The Secret to Success - “I’m Scared I’ll Gain Weight with Intuitive Eating”
One of the first questions I am asked by many people is “Can I lose weight with intuitive eating?” and the primary reason why people abandon this path and return to dieting is because they are unable to withstand delayed gratification.
We live in a quick fix society and as a result we have been programmed to have an insatiable appetite for the biggest results that require minimal effort in the least amount of time possible.
We yearn for the next big hack, secret or short cut, and in a fat phobic society many people understandably resist entertaining the relatively small amount of weight gain that comes with ultimately ending their disordered eating and yo-yo dieting permanently, compared to the relatively large amount of incremental weight gain that dieting almost always guarantees.
Many people would rather resort back to the comforting short term relief of weight loss despite the almost guaranteed return to their starting weight plus extra. In resorting back to the old habits and dieting patterns, many people are simply delaying their long-term progress and encouraging even more weight gain in the future.
Additionally, many do not have the patience nor compassion for their body to comprehend that reaching a healthy steady set point for their individual body also takes time to arrive at. This is largely as a result of extended periods of mental and physical restriction through dieting.
We are stuck in craving the delivery of instantaneous permanent results we have been lead to believe are possible through the diet industry’s slick marketing campaigns and the perpetuation of diet culture through channels like the media, celebrities, TV and film
If on the contrary one were to take a step back, look at the larger picture and embrace the concept of delayed gratification however, people would be queuing up in the millions to start intuitive eating.
The secret is patience and understanding the inner workings of how fat phobia is a systemic issue that keeps the masses cycling through diets and the diet industry profitable.
Break The Cycle
This allows one to step away from dieting, embrace intuitive eating and understand that many years of historic behavioural patterns may indeed result in some mostly impermanent weight gain whilst the body re-configures and trusts that food will never be scarce or restricted again. Unfortunately for most people this can trigger panic, more binge eating and dieting if they have not yet embraced and prioritised self-acceptance and compassion over the opinions of others in a fat phobic society.
Others may argue that they more-so feel inherently uncomfortable in a larger body and free-er in a smaller one. To this I would challenge the person to ask themselves why this is so and to question whether the root of this is due to internalised fat phobia or a genuine feeling in their body.
Furthermore there is sufficient evidence to show that those who practice intuitive eating consistently, over time experience reaching a set point weight range that is healthy for their body and often lighter than the weight they have been carrying around for years whilst dieting, as well as far less weight cycling (yoyo-ing). Intuitive eating does not encourage eating all food all the time.
Whilst Love Food Therapy has helped people end disordered eating and dieting habits before reaching their set weight point within one session (the weight at which the body functions in a happy and healthy way), it is important to note that this is rare and not guaranteed for every one.
Each person has a unique history, body and relationship with food that has for some been built up over many years. It is subsequently very important to note that one’s healing should be tailored for their specific story, no matter the service provider they seek counsel with. In the long run this will encourage a much faster delivery of results in comparison to the continuous cycling back to dieting.
If you would like help beating disordered eating habits or binge eating in particular, I offer private therapy. If you are interested, click the button below to get started - I can’t wait to meet you!
