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Tips to start living a non-diet life.

non-diet1

1) Eat like it’s the weekend on a Monday.

Forcing yourself to eat “clean” during the week and allowing yourself to eat in a more relaxed way on the weekend it the perfect way to make yourself feel restricted (and then obsessive) around food.  Stop putting yourself on a diet every Monday.  If you usually prep every morsel of food for Monday, switch it up by eating every meal out on Monday.  

Stop trying to make your eating look a certain way.   Stop having expectations that your eating should look a certain way.  Your body will seek out nourishing foods if you stop restricting it – sometimes nourishing means apples and sometimes nourishing means apple pie.  If you are restricting yourself around food, or have a belief that certain foods are good or bad, then overeating will continue to be a natural reaction of the physical or mental deprivation you are putting yourself through.  (go read that last sentence again.)

whole foods dinner = latte. taco. cookie. | immaEATthat.com

2) Use the hunger & fullness scale

Instead of tracking your calorie intake on an app, become aware of your hunger and fullness cues.  Don’t be hyper-obsessive about tracking your hunger/fullness, just be hyper-aware for a bit.  Tune into your body.  Extreme hunger leads to extreme eating, so a good idea is to start eating around a 4 and stop at 6 (aka a fullness level that will keep you full for 3 hours).  (pssst. if you don’t have normal hunger & fullness cues, find a non-diet registered dietitian to work with to help them come back.)

Hunger & Fullness Scale | immaEATthat.com 

3) Tune into what feels good for your body.

This weekend we ate donuts for breakfast.  Quite honestly, donuts for breakfast make me feel like complete junk.  I know this.  I end up nauseous, because my blood sugar is all over the freaking place.  I know donuts feel best in my body when I have a donut + a latte for a morning/afternoon snack after I’ve had a breakfast that involves a a combination of protein + carbs + fat.  I know this, but sometimes the experience of enjoying donuts for breakfast with someone I love is more important than how the donuts make me feel.  All this to say, you are allowed to decide what feels good in your body.  You are allowed to value relationships and experiences.  You are NOT allowed to let a person you follow on Instagram determine how you should eat or what feels best in your body.  

If you have a difficult relationship with food and your body, I hope you will look into my online course and see if it is something that resonates with you.

you do you. | immaEATthat.com

Would love to hear your tips in the comments for how you live a non-diet life!

25 comments

  1. Amen to all of this! I particularly love this sentence you wrote “I know this, but sometimes the experience of enjoying donuts for breakfast with someone I love is more important than how the donuts make me feel”. I think this is so so important. It is important for me anyway. Yes sometimes eating “x, y, z” food might make me feel physically a bit shit, but the love and joy I get out of eating it with people I love and the laughter we have being with each other is more than worth it. What is the point in feeling “perfectly physically well” if that means you can’t go out and enjoyyyy your life. Mental health is just as important :) 
    Loved this post!! x

  2. Great tips!
    One of my favorite ideas from the book, Intuitive Eating, is:

    If you don’t love it, don’t eat it.
    If you love it, savor it.

    I used to make myself eat things I didn’t really like because they were “good for me” or low calorie. Then when I’d binge, I’d eat things I didn’t really like just because I was willing to stuff anything into my mouth just to feed the starving feeling.

    Now, if I’m not enjoying what I’m eating I stop and get something else to eat… or stop eating if I’m full. And if I’m loving what I’m eating, I take the time to enjoy it instead of stuffing it in my mouth in a guilt-ridden panic.

  3. absolutely love this post! it’s 100% true and sort of in line with what I wrote about today. thank you for sharing this. and yes to eating like it’s the weekend on Monday! I think that’s a huge one. We have to let go of this eat really “well” during the week and then let ourselves “go” on the weekend. Sets us up for disaster at some point.

  4. I count macros which I found to be very freeing in that although I was “strict” in how many macros I eat in a day.. There are no such things as off limits foods anymore. Monday is never a “start over” day for me!

  5. This is great! Totally agree. I often tell my girls “keep your eyes on your own paper”. We have to be a detective of our own bodies, how we respond to foods and also honor our tastes and preferences. There’s always more where that came from. You don’t have to eat it all right now! lol!

  6. Omg i love it. Esp the first one. People need to stop trying to deny their bodies things that they love 

  7. If my body is saying “ahh that sounds so good” but my mind is saying “you should eat this other thing instead”, I tell myself, “should?” there is NO SHOULD!  I can eat what I want, when I want and the only person in my way is me.  I repeat to myself “no food rules”.  It helps!

    Also, if I am trying to say bad things about myself I try instead to say one really good thing about myself and move on from the moment.  :)

  8. *Long comment, sorry! ;) These are all excellent messages! If there is something I’ve been craving or decide I’d like to have even if it’s getting late in the evening (could be cookies, fruit and yogurt, a smoothie, etc.), then I allow myself to enjoy it. Many years ago I was so regimented about not eating late, and while I believe there are reasons not to, it’s sometimes life that you end up eating later than is recommended. Like you said about the donuts, I know that there are instances when my stomach *may* feel meh the next morning, but I still enjoy X without allowing myself to be overly concerned about the “what ifs.” Yesterday, we had lunch catered. I took one-half a sandwich and decided I wanted another half. I then ate a snickerdoodle cookie later before the end of the meeting. It wasn’t “healthy”, but I sure enjoyed it! I seriously thought of you and how lovely it felt to not deprive myself. The cookie ended up being too rich/sweet, but I didn’t feel guilty. I later when on a walk as self-care but in no way to offset the cookie. I so appreciate all the positivity you’ve spread because it has helped me tremendously.

  9. Hey Lady,
    I am fairly new to your blog (discovered it in June), but as someone only about a year and a half into real recovery from about 15 years of ED and disordered eating, I really appreciate the wisdom and support it provides.
    I can’t stress enough how much it helps me specifically to see the “trust your body” “don’t compare to others” and “practice forgiveness” themes you post about so regularly. Just wanted to say thank you.

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  11. That third one is SO KEY for me. I know what makes my body feel good and I adore those foods. And there are lots of foods that I like, but aren’t quite as fun for my body. I’ve been making all the memories and enjoying more of those foods lately because I’ve been soaking up my last bit of time at home and it’s been that kind of season of life. I’m getting closer to a time when I’ll be able to get back into more of a routine of what feels good for my body, and I feel ready for that, too.

  12. Really needed to see this today, thank you so much for sharing!

    The way you put things are so practical and simple- such a breath of fresh air!

    Hope you are feeling better xx

  13. Thank you so much for this post. I just turned 30 and I’m in a good place with working out and my lifestyle, but have a little bit left to go with food to let dieting go for good. I needed this!

  14. Yes. Everything yes. I love the first tip for enjoying every day of eating just the same as every other. Taking the perfection expectation away from weekdays and just letting food be nourishment every day of the week means that you are more likely to listen to exactly what your body wants, and what makes it feel best.
    And this –> “You are NOT allowed to let a person you follow on Instagram determine how you should eat or what feels best in your body.” As a dietitian I feel like I want to print this on the back of my business cards next to my qualifications!
    My tip for living a non-diet lifestyle? I’m still working on integrating non-diet into my own life, but I think the most important thing is not to moralise food or eating behaviours. Don’t feel like a day of eating only salad is worth praise, and a day that you had some ice cream is not. Food is not a moral issue. Unless you stole it I suppose.
    Thanks for another great post Kylie!

  15. Per usual, I love your posts. That last graphic is perfect, and i wish it was a bumper sticker or a tattoo or SOMETHING. More people need to read those words. People forget that the social media life of someone they don’t know may look perfect, but it’s NOT. No one is superwoman, and quite honestly, eating kale and going to the gym every single day does not make you better or worse than any other human being.

  16. I love the tip to eat like you would on the weekend on a Monday! I feel like people are way to rigid throughout the week with their food habits and need to just be and honor their cravings!

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  19. LOVE this, especially about eating out on a Monday night! That is such a great idea and way to switch things up. I definitely eat “well” all week and then let myself go on the weekend. I have been finding that this lately is causing me to actually BINGE on the weekends. It can be a vicious cycle and one that I am SO OVER. Thanks for the inspiring post…XOXO

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  21. Yes to all of this. Great post. So hard to get out of the workweek vs. weekend mentality when it comes to food.

  22. Hi there- I am loving your blog! I am an eating disorder psychotherapist and I love seeing how you are using your recovery to educate and share on here. also love your photos and web design!

  23. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the view/relationship you have with food. I realize that you didn’t get to where you are today over night but I aspire to be as rational/healthy/carefree with regards to food as you are someday. As someone who is trying to overcome years of restrictive disordered eating habits, the idea of having no food rules seems daunting/scary/terrifying, but also freeing and exciting! Thanks for proving that it’s possible :)

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