Diet’s code words

“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” William Shakespeare

I am writing this post today to give you tools to decode what is a diet and what is not. Just because a program or product says it is not a diet does not mean it is consistent with non-diet philosophies.

D-I-E-T is now an infamous 4 letter word right up there with the S-word and F-word. Do you know why? Most health professionals agree diets don’t work and now marketing something as a diet gives it a death sentence. Instead of changing the product or program, diet companies change the wording. Sneaky I know.Why Diet?

If a product focuses on weight loss or tells you to eat according to their rules then it is a diet. Here are important diet code words:

  • Lifestyle change
  • Clean eating
  • Eating only good foods
  • Eating only whole foods
  • Portion control
  • Eating right and exercising
  • Cutting carbs, fat, calories

Even worse, many diet companies misuse terms like mindful eating and Intuitive Eating to sell weight loss, deprivation, and unhealthy ways of relating to food. Boo!

When we focus on weight loss as the primary basis behind food choices, we distrust and disconnect from our innate wisdom. This wisdom knows the amount of food our body needs to keep us at the weight our body prefers.

Instead of focusing on weight, I encourage you to put it on the back burner. (If you were born after 1985, a better metaphor is to minimize weight loss on your brain’s computer screen.) Will this make you unhealthy? No. This will help you reconnect to your own hunger, fullness, and satiety cues. It will help you stop yo-yo dieting and weight cycling. Stepping away from this chaos promotes emotional and physical health.

It is almost New Year’s Eve. Are you ready to make 2015 the year you ditch dieting for good?

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Food Voice PLEDGE

Diets don’t work–which means it’s not your fault they’ve never worked for you! Join me in taking a stand against diet culture:

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