7 Peace-Making Spring Cleaning Tips

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With the arrival of spring, you may have the urge to do a little spring cleaning.

If one of your desires is to make peace with food and your body, here are seven spring cleaning tips that will help you on your journey.

  1. Toss out your dieting books. Beyond books on popular diet programs, like Paleo, Keto and Whole30, this includes any books on clean eating, detoxing, cleansing, eliminating, fasting, etc.
     
  2. Unsubscribe from magazines and newsletters and delete bookmarks for websites and blogs that feature weight-loss and dieting articles and promote the thin ideal.
     
  3. Unfollow, unlike or hide any social media pages and feeds that focus on the thin ideal, thinspiration, fitspiration, weight loss, diet culture, before-and-after stories, etc.
     
  4. Throw away your scale. It’s time to stop playing the numbers game and letting a piece of junk dictate how you feel about and treat yourself. It's time to take back your power.
     
  5. Remove any calorie/gram/point-counting apps from your phone and other devices.
     
  6. Donate your clothes that don’t fit well or make you feel fabulous.
     
  7. Ditch any weight-loss supplements, pills, powders and potions.

While these actions can feel a little daunting and scary at first, when my clients follow through with even just a few of them, they feel liberated, empowered and energized far more than they ever imagined. I bet the same will be true for you, too.

It's Not Your Fault

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Over the years, I’ve heard many similar versions of the following story.

“I’ve tried every diet under the sun. Weight Watchers, Atkins, South Beach, Whole 30, Paleo, Keto—you name it. And I’ve failed at every single one.

I’ll be good for a few days or weeks, sometimes months, and then I rebel or something happens and I can’t stick with it anymore. I fall off the wagon, eat whatever I’m not supposed to be eating, regain the weight I lost, often more, and feel guilty, ashamed, angry and disappointed.

I simply don’t have enough willpower and self-discipline. I can’t control myself. I need to try harder.”

Misdirected Blame
When we can’t adhere to a diet plan, we often go into self-blame and shame.

Rarely, do we blame the plan.

We don’t stop to consider that perhaps the plan has failed us.

We don’t point at the plan and ask: Is this flexible enough for my life? Does it honor my needs and preferences? Is it practical? Is it sustainable? Is it satisfying? Is it pleasurable? Is it kind?

Instead, we blame ourselves then go look for a new diet to feel better, to feel in control, to regain a sense of hope. It’s totally understandable. Diet culture has conditioned us to think and act this way.

In fact, the only winner in this vicious cycle is the $66 billion diet industry—an industry that has a 95 percent failure rate yet thrives on repeat customers.

The inability to stick with a diet is not your fault. Diets aren’t designed for long-term success.

Reclaim Your Power
The good news is, you can reclaim your power. You can exit the dieting cycle at any moment and return to the intuitive eater you came into this world as.

You can relearn how to listen to your innate body wisdom and trust it to guide you toward the most nourishing, pleasurable and sustainable choices for your unique being. 

It’s not a quick fix. It's a pathway to freedom.