24 Jun strike the “diet mentality”
We have talked about our culture’s “diet mentality” in the past and the self-talk it creates in our mind. Rarely is the self-talk it generates positive. We usually hear talk about “cheat days” or “bad” versus “good” food and going “on” and “off” trendy diets.
This “diet mentality” can be exhausting and very restricting, usually leading to a hard pendulum swing to the other side to chase freedom. But after that huge shift, there can be feelings of guilt, shame, and failure that creep in. Unfortunately, those toxic feelings can become a culprit of emotional eating and general disgust with oneself. After that part of the cycle is complete we either ditch healthy eating altogether or find a new diet and rinse and repeat.
It seems there is a lot of pressure to eat a certain way 100% of the time and be perfect or else whatever you’re doing doesn’t count. But last week, we talked about striking a balance within our diet. In this case, we mean “diet” as in the definition referring to anything that one eats or drinks. Because that’s the takeaway. Your diet is a running log of this and that consumed daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, etc. It’s ok to remove the pressure of eating perfectly or categorizing every food or drink as “good” or “bad.” What if we looked at our diet as just a part of our lifestyle?
As long as we’re living, we’ll be eating and drinking. And sure, some foods are more nutritious for our bodies than others, but giving too much power to a trendy diet to dictate how we feel about ourselves or how much we restrict ourselves, isn’t healthy. What is healthy is finding and cultivating nutritious eating habits that are personal to you and your age and stage in life. We know it’s not easy. There isn’t one blueprint that works for everyone, but putting in time and effort to figure out the best eating style and habits that work for you is 100% worth it for your present and future.
*It is important to note that certain medical conditions require specific diets that might eliminate foods for clinical/medicinal reasons. And that’s not what we’re talking about here.
By Victoria Emmitt RD
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