We are constantly inundated with dieting in our western society, so one of the steps to getting rid of the diet mentality is to get rid of the dieter’s tools. Yup, that means the scale! For more about this, check out “The Scale: My Friend, My Foe“!
I was in my college anatomy and physiology class one day when we had a lecture on the different types of body tissues. This naturally included the discussion of fat tissue. The professor asked the class what we would think if we saw a tiger with its bones sticking out. We all agreed that the tiger was likely sick or starving. He nodded and then pointed out that when we see a tiger with meat on its bones, we see it as strong and healthy, but we barely think twice when we see a waif-like model walk the runway. So, if seeing the hipbones of an animal is cause for concern, then why is it acceptable for humans to take dieting to such an extreme that their bones protrude? It’s not! And that’s because, like animals, people need fat on their bodies! …
I was skimming through the intuitive eating community forum one day and came upon a post that included a link to a video on YouTube. It was only a few minutes long. I had a few minutes, so I figured “Why not?” Within a few seconds of watching this video, I knew I had stumbled onto something. As the video played, I found myself nodding in understanding and empathy. I could identify with almost everything that was said. That evening, I made my husband sit down and watch this video with me. Even he was moved by the speaker’s strong and passionate words. I am referring to Blythe Baird’s “When the Fat Girl Gets Skinny” video. …
My father’s illness and death gave me the push I needed to make a serious change in my life. I talk about this experience in the article “Death Gave Me a Push“. It’s a little less upbeat than my other topics, but this one means a lot to me.
Veruca Salt from the Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory was my inspiration for this piece of writing. Veruca demands immediate results, but intuitive eating is all about baby steps! Read about this in the article “The Veruca Salt Effect: I Want It Now!“
During my dieting years, food was my enemy. We started off as a friendly rivals but slowly transformed into fierce adversaries. We fought for years until I decided that enough was enough. When I finally told myself “To hell with dieting!”, my relationship with food slowly improved. Intuitive eating stresses that giving yourself unconditional permission to eat and legalizing all foods is an important step in making peace with food. When I implemented this concept, it seemed like a whole world of food options had become available to me. What was once forbidden became permissible. It was scary to allow myself to eat without strict rules, but I could sense that freedom from dieting was within reach and this was a crucial step. …
My intuitive eating journey included many obstacles, one of which was making peace with the mirror.
Check out the article “Mirror, Mirror” for more about this experience!