What Do You Really Believe?

Do you believe in love at first sight?

What about life after death?

Do you believe that you can do anything you set your mind to?

Do you believe that you should be able to control your body through diet and exercise?

Do you believe that only a certain body type is worthy of love, respect and admiration? 

I want you to stop and think about what you believe about food and your body.

If you’ve been following me for a while, you may have already learned to see some things differently - or maybe you’re still clinging to your old beliefs.

Take a minute and write down a few of the thoughts you currently believe. (Or – if, like me, you have a toddler yelling “Mommy!” 10 times in a row and then forgetting what he needed - maybe just think about them).

Did you do that? Ok, great.

Did any of these thoughts come up?

1.   I know that other people can lose weight, so I should be able to do the same.
2.   If I could just find the “right” way to eat or “get control” over my food, I would be different and better.
3.   If I worked a little harder, I could lose weight. I know it’s possible with an enormous amount of dedication.
4.   I’m willing to do whatever it takes to get a body that will be lovable, respectable and admired.
5.   All of this health at every size and intuitive eating stuff is just an excuse to let people be lazy and justify their size. 

If any of these thoughts exist, I want you to read this carefully: These very thoughts will forever keep you on an endless diet-binge cycle. They will keep you constantly hating your body and in general feeling like you’re out of control around food.

What about these thoughts – do any of these sound familiar?

1.   I literally can’t diet for even 10 minutes anymore.
2.   I’ve given up on trying to control my body.
3.   I’m going to take care of my body and let her call the shots because I clearly can’t control things anymore.
4.   I have zero hope in a diet that “actually works”, because I’ve tried them all and I know that none of them work.
5.   I’d prefer to spend my time having meaningful connections with family and friends rather than counting and tallying my daily food consumption in my head.

Some of these thoughts may sound like a version of hopelessness, or even despair. If you’ve noticed any of these thoughts come up, give yourself a high-five! These are the kind of thoughts that signal you’re no longer in an endless loop of dieting, self-harm, punishment, and fear.

These thoughts signal that achieving what feels best for your body is no longer about simply “trying a little harder” with this diet, or “sticking with that diet just a little longer”. The diet industry is no longer the “all knowing” middle man you need to feel good and feel healthy. YOU know yourself best and are the only one who can know what your body needs to feel best. 

Somewhere along the way, I hope you start to lose hope. I hope you throw up the white flag and throw in the towel. Then you can really decide what you want to believe about life and love and showing up as your best self to get whatever it is that you want.