Let's google "diet"...
- The kinds of foods that a person, animal or community habitually eats
- A special course of food to which one restricts oneself, either to lose weight or for medical reasons.
Woah! We go from what we habitually eat to restricts oneself. Let me break down how those are contradicting. Habitual eating is someone eats the same foods, not rocket science, and restricting because you’re on a “diet” leads to a dysfunctional relationship with food. This dysfunctional relationship could turn into diet after diet OR an eating disorder. I have seen both.
Diets– man oh man. The way individuals cycle through diets, it’s like the old saying, “you go through diets like you do underwear”… this may sound out of left field but..wait for it…they don’t work. Mind Blown emoji. Diets actually influence you’re metabolism. Now, I know you’re thinking but I cut “xyz” out and I lost weight. My questions are 1. how long did that last? 2. Did you gain the weight back? 3. Were you constantly hungry?
Going on the diet roller coaster can be exhausting– it doesn’t matter if you’re a crazy busy mom trying to get her groove back or an elite athlete trying to PR — I don’t want you’re body to work “against you”.
I want your relationship with food to be healthy, fun, and work with your schedule. No restricting, no rules, no insecurity. Our “diet” adapts to our lives. We try new things, we focus on ways to recover through food, we listen to our body for hunger and fullness. We know self-care means we consume a meal early if we know we won’t have access later due to work or a competition. Not everyday looks the same and we allow ourselves the freedom to enjoy that. We may forget to eat, we may realize we didn’t pack a lunch, we may eat too many cookies but that doesn’t over shadow the days we cook a delish salmon, pack the afternoon snack, eat all the fresh vegetables before they go bad or drink adequate amounts of water.
So let’s talk about “diet culture.” This gets sticky for my athlete’s. Social media or norms tell them to look a certain way. Then sport culture tells them to look another way, it’s confusing. Elite sport has nutrition periodization, which ebbs and flows with training and competition schedules. What I hate to see (or hear) is an athlete compare themselves or their bodies to someone else. It’s so natural and human nature to do this– I don’t blame them but it makes me cringe to hear them say they can’t compete because they’re “too big” or “too thin” or “too this” or “too that.” My response is often “you’re talking yourself out of the competition.”
So what have you been talking yourself out of lately because of what social media tells you? What story have you made up in your head that you actually believe? Has someone made comments about your food choices, your body weight, your fitness level? Has this caused you to compare yourself to others so much you forgot how it feels to have a healthy relationship with food?
Guess what?! Its NOT your fault!
Life is hard, nutrition is confusing, and its completely okay to not be an expert in it. — I am willing to bet there is at least one thing you are an expert at, so tell me what is that?
Think less about being hungry or following dieting rules and more about your expertise?