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diet chatter.

Sometimes it’s easy to feel surrounded by other people’s ridiculous food rules.  Keep turning down the noise of the comments you hear that make you feel neurotic about feeding you body and turning up the noise of your internal cues of hunger, fullness, and cravings.  Sometimes you may feel like the only person you know who eats intuitively.  It can be annoying…but you keep doing you.

12 comments

  1. So frustrating how EVERYONE seems to have an unhealthy mindset about food these days! It’s hard to avoid it

  2. This is everything to me today.

    A guy I recently reconnected with from college has been exhibiting weird behaviors around food (telling me he ran 12 miles “by accident” and then only had chocolate milk for dinner; frequently making it known that he skipped a meal or “didn’t eat all day”) and last night, via text, he made a comment about having an eating disorder, but “it’s okay. I like to look good.” This triggered such an array of emotions in me. I thought about letting it go, but I just couldn’t. I told him that eating disorders never look good, and when he replied, “what are you talking about, yes they do” I told him it’s something I’m really sensitive about because I’ve spent the last 18 months recovering from one. He didn’t respond very compassionately and it left me reeling in my own vulnerability. Even this morning I felt it still hanging over me. It was such a difficult thing to share. It felt right at the time, but now I regret opening up to him.

    When I first learned that we were living in the same area, I seriously considered not getting in touch because I was so self-conscious about my body (having not seen him in 4 years, I was afraid of what he might think of me). It was a HUGE milestone for me to just be like, SCREW IT! Life’s too short. I’m not letting my pant size prevent me from connecting with people. So to hear him actually voice such fat-phobic opinions and exhibit such disordered eating habits is a really tough pill to swallow.

    Anyways… this post is very timely after that whole conversation. It’s not easy to be an intuitive eater in a world of eating disorders. I know this is probably sexist, but for some reason, I feel even more self-conscious around a guy who is manipulating his food to look a certain way. My legs are twice the size of his! And it takes a lot for me to be okay with that and not turn it into a criticism of myself.

    Sorry this was a long comment, but thank you for this post <3

    • Yikes! It’s frustrating how normalized eating disorder behaviors are:/ I have to imagine that he doesn’t realize that Anorexia is the most deadly mental illness and isn’t something to joke about. I’m sure if he had a life experience where a loved one had a eating disorder he wouldn’t be so quick to joke.

  3. I NEEDED to hear this today. It absolutely feels that I’m the only one. Often! Thanks for the reminder.

  4. Since really adopting an Intuitive Eating approach and learning to read through all the Diet Talk, I am amazed at how much I hear it in one way or another every single day. It can be annoying, but more than anything I think it’s sad. It makes me sad when I hear others talking about how they’re going to have to “burn off” their “splurge meal” even though it’s probably the only real meal they have allowed themselves all week. I used to be that way and I always felt so in control. But now it’s really clear to me how out of control my disordered eating was. This is a great reminder!

  5. This was good to hear today, especially since I am visiting home next week. Even though my mom knows that I am in recovery from an eating disordered, she has such disordered eating and thoughts herself, she can’t help but share them with me. This is a great reminder for when I’m home to turn down the volume on her and really use my husband as support to turn up cues from my body. Thanks for this!!

  6. I completely agree that food rules are bad and can take over your life – I’ve been there. But I’m wondering what your thoughts on veganism are. I recently went vegan. I chose to do this not as a way to control what I’m eating – but because of my love for animals, the environmental impact of the meat and dairy industry, and the noticeable positive changes in my health and energy levels. I have been doing this for 5 months and I don’t feel deprived – I feel like I still eat ‘junk’ food whenever I’m craving it and definitely don’t refrain from having sweets. I find that I don’t crave meat or dairy because there is a replacement for all of it. I’m just curious as to what your opinion ion this is – because I know many people choose veganism as a way to lose weight.

  7. Pingback: Friday Favorites #24

  8. I had an experience a few months ago that has been annoying me in the back of my mind, and this painting speaks to it perfectly.

    I was in line at one of those restaurants that doesn’t take reservations & the line starts at 3:30 for a 5:30 open, but its so good that people still leave work early or pay someone to wait on Task Rabbit – THAT good. There were two women talking behind me, and the first said that she had “prepared” for the special meal by not eating lunch; the second responded that she was “bad” because she ate breakfast and lunch, so would probably just get a small plate or two. All I could think was “you’re going to dine at one of the most sought-after places in the city and let the fact that you ate like a normal person deprive you of the full experience?!? First, you’re not ‘bad’ for eating lunch. But if you can’t get past that, give someone else your seat!”

    Thanks again for helping us stay sane amid the crazy!

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