One of the biggest lies that diet culture sells you in subtle and not so subtle ways is that you aren’t thinner because you lack self-control and willpower.

And it is super convincing. You believe that your lack of self-control is what is standing in the way between a healthier, thinner and happier you.

If only you could stay on track

If only you could control your portion sizes better

If only you could keep your hands off of the “junk” food in the house

If only you drank more water

If only you didn’t stress or emotionally eat

It feels terrible to feel like it is all your fault. That there is something wrong with you. That you are lazy. That you lack self-control.

“I’m so tired of thinking about food all. the. time. I no longer want to think about food all day, I just want to eat normally”

This is something I hear often in the first session with a client when I ask them what they want to be different as a result of our work together.

Can you relate to this?

Thinking about food all the time is most often a symptom of one or all of these:

Did you know that dieting is the #1 risk factor for developing an eating disorder?

I didn’t know that when I was a teenager. And I suspect my parents didn’t either. We can’t guarantee that our kids will be safe from developing disordered eating or an eating disorder, but we can help reduce their risk by discouraging dieting in the first place.

What’s really awesome is that parents can be the first line of defense against dieting and disordered eating.

If you woke up tomorrow and your weight would not be affected by what or how much you ate, would you eat differently than you do now?

Are you envisioning all the things that you would want to eat and enjoy right now?

Would it feel freeing to eat what you wanted? Would it feel liberating to no longer feel guilty for it?

This is what eating intuitively feels like.

Maybe you are someone that has had many previous New Year’s resolutions that were related to weight loss and fitness. In year’s past the excitement of a new beginning was palpable once the confetti settled - the promise of a new, fitter, thinner, healthier version of yourself. But maybe now you are someone that is beginning to question all the hype around weight loss resolutions.

After all, once that confetti does settle you are left with food rules that feel boring and you are finding yourself more and more “cheating” on your diet. But if you are someone that has relied on the “guard rails” of food rules from following a certain plan or diet to know how to eat, you may be finding yourself asking…

If I don’t diet, then what?