What Is Dieting Making You Miss Out On?
Did you know there’s a social element to dieting? It’s called diet bonding. It’s what happens when people make social connections and find common ground through the topic of dieting. It can happen at parties, with friends over lunch, or at work. Dieting is so pervasive that it’s engrained in our culture (diet culture!).
Starting a new diet offers excitement and hope that this time will finally be it. This will be the one that sticks. It can feel very scary to let go of that hope and excitement in favor of ditching dieting. But as the Intuitive Eating book says “when you say goodbye to the thrill and excitement of dieting, you’ll also be letting go of the false hope and disappointments from dieting” (4th ed, ch. 6, pg. 65).
How many times have you had the thought “After I lose the weight I’ll ….” Or “Once this diet is over I’ll …”? Dieting takes up a significant portion of your time, energy, mental space, and even money. Have you ever thought about what dieting might be making you miss out on? What would you do with those extra resources if they weren’t spent on dieting?
We invite you to think about what kinds of things and experiences you’d like to have in your life that you might be putting off until you’ve lost the weight or completed the diet. Are these things you could take steps towards doing for yourself in the present? Engaging fully in your life now by doing enjoyable things can actually help to build up self-esteem and cultivate positive body image. Here are some ideas of things you might be missing out on by dieting or waiting for the “perfect body”:
Attending social events or parties, especially those where food is served
Trying a new restaurant or bakery
Booking that vacation you’ve been dreaming of
Going to the beach
Baking or cooking your favorite foods
Making more time for self-care, rest, and relaxation
Buying a new outfit you love
Taking photos with friends or family
Trying a new sport or activity
Remember, you are so much more than your body size! You deserve a life full of fun, joy, connection, adventure, and good food, just as you are right now.
All of this relates to Intuitive Eating Principle 1: Reject the Diet Mentality. If you’re curious to explore this topic further, we invite you to join us for one of our upcoming Intuitive Eating Virtual Support Groups. We’re still in the planning stages of our next one and we’d love to get your feedback. Please click the link here to fill out the 5-minute survey so that we can know how to best serve you. Survey closes Monday 2/13!