What Would It Be Like To Not Diet?

What would it be like if you woke up one morning and you: .

-Did not feel obligated to follow food rules?

-Were able to authentically choose foods you want to eat (rather than what you feel you *should* eat)?

-Honored your hunger cues and ate when your body is hungry (rather than when you think you *should* eat)?

-Knew that the number on the scale doesn't dictate your worth as a person nor does it give you permission regarding the foods you could eat that day?

-Didn't feel the need to weigh yourself at all?!

-Felt empowered and whole in your body, and as a person, no matter your body size?

-Could see through and challenge the BS messages that you are bombarded with on a daily basis from our society, media, and diet industry?

-Found happiness, empowerment, and fulfillment through avenues in your life other than controlling what you eat and what your body looks like (because you won't find it there with food and body... there is never a 'good enough' in that process)? .

I could go on... But doesn't this sound FREEING?! 

An exercise I often have clients in eating disorder recovery do is to imagine, "If you were to wake up tomorrow morning, and your life looked exactly how you wanted, what would it look like?"

In this exercise, I encourage people to get as detailed as possible: .

-What does your typical day look like?

-Who is in your life and what do those relationships look like? In what ways are you connecting with those people?

-What are you doing for a career? What work are you passionate about doing?

-What hobbies are you engaging in?

-How do you want to *feel*? What in your life do you believe is contributing to feeling this way?

Do you know what is a super common response to this?

When describing a typical day, they would describe feeling fully engaged in their lives where they spent minimal time thinking about food and weight. 

I would then ask, "What action steps can you take to begin working towards achieving those things you described?"

Again, these action steps/goals were more about engaging in professional development, volunteering with an important organization to them, connecting more with family and friends, and engaging in self-care. 

Rarely were they about food and weight (other than wanting to be free of those obsessions).

Dieting is a false sense of achieving happiness, fulfillment, empowerment, connection, etc. So what are some other ways you can take action steps to find what you want and need in life?

If you were to wake up tomorrow morning, and your life looked exactly how you wanted, what would it look like?