How Dieting Destroys Body Trust
/Do you trust your body?
There are various reasons why you may not trust your body. Dieting could be one of them.
When you follow a diet (this includes any plan with food rules and restrictions, regardless of what it’s called), you’re letting someone else dictate what and how you eat.
The people behind all the diet programs rely on your reliance on them so they work really hard to convince you that you and your body can’t be trusted, that you need them because they know better than you what your body needs.
They teach you to prioritize their external rules over your inner cues.
They cause you to disconnect from your body and deny its needs and desires.
They destroy the trust you once had in your body, before you learned it was a problem to be solved.
The thing is, no one knows your body better than you do.
No one knows better than you when you’re hungry, how much food you need, what kind of food you need, what foods satisfy you, and how different foods feel in your body.
Give Your Power and Freedom Away
The desire to diet is completely understandable given our weight-obsessed culture with its unrealistic body standards and tendency to equate thinness with health and moral virtue.
Given our confusing, constantly changing "eat this, don't eat that" food environment, it's also completely understandable to want someone else to just tell you what to eat.
It's important to understand, however, that although well-intentioned, when you hand your food decisions over to an external source, you give your power and freedom away.
As a result, you may eventually find yourself rebelling against the diet and its unsustainable requirements that disregard your body's wants and needs.
When this happens, it's typical to view it as self-sabotage, a lack of willpower and self-discipline, and further proof that you and your body can't be trusted when it comes to food.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
By rebelling, you’re simply trying to regain a sense of autonomy and freedom—two of the many things dieting takes away from you.
You are the Expert
You are the expert of your own body.
Intuitive Eating helps you tap into this expertise and reconnect with your body.
It helps you rebuild the body trust you came into this world with.
It teaches you how to listen to and honor your body wisdom and how to use this innate knowledge to discern what way of eating works best for you.
Ultimately, it empowers you to take back your power and freedom—and to fully trust yourself and your body.
