I remember the first time I walked into a Weight Watchers meeting. (Believe me when I tell you I’ve tried every weight loss program under the sun).
I saw someone holding a coffee cup from Starbucks and eating what looked like a breakfast sandwich.
I was horrified. How could she be openly CHEATING at a Weight Watchers meeting?! Surely one of the team leaders would see her and call her out for not eating an egg white omelette. The coffee I could understand, but hello?!? The bread?!
Clearly, I was a completely misinformed byproduct of this crazy society we live in. The low-carb, low-fat, calorie counting society.
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Fast forward a few years later and I realize just how delusional and brainwashed I was when I first set foot in that meeting. Programs can screw with your brain. They tell you what you can and can’t eat. They tell you what is considered “healthy” and what is considered “unhealthy.” And they’re all different from one another.
So you can imagine how confused I was when staring at this happy, healthy woman who was enjoying her weekly breakfast from Starbucks.
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It’s now been four months since I’ve been a part of these online challenge groups. And the best part about it is that nobody is telling me what I should and shouldn’t eat. Nobody is telling me I shouldn’t have my wine. And nobody is telling me that I’m messing things up.
Instead, I’m self-reflecting. Each day, I type up the things I’ve eaten and I – myself – identify what food has triggered my energy slumps and what food has given me lasting energy. I can identify when I’ve had a little too much wine because I feel bloated and heavy the next day. And I can identify the high I feel shortly after drinking my shake or eating a meal filled with whole foods and nutrients.
I’m so grateful for these challenges because they’ve helped me turn off the voices and the negative energy that we are overwhelmed with – telling us we are not good enough, we are not healthy enough, we are not fit enough. Instead, I turn inward and LISTEN to MY body tell me what is or isn’t working.
Contrary to what I thought many, many years ago at that meeting, healthy eating is not denial. We get to decide what we want to eat. Every day, we have a choice. Some days, we want to dive headfirst into chocolate cake. And, some days, we do just that.
But because of these challenges, I’ve changed up my internal dialogue.
I don’t HAVE to eat fresh veggies and fruit. I GET to eat fresh veggies and fruit. Because the kind of high we get from eating whole foods beats the artificial high we get from coffee, junk food, and alcohol.
We get to make a choice every day. With every meal. With each and every action we take. And, MOST of the time, I choose the ones that make me feel good. And THAT, I believe, is what makes me a healthy eater.
TELL ME:
How are you CHOOSING to be healthy today?
Some of you may have noticed that I’m not blogging as actively as I have been in the past. I’m still relatively active on social media, so if you’re interested, you can find me on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. I’ll be here when time permits, but I’m working on some other off-line projects that I’m really excited about, so I’ll be sporadically on and off the blog!
Since my mom passed in February, I have gained SO MUCH weight from stress eating. I really need to get back into eating healthy, but I am just not ready yet. One of these days I will snap out of it.
Yep……same here,put on 55 pounds in 7 years and now I’m trying to get rid of it. Its not easy but I’m trying….
Wow, what an eye opener. I can so identify with you judging that Starbucks-coffee lady, how could she lol?
Each of us has different things that’s good or bad for our systems – you are so right with that. Great post honey
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Thanks for sharing – love the idea of personal accountability
This is great, there are so many diets out there that heavily restrict foods, or caregorize foods as good or bad. I think it’s great that you are taking time to think about how what you eat makes you feel.
Emily @ Pizza & Pull-ups recently posted…Midweek coffee date
This is such a difficult concept to learn! Good for you for being able to get there 🙂
I used to diet in my teens and early 20’s. Then I decided to excercise and just eat in moderation. It works for the most part
YES! It’s definitely about choosing to be healthy and not following the latest diet cult. I choose to be healthy by trying to get two servings of fruit and veggies in each morning and walking as close to 10K steps as I can
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YES! Great post! I love how you have the diet and weight thing spot on! I recently started doing the same thing, listening to my body and viewing my food choices differently. I stead of denial, I try to balance my good choices with my ‘noy so good” and not feel guilty about it.
Thank you for being courageous and writing such a personal struggle with weight. I’ve struggled my whole life with my weigh & health issues too.
Hei, I have definitely never ever go to dieting again!!! thanks for sharing your thoughts and ideas, loved it !
Wrote yesterday about dieting also on my blog.
https://www.risilvjaplace.com/
The struggle of dieting is real. I used to weight a lot more, like I was 70 pounds heavier and I would try all kinds of crazy things to try and shrink. It took me years to figure out the diet preference of my body and its nothing like what a lot of people will say is healthy or recommended by dietitians. Weight loss is a journey like any other that is unique to the individual.
Such a good post – you are right, we do get to CHOOSE what we do or don’t put in our bodies. And I’m trying to be good about choosing things like water more frequently. I definitely notice I feel better when I do!
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For me, diets never worked either because they just left me wanting all the things it said I couldn’t have. So now I focus on making sure I stay active, exercise regularly, and make conscience choices about what I eat.
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I have decided that I am just going to stop focusing on dieting and start being happy with every stage I get to. It has really changed the way I think about myself and I am a lot more confident than I have been in a really long time.
Great post and I totally agree. There is so much shame we attach to our food. The judgement! But in the end, the changes come from inside of us. I once had an insurance adjuster stop by my home during lunch. I had made a salad and I was having a soda (because caffeine is life some days). He started patronizing me about my smart choices in the salad but that I shouldn’t drink that soda. I stared at this not particularly fit man across from my counter lecturing me on my diet……Get. Out. The nerve!
I’ve struggled with an eating disorder over the past few years, so this post really hit home for me. Every day I have to make a choice not to step on a scale, count calories, or obsess or feel guilty about the things I eat. It will most likely be a lifelong struggle for me, but every day I try to take steps toward finally feeling like no matter my size, I’ll always be enough.
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Diets do not work! I have struggled with my weight my entire life. But everything changed when I decided to change my lifestyle by working out with weights/cardio and eating smaller but frequent meals/
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I try to think of it as “healthy eating” instead of “dieting” which sounds like what you’re doing now. I find that really works better mentally because I focus on the positive benefits of eating well rather than the deprivations of not having sugary treats… which also sounds like what you’ve discovered as well! I’ve gotten really into exercise over the last two months and it’s incredible how much better I feel from the extra energy and endorphins.
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I can totally see this. Now that Im closer to my goal I may step back from WW in a month or two and just try to eat as healthy as I can.
I’ve also struggled with my weight for long and after all the fails of every diet I tried, I finally told myself to do what I feel my body needs and after ruining my metabolism with all those diets, I am still getting a grip on being focused and will get to where I want.
I’ve had such an unhealthy history with yo-yo dieting and binge-eating. I need to definitely learn to love myself more and get healthy ultimately for my health and wellbeing. Thank you for this post!
Amanda | thebeautypanda.com
I like using mindful eating which means listening to your body and deciding whether you’re hungry or not, and what your body is really craving. I find it has helped a lot!
This is so true! I have tried multiple diet programs. They usually work while I am on them but the minute you stop the weight comes right back. It is better to know how to make healthy choices and try to stay active.
Heather recently posted…Kid-Approved Nut-Free Homemade Granola
I think at the end of the say, everything boils down to personal accountability! We’re responsible for what we eat or don’t. Eating healthy food is important. Our body will thank us for it.
So many people complain that dieting does not work. I believe in eating a balanced diet (not dieting) to maintain a healthy weight.
Heather Johnson recently posted…A Is for Ant Paper Plate Craft
Accountability is great! Knowing we each are uniquely different and our bodies, hormones, genes will respond differently to nutrition, we absolutely need to figure out what’s best for us as individuals! There is nothing greater than knowing you own body and responding to its needs!
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I really enjoyed this post – your flipped perspective about choice, and GETTING to rather than HAVING to is really important. I need to remember that more often. Thank you for the reminder:)
I definitely think it’s nice when you can relate what you eat to how you feel. That kind of awareness of how your body reacts is going to be helpful
It helps me to remember how food makes me feel. I can have that cookie or glass of wine but am I willing to deal with how I feel afterwards?
I’ve come a long way in the last ten years, though losing 17 pounds for my wedding, to having two babies, nursing etc. Now I am more focused on fitness. I try to be really active and eat what I would like. You gotta find what works for you!
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I’ve battled with weight issues for more than half of my life. Everyone is different so one program won’t work as well for one person as it does for another.
In the end we are accountable for what we eat.
We should make healthy choices.
It is all a change of life style.
Good Luck to All.
I am such a serial dieter :(. About a month ago I tried to cut out iced coffee and fast food all at once. It didn’t work out too well. I love my coffee!!! The best advice I have ever heard is keep starting. It dosen’t matter if you quit. Just keep starting. Eventually it will stick 🙂
I love your take on it! Getting to eat fruits and veggies is definitely more inviting than feeling like you have to eat them!
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Thanks for sharing your story. I know dieting and weight loss can be a touchy subject for many people. Good to hear that you’ve found something that works for you and that you feel good about yourself too.
Girl I can’t tell you how true this is!
Yes! So true. 🙂 I think a big thing is that if you really want to change, you need to change for the good, which can be hard to maintain with “diets”. I try hard to eat healthy when I can, but indulge when I want to. More importantly I am trying to instill healthy life styles in my girls. I want them to be confident in themselves
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Great post! I struggle with mindful eating after years and years of dieting. I’m glad to know I’m not alone.
i have spent my life dieting. I am so sick of it and it doesn’t always work. I needed to read this today.
❤️. As someone who did weight watchers on and off through college (50 lbs lost and gained 3 times) and then got super restrictive while I was trying to do triathlons (and put my body in starvation mode), I agree that these programs can really warp your sense of healthy eating and even your sense of self. Thanks for sharing, Div.
Weight loss is difficult if you have underline medical issues. After trying for several years, I gave up on it and now only focus on living a healthier life.
Mood and energy tracking is the first step, and I wish more doctors and nutritionists would ask for that when they ask for the “food journal” before that first weight loss appointment. Because a lot of people get the idea that writing down what you eat is about food shaming, rather than thinking of it as an exercise in mindfulness; thinking of the fruit salad over fries as a choice to feel energized rather than bloated is a much more positive approach to lifestyle change.
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What a relief! Reading your article is the best thing I did today. I will also join these groups, document my daily diet and reflect upon what works for me and what makes me lazy and drowsy.
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