Dieting vs. Mindful Eating: Know The Difference
Filed Under: Mindful Eating
18 January 2019 | Written by Xenia Ayiotis
I must confess, I am not a big fan of January. It’s simply too hectic and there’s too much pressure to make this “your best year yet”. January is full of diet talk of going Keto, giving up carbs and sugar. I find it tedious.
One of the reasons I like January this year is we are celebrating World Mindful Eating Month. Come visit us on Facebook – we have a lively discussion going on the benefits of Mindful Eating. People are becoming more aware of Mindful Eating and I see the term used a lot but very often linked to a certain way of eating or attached to weight loss. I support the position of The Center for Mindful Eating. Mindful Eating is not another strategy for weight loss.
Sadly we live in a diet culture that values thinness, small bodies are praised and the culture’s overriding message is that our bodies are never good enough.
That is why diets , now repackaged using words like “lifestyle changes “ and “wellness” programmes are so tempting. Whatever the name, they are destined to fail. Traci Mann, author of the book “Secrets from the Eating Lab” and researcher, has studied diets for decades and says:
“A small percentage of dieters – something like 5 percent- can do it (keep the weight off) But they do it by devoting every minute of their life to staying at that weight. Basically they spend their entire life living like a starving person, fighting biology, and evolution.”
What happens to the 95 percent of dieters that put the weight back on?
The saddest part about that is that they don’t blame dieting – they blame themselves! Yet there is so much research that shows that they don’t work. I remember in my dieting days, blaming and hating myself and believing I had no control around food and that I simply couldn’t stick to anything. The psychological harm of dieting is devastating.
So isn’t it time to stop dieting?
As long as our culture values thinness it’s going to be difficult but the anti-diet movement is growing and hopefully one day dieting will have the stigma of smoking.
If you are thinking of dieting in 2019, please think again. It’s bad for your physical and mental health. What’s the alternative? Mindful and Intuitive Eating.
Mindful Eating is empowering and it gives you back choice.
It connects you with your body and allows you to listen to yourself and not an “authority”. Mindful Eating gives you freedom.
Isn’t it time to break free?
Wishing you freedom from struggles with food and your body.
Love,
Xen.
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