Kind Eating

There are few of us who haven’t been on a diet with the aim of losing some weight. Low fat, low carb, Atkins or Dukan – there’s always a new one promoted by a thin smiling celebrity who swears by it. There’s a guru, a book to buy and the promise of success if you adhere to its rules with religious fervour.
There wouldn’t be anyone who has dieted or made a commitment to change their eating patterns that hasn’t fallen off the wagon and slipped back into their old ways.
Aside from not bringing about desired change, the tough part of this is the impact upon a person’s sense of self. Already not feeling 100per cent, not sticking to a plan can contribute to a more depressing picture. There’s the loss of the dream of being thinner, healthier and perhaps happier. There’s the fear this is how things will be forever as well as proving that you are a hopeless glutton with zero will power.
The process can be a very emotional one. There can be disappointment when you don’t see results quickly, guilt for cheating, misery and shame. Evidence suggests this part of the cycle – beating up on yourself – leads quickly to the next attempt and in turn to the next jumping off in quicker succession. It also leads to weight gain.
Food, eating and weight are as much emotional issues as anything else. Because yo-yo dieting makes people feel so bad about themselves, they can be more likely to use the only comfort they know – food.
Sarah T. Loring in Eating with Fierce Kindness suggests using compassion and mindfulness to overcome negative body image. Rather than seeing yourself as “good” if you eat healthily and “bad” for eating anything else, noticing this thinking and considering the costs as well as the benefits can be useful. Being mindfully present when you eat, noticing the feelings of hunger and being full and the emotions they raise can be worthwhile as well. Perhaps we are what we eat as well as how we feel about what we eat.