Today I wanted to diet

Actually, I don't want to diet today. But I did a couple of days ago, for a fleeting moment. And I just thought it would be useful to point out that, even 13 months on from the day I vowed to give up diets, I still have those moments where I begin to think a diet might be needed.

While I never actually get to the point of doing it, I think it just shows how strong that mentality is once you've experienced food-control of some kind. At times where you might feel out of control (for me, it's where I've got a bit bloaty and I panic that I'm going to turn into Augustos Gloop), the initial solution to regain control is often seen as being to diet.

We know that a diet can only help in the short-term, if it helps at all, and the long-term problems it may cause can take years to undo.

Control can only be gained by getting back to normal - it is the normality around eating that helps us stabilise our emotions and feelings around it. It is the abnormality around dieting that ultimately leads us to feel out of control again. Once the diet stops, which it inevitably does, we don't know how to stay in control.

So while I did, briefly, consider a diet the other day, I decided that actually, I'd just carry on eating normally.

Comments

[Dee]

Just go back and re-read your posts - then go back to intuitive eating! I was having the same feeling - 'must go back to dieting - must control my food-intake' but then I read your posts and came to my senses.
Just take your own, good advice!

[Andrea Wren]

Thanks for that Dee - wise words! And you will see I have done exactly that and have written the post 'Tuning in not tuning out' to show I'm getting back on track!