I love sweets. I always have, always will. I married a man who loves to bake. He also loves checking out bakeries with my step daughter, and surprising me and my little one with cookies, cupcakes, and more. People always ask me how I stay so thin and resist all of the delicious treats that continuously find their way into my home. The answer is, I don’t. My secret…everything in moderation.
The society we live in has totally brainwashed us into thinking certain foods are taboo. Don’t eat carbs, gluten or sugar. Go paleo, become vegan, and don’t eat after 7pm, or you will blow up overnight and never have the body you dream of. Someone just last week told me oranges are a great snack because they satisfy cravings and don’t have a lot of calories. Is this true? I have no idea, and honestly I don’t really care because I don’t believe in living by any food rules other than listening to my body, and eating when I’m hungry and not when I’m not.
You see, after years of fearing food in my late teens and twenties, I decided to relearn what my body already knew. We are all born with a knowing of how much our bodies need. It’s not until grown-ups start telling us, “three more bites,” and “you have to finish everything on your plate if you want dessert,” that we learn to stop listening to that inner knowing. Being rewarded with food as kids, and being told there are starving children in Africa so we shouldn’t waste anything, just teaches people to eat for reasons other than fueling the body.
Sure, we all come in different shapes and sizes, and not everyone metabolizes food at the same rate, but your body was born to do it. The same way you don’t have to give thought to your heart beating, your liver functioning, or all the other wondrous things your body does, spending excessive amounts of time obsessing about eating, is also unnecessary.
Some people need more food than others and some may gain weight more easily than others. This is why figuring out what works for your own body makes so much more sense than constantly obsessing about the newest diet out there. The bottom line is though, people gain weight because they are eating more than their bodies need.
Most of my weight loss clients initially are sure they know what it’s like to be hungry and full. That is, until I ask them to describe the physical sensations that signal hunger and feeling satiated. Once we really start diving into how they know, it almost always become evident that people “think” they are hungry more often than they “feel” hungry.
For most people, deprivation of anything, often leads to overindulgence. If nothing is off limits, then the sense of urgency to consume entire pints of ice cream and a whole bags of chips, subsides. Just knowing you can always eat anything, can also be helpful. It’s always a choice.
What would it feel like to give up just one day of thinking about food? If you literally couldn’t think about it, how would you feel? I guarantee you’d have a lot more time to ponder more interesting things; that’s for sure. When you relearn to trust your body, every day can feel that way. Initially, this can be scary for many people who have spent so much time over the years obsessing, counting calories, and planning meals. Try and imagine it though. I’ll tell you, as a former obsesser, it’s so much more fun on the other side.
It is possible to say goodbye to “cheat days” and finishing huge portions for good. Start by telling yourself, “I trust my body,” and then start listening to it. Chances are, you’ve been ignoring it for years, and it could use a little TLC.
That’s it; that’s all I got for ya!
Happy Day!
