Today I’m welcoming fellow blogger Charlotte Smith MBPsS to Living.Pretty.Happy to share her experience & thoughts on a new approach to diet and it’s impact on self-acceptance…
What do you see when you look in the mirror? Are your first thoughts positive or negative?
Do you compare yourself to those you see in magazines or on social media? Do you want to change yourself somehow in order to feel more like them?
If you think that changing your body to fit an ideal will make you feel better about yourself, you’re not alone. We, as a society but especially women, have been conditioned to feel like our worth is measured by the number on the scales and the inches on our waist. From this, corporations are taking our money by selling us products that don’t work.
A supplement milkshake diet will not curb your cravings.
Counting calories is not sustainable.
Cutting out whole food groups is not good for your body or your mind.
Diet culture keeps us trapped in a vicious circle which ultimately puts our money in their pockets.
How do we get out of it?
I’m glad you asked! I’d like to introduce my saving grace: Food freedom. A complete rejection of diet culture and your first step to eating intuitively.
Food freedom can return your self-worth. It can reduce feelings of guilt and shame and, in my experience, cravings will almost completely disappear. At first, food freedom will feel alien. It will go against every eating habit you’ve ever had. But with time and trust in your own body, you will be in control and much happier. Ultimately, with food freedom, you will work towards self-acceptance and having the respect for your body that it deserves.
Here’s how you can start embracing food freedom:
01. The most important thing you can do is to remove all restrictions from food. This may seem difficult at first, but it is key to rejecting diet culture. Start in the supermarket. When you are walking up and down the aisles, listen to your body. If you think ‘ooh I fancy a chocolate mousse’, allow yourself to buy it. At first you may want to buy lots of foods that you wouldn’t normally allow yourself to buy. Give your restrictive mind a break and get them all. If you eat them all, that’s fine. Try not to shame yourself, it is normal that your mind and body craves what it has been restricted from.
02. If you see diet products advertised online or in stores, remind yourself that you’re working towards accepting yourself just the way you are and that diet products will only slow you down (and waste your money).
03. Answer these questions:
– If the girl on your screen has a smaller waist than you, does that make her a better person?
– What qualities do you have that you would rather were acknowledged than your body?
When you realise that our bodies should not be a topic of evaluation, the rejection of diet culture feels second-nature.
Take your time to adjust to your new relationship with food…
Mine has taken many turns that I was not expecting, but ultimately, I am much happier for it. I believe you can be too. Food is an essential part of our lives which fuels our body and our mind. Allowing your body to decide what it wants to eat, when it wants to eat it, can only be a positive thing. Embrace it!
Food freedom & self-acceptance was written by Charlotte Smith MBPsS
Charlotte is the talented blogger behind lifestyle blog – Take a Paws – which features the absolutely adorable Clover the Cavachon & celebrates the little things in life. She also writes about disordered eating & diet culture.
You can connect with her on…
Twitter: @takeapawsblog
Instagram: @takeapawsblog
Pinterest: takeapawsblog
Ready to start accepting yourself more? Read: The path to Self-Acceptance: how to start accepting yourself more.
So what do you think? Had you heard of food freedom before? What has your experience been with food/dieting in the past? Are you currently on a diet? Is it working for you? Do you feel you’ll stick to it? Would you (or do you) trust yourself to make the right food choices for your body? I personally feel it’s all about balance. If you have any questions on this topic, please do ask, I’m sure Charlotte would be happy to answer them for you. Whatever you’d like to say, just get in touch via the comments below!
I have heard of similar ideas to this, Alex, some of them are outlined in a book called ‘Fat is a Feminist Issue’, by the excellent psychotherapist Susie Orbach. The basic idea is taking the time to listen to your body, because when we slow down and do this, it will tell us what we need, and eating slowly and mindfully helps.
Love the article, thank you.
So pleased you liked it, I’m sure Charlotte will be happy to hear your feedback. I know what you mean about taking time to listen to your body – mine told me recently that I was overindulging too much, so I went to eating mindfully like you’ve mentioned and its definitely helped me to feel a lot better. I’ll look into the book you’ve mentioned x
It’s so good to see other people, especially women, ditching the diet culture and working towards a more positive relationship with food and their bodies. Love it, thank you!
Yes Stacy, a more positive relationship with food is what it should all be about! Thanks for reading x
Such a great post and I found it really interesting. I like seeing others options on this topic! Great guest post!
So pleased you found it interesting, Charlotte will be happy to hear that – thanks for reading xx
You are welcome xx