’t focus on that.  My first focus is their energy, how much sleep they are getting, how much they are enjoying life and how their clothes are feeling. 

I have been my magic number on the scale and not been happy with my life, my body or my health. My body is not the same as everyone else's, I have different goals than others and the foods I love may be different than yours . (I love chocolate though) I don’t buy one size fits all clothes so I am not buying one size fits all programs.  Besides that I am a person, not defined by my size. So for once the saying size doesn’t matter is the absolute truth!! There you go guys! A woman said it’s true. 

We deprive our body of fuel, we don’t sleep enough, we don’t drink enough water,  we don’t practice  our stress management, we do not eat enough, we fill our bodies with supplemental crap  and then we want to know why our bodies are not working perfectly, not looking perfect. 

The terms good and bad do not exist in foods. It's called balance! Balancing your carbs, fats and proteins. Not balancing salads and cupcakes. 

Stop looking at food as the enemy and realize it’s your friend. It is there to support you, it is there for enjoyment, it is there to heal your body, it is there for fueling your body to be able to do all the things you want to do. Gut health is so Important and spoiler alert you do not need supplements for good gut health, you need healthy nutrient rich food!! You literally can eat to make yourself healthier!!  There are foods with prebiotics naturally in them , foods with probiotics naturally in them, foods that naturally decrease your body inflammatory response. You have to buy food anyway, why the food your body needs and get healthier. 

Let’s talk about food freedom. Food freedom is not eating whatever you want, whenever you want it in whatever amount you want. 

It’s giving yourself freedom to enjoy, explore and engage in your nutritional journey. 

It's free of food rules and restrictions. It's focusing on healthy choices and building a nutritional plan that not only fuels your body but fuels your body’s  goals. It’s looking at a cupcake that you genuinely do not  want because it does not align with your goals. Food freedom is more about feeling your best about your choices and your body. 

Restriction of food has both physical and mental effects on your health. People who restrict often binge. And they stay on that roller coaster, of restricting and losing weight, binging and gaining, over and over again. 

This is disordered eating. 

Disordered eating is irregular or restrictive patterns of eating such as dieting, binge eating, or purging. 

Dieting in itself is disordered eating!!! 

Look, I  get how hard this topic is. I have done all of these things myself too. I would diet aka restrict and then I found myself hiding in the pantry like a thief in the night eating 6 chocolate candy bars, not even tasting the deliciousness and hiding the wrappers like they were evidence of a crime, I would be so disgusted and ashamed. I can tell you this happened too many times. Then I would literally hate myself for days. And go back to restricting. Such a toxic mind fuck. 

So you ask how can I have food freedom and still feel beautiful and confident in my skin and the size of my body??  

Proteins, Carbs and Fats!! and finding the balance that works for your body. It's taking the guilt and shame out of eating and replacing it with healthy choices and enjoyment. 

So here are my  suggestions: 

Stay consistent. Consistently cook, eat and enjoy healthy foods. Find foods that have the nutrients your body needs and eat those. Eat slowly and as soon as you feel full, stop eating. You do not have to clean your plate. 

Sustainable: find a nutrition plan that you can stay on long term. That will give your body what it needs and what you want to eat. I have had so many clients that would start and stop over and over. If you have to start and stop,  it is not sustainable. This may take time to figure out what works and feels good to you! 

Allow yourself, grace. You did not do anything wrong by having an extra dessert at the party because you had to try your friend's new recipe and it was incredible. You ate it, you enjoyed it and guess what the world did not end. The button didn’t pop off your jeans and let the whole party know you overate, Move on and let it go. Stop associating shame and guilt with food and the number on the scale.

This is not any easy journey.  It will take time, patience and support. But you are worth it!