It was January 1st, and like everyone else, I was feeling gross from all of the holiday indulgences. Also, like everyone, I wondered if I should start a diet program.
Only this time, as I went to do research on which program to start … yet again, I found that I simply couldn’t. I truly hit diet rock bottom.
I cannot physically or mentally take on another diet program.
I cannot take on another failure.
I cannot take on disliking my body more.
I cannot take on logging every single thing I eat or drink.
I cannot take on working out as punishment or to earn more food.
I am simply done with dieting.
So what does a person do who is done with dieting, wants to live a healthier life, but also still wants to eat pizza without guilt? Answer: start an intuitive eating journey!
On the recommendation from my therapist (a man who never actually gives me recommendations), I decided to start this year by meeting with a nutritionist. I figured she’d give me some new “rules” to follow on what’s “good” and what’s “bad,” and then I’d ride off into the healthy living sunset. SPOILER ALERT – this is not what she did! In fact, by the end of our appointment, I’d learned two things about myself. 1) Even though I wasn’t currently on a diet plan, the diet mentality was deeply engrained into the way I moved about my life in terms of food and my body. 2) I wasn’t eating enough during the day. I was effectively starving my body until dinner each day which was sending a famine and store message to my body.
Instead, my new nutritionist bestie told me to work on eating three meals and three snacks a day and to eat whatever I felt like eating. Try to fill my plate with mostly vegetables, but if I didn’t some days, who cares. She also recommended that I read the book Intuitive Eating. Now, I’ve been Intuitive-curious for a bit now, following the birth of my second child. But this is the first time I’ve decided to go all in.
For all of 2022, I’m committing to working through and living the 10 Principles of Intuitive Eating. Much in the way I respect and trust my therapist to help me work through life trauma, I’m going to trust my nutritionist to help me unlearn harmful diet culture ideals. In the end, I hope to have a better understanding of my body and what it needs to do the things I want it to do. I hope to have a better appreciation for my body and all that it’s given and continues to give to me. I hope to be released from the weight loss and diet cycle and have a better relationship with food and my body. I hope all of this sets an example for my babes – especially my daughter.
I’ll meet with my nutritionist from time to time as I work through the Intuitive Eating book and workbook. I’m using this post to make you my intuitive accountability buddy. A reminder that I don’t need diet culture if I’m just listening to my body.
I plan to do a mid-year post to check in on how my journey is going so I hope you’ll check back!
