Find Food Freedom - stop dieting, embrace body positivity, and ditch the scale
Every day, as a Holistic Nutritionist & Emotional Eating Coach in The LoYo Method coaching program, I work with women who are learning to free themselves from dieting and end the cycle of “I messed up because I ate a cookie, so I’ll start over tomorrow.”
Let’s get real. I know you don’t trust yourself with food because you are so used to diets, cleanses, restriction, and resetting over and over.
The idea of FOOD FREEDOM sounds scary and impossible. I get it. I am a recovering emotional eater. And you’re not alone.
You can absolutely stop letting the scale dictate your self worth.
You can absolutely eat chocolate without the guilt and without packing on the pounds.
You can absolutely love your body.
You can absolutely stop soothing your feelings with food.
If you want to heal your relationship with food, and understand how nutrition is nourishing your body, knowing where to start can feel a little scary or challenging.
So tip one is simple.
1) Take imperfect action
Simply start. Commit. Do 1 thing.
When we get caught up in all the what do I do, how do I do it, we create a sense of overwhelm and then the overwhelm spirals until you end up taking zero action. Zero action = zero results.
So, no more one foot in, one foot out. Do 1 thing that is in alignment with your goal today. Just 1 thing. And use that to propel you forward to tomorrow.
2) Edit your social media feeds
When we are bombarded constantly with media fad diets, food extremes, over-exercising, and before/after photos, it’s time to edit your feed.
Unfollow, mute, unsubscribe from people who make you feel bad about yourself, who make you question your commitment to stop dieting and transform your life. If you surround yourself with information that fuels body positivity, anti-diet culture, and intuitive eating, you will slowly start to shift your mindset in the right direction.
3) Eat More, NOT less.
Ok ok ok. I don’t mean binge out at your local fast food restaurants and have a Thanksgiving dinner every night. What I mean is the dieting culture is all about restriction and deprivation and cutting things out.
So instead of focusing on what NOT to eat, let’s start focusing on adding in small steps that bring you health and happiness. But that can be MORE FOOD. Maybe it’s more clean eating, more veggies, positive affirmations, stress-reducing tools, When we focus on positive things, our brain has a super powerful way to make those things happen and keep going.
4) Be Mindful of Your Beliefs
We are surrounded by a diet culture that “nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.” Grrrr. Diet extremes, quick fix weight loss challenges and diet culture’s messaging constantly reinforces us that we can’t trust our body.
So we are in a state of confusion. What to eat? How much? What diet works best? What will I try next Monday after I fall off the wagon this week because my current diet is too restrictive?
I focus on intuitive eating principles in helping women to overcome the diet mentality and to understand sustainable weight loss. This takes time and practice, so why not simply start with being more mindful?
Start by becoming aware of your feelings around food. Become aware of your food signals for hunger and fullness. Start to eat more slowly to notice the texture, flavors, smells, and appreciate your food, company, and notice when you’re getting full. Do these things without any judgment. Simply notice.
5) Find Support & Accountability
In the The LoYo Method coaching program, I see it time and time again. Women try so hard to implement strategies on their own and when one bump in the road comes their way (which it will, because that’s part of life), they throw in the towel and fall right off their diet wagon.
Food Freedom is a community pursuit. Diets by their very nature are isolating and invoke feelings of failure, shame, guilt, and more dieting. And without a solid support system, we end up giving up.
Instead, find support. Find someone or a group of similar like-minded women to share your journey with. If you want to start showing up for yourself as the amazing woman you are, The Loyo Method program may be the perfect fit for you.
Jessica Kishpaugh is a Holistic Nutritionist & Emotional Eating Coach and owner of LoYo Wellness in Wyckoff in Bergen County NJ (www.loyowellness.com). Jessica specializes in healthy and sustainable weight loss, intuitive eating, emotional eating, stress reduction and mindfulness.
Book your FREE Breakthrough Call HERE to get clarity on your weight loss and mindset goals, to understand what’s holding you back from living the life you deserve, as well as to find a solution moving forward.