How to Quit Dieting Without Gaining Weight

Part of the reason that I became a food and eating psychology coach was because I was fed up with feeling like I had to be a certain shape to get on in life, and spinning around the revolving doors of weight loss clubs in an attempt to achieve it.

The repetitive body shaming dialogue in my head and roller-coaster of emotions resulting from chasing a number on the scales was frankly, exhausting. Being constantly pre-occupied with your body size and what you are going to eat takes up a huge amount of head space. So many women, regardless of their level of intelligence, are blindsided by societal opinions of what they should look like and are sucked into a life of scrutinising their bodies and dieting.

The good news is, you can do something about it. It is absolutely possible to part company with damaging dieting practices and begin a happy relationship with food.

Theses days, I enjoy a completely relaxed relationship with food, by which I mean, I always give consideration to nutrition, but I never obsess about fat, sugar or calories. I also have a good relationship with my body. I am proud of how strong and resilient it is and I no longer berate it for not looking a certain way or not fitting into a pair of skinny jeans.

Four things that can help you to create a better relationship with food and your body:

• Build a sense of self-compassion. Deciding to approach your body with care rather than disdain allows you to truly care for it.
• Learn how to eat in a way that balances your blood sugars. Combining the macro nutrients in regular meals and snacks is truly satisfying.  You shouldn't need to do anything else to manage your weight or nourish your cells.
• Gain the knowledge that restricting food or depriving yourself of food groups increases the desire to eat and decreases self-esteem.
• Learn how to experience sadness, anxiety, boredom and all the other difficult feelings without the need to judge, escape from them or suppress them with food or alcohol.

There is no doubt that it’s a journey, and one that you have to work at. A lot of the beliefs about body shape and eating habits are so entrenched that it takes a while to learn and develop new ones.

It also takes strength to push back against the notion that being a certain dress size defines your value in life and to snub the industries and groups who are profiting and benefiting from your unhappiness. But whilst you are not responsible for the systems that put us in this place, you are responsible for fixing it.

If you'd like to cultivate a better relationship with food and your body, then check out The Non-Diet Method.