Intuitive Eating Review (Video)

The Bloom Book Club kicked off it's first pick for the Winter edition of 2018 with the ever popular and infamous Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch. Below you will find a video of my take on the book as I answer some of the thought provoking questions shared in our exclusive, private Facebook Group for the Bloom Book Club members. 

The Bloom Book Club offers an additional level of support for those wanting to learn more about incorporating Intuitive Eating, those recovering from disordered eating and those wanting to embrace a non-diet lifestyle. The Bloom Book Club includes a private Facebook Group to inspire discussion related to the current selection, as well as a quarterly review video or written discussion. By joining as a Bloom Subscriber, you also receive live group attendance in the quarterly discussion and a homework assignment or action challenge emailed. Join today for FREE! 

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Bloom Book Club: Body Respect

It's that time! The Bloom Book Club members have voted and our next quarter's read has been selected!

We'll be reading Body Respect: What Conventional Health Books Get Wrong, Leave Out, and Just Plain to Fail to Understand about Weight by Linda Bacon, Ph. D. and Lucy Aphramor, Ph. D.

Begins April 15th! (but feel free to join in anytime)

The excerpt about the book from Amazon:

Weight loss is not the key to health, diet and exercise are not effective weight-loss strategies and fatness is not a death sentence.

You’ve heard it before: there’s a global health crisis, and, unless we make some changes, we’re in trouble. That much is true—but the epidemic is NOT obesity. The real crisis lies in the toxic stigma placed on certain bodies and the impact of living with inequality—not the numbers on a scale. In a mad dash to shrink our bodies, many of us get so caught up in searching for the perfect diet, exercise program, or surgical technique that we lose sight of our original goal: improved health and well-being. Popular methods for weight loss don’t get us there and lead many people to feel like failures when they can’t match unattainable body standards. It’s time for a cease-fire in the war against obesity.

Dr. Linda Bacon and Dr. Lucy Aphramor’s Body Respect debunks common myths about weight, including the misconceptions that BMI can accurately measure health, that fatness necessarily leads to disease, and that dieting will improve health. They also help make sense of how poverty and oppression—such as racism, homophobia, and classism—affect life opportunity, self-worth, and even influence metabolism.

Body insecurity is rampant, and it doesn’t have to be. It’s time to overcome our culture’s shame and distress about weight, to get real about inequalities and health, and to show every body respect.

Join Us!

Interested in becoming a Bloom Book Club member? We read a book every quarter with themes advocating Intuitive Eating, HAES, positive body image and more. Check out some of the benefits:

The Book Club includes:

• Tiered membership levels, including a FREE membership!
• Quarterly LIVE discussions of the current selection participants can attend as a group.
• Action challenges and homework assignments emailed directly to you to help you implement the material of the reading.
• The ability to vote and recommend upcoming selections.
• A written review of the quarterly selection.
• A separate, private Facebook group with weekly discussions, live videos and lively debate about the current selection.
• A way to improve your learning, continue your recovery and promote positive change without attending sessions or webinars.

Signup for your first quarter for just $5 or select the FREE membership option!

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Basic Membership Free!

How One Magazine Changed My Life

In present day society, diet culture is everywhere you turn. Hundreds of television commercials advertising the latest beauty products and fitness brands, your favorite celebrities talking about what diet they're currently on and even the publications we read.

There are many reasons and ways one can be susceptible to disordered eating or an eating disorder. The factors which contribute to these issues are often multifaceted, meaning there are usually multiple factors. These factors include, but are not limited to: family pressures and dynamics, images portrayed by the media, experiences with peers throughout childhood, genetic predispositions, trauma, and more. We cannot always control for all of these factors. In fact, many are out of our control. However, I do believe we can work towards creating a more positive environment by creating personal boundaries.

When I was a pre-teen adolescent, verging on the entry of those dreaded middle school years, I was very susceptible to the influences of the diet and fitness industries. Like many young girls (and young boys) the puberty years are some of the toughest to endure because of all the bodily changes that take place.

During this time of my adolescence, I can remember wanting very much to change my appearance. Whether it was so boys would like me more or to fit in with my peers, I was desperate to learn everything I could about how to change my appearance to look more like what I was exposed to at the time. Magazine publications became a huge influence for me and how I would cultivate my identity, or at least what I thought my identity should be based on the messages I received.

I can remember wanting to buy all the magazine publications I could. I would inpatiently wait every month for new editions of my favorites to hit the stands. Teen, Seventeen, Glamour, Cosmogirl - I spent my allowance on all of them. What articles was I most interested in reading? Everything that had to do with diet, fitness and beauty.

The magazine industry is a multibillion dollar industry that bases all their earnings from the advertisers that support them. Flip through any given magazine and you're likely to find more than half of it is advertisements about beauty products, fitness brands and diet companies. Perhaps the most troubling aspect of these publications, is that many of them masquerade as a way to try and help and improve you. With headlines like, "Age proof your whole body," and, "Flat Belly Finally - Score Flat Abs," the headline sounds like it's trying to solve a problem you have, when in actuality, it's telling you that your body is the problem.

But that's how advertising works. It's a cycle. The magazine publication headlines and articles need to convince you that there is something wrong with you so that you will subscribe to wanting/trying to fix the "problem." To do so, you have to buy beauty products, diet supplies and fitness gear. And that's how they earn their money, because the advertisers pay the magazines to publish these articles convincing you to feel bad about yourself so that you will buy their products. (Mic drop.)

To this very day, I can remember a very specific issue of a magazine called YM. I can remember exactly what the cover looked like and most of the content of the magazine. I read this issue SO MANY TIMES that I practically had it memorized. This issue was their "Fitness and Beauty Special Edition" for that year and was riddled with hundreds of tips for "getting the body you want," and "finally getting thin." I soaked up all of these messages like a dry sponge. I read this magazine cover to cover so many times that the actual cover did eventually wear off. I read it so many times that even now, nearly twenty years later, I had no problem picking out the cover of the magazine from a Google image search.

Action Challenge

Looking back, these magazines did not teach me how to prioritize my health, but brainwashed me into having a diet mentality. As an adult, I am amazed even to this day how many of these magazines are still using these same tactics. Magazines that by the very title and definition should be helping you to achieve long-lasting health, have a very different motive entirely. One of the challenges we complete in my Break the Mold: Building Better Body Image course is to complete a Google image search of your favorite magazine publication. In this example here, we search for the popular Women's Health Magazine.

When I think of my health, I think of it as a part of myself that is comprised of many different aspects. There's my mental health, physical health, emotional health and my social health (how I relate with others). However, a quick Google search for the Women's Health Magazine blatantly demonstrates that the magazine's definition of "health" primarily focuses on appearance, NOT other important measurements of health.

What You Can Do

It is unlikely the magazine industry is going to read this post and make drastic changes overnight. After all, they are already aware of the damage they cause, but do little to make changes unless pressured by greater demands. For example, YM magazine acquired a new editor who boldly decided to stop publishing harmful articles and headlines for their magazine. Subsequently, advertisers began pulling their ads from the magazine. YM ceased publishing shortly thereafter.

It will not be enough for one editor to make the decision that these articles and advertisements are harmful. We will only see change once consumers begin spending their money in other industries other than beauty products and diet brands. Perhaps that begins with you. I challenge you to take a look at the publications, advertisements and other media avenues you subscribe to and ask whether or not the messages you are supporting are helpful or harmful to you and your values. We CAN make a choice to spend our money on things that bring us joy, peace and harmony with ourselves and our bodies. Instead of spending your money on the latest beauty trend or diet food, think about investing that money in a evergreen experience which will bring you joy for years to come, such as travel or relationships. 

My hope for the future is that we see more and more of these publications respond by pulling advertising targeting towards beauty and diet brands. Instead, I believe if we (as women) demonstrate that we want to be valued for other reasons, then we will begin to see different features in the media. I, for one, would rather read about travel experiences, personal stories of growth and health articles that speak of health in the many different ways that are NOT related to weight or size. 

Setting Your Non-Diet Resolutions

I love the feel that a New Year brings. I know some are completely against setting New Year's Resolutions, and if that's you, I totally understand. Resolutions have gotten a bad rep in a lot of ways because some view them as standards they set for themselves and then are unable to keep.

I view New Year's resolutions as a way to reset for the next year to come. Resolutions help provide me with a framework for the intentional life I want to lead. During this time, I can shape a plan with both short and long term goals about whatever way that I want to make the most out of the next year.

I think another reason New Year's resolutions have grown to be a bit of a punch line for a bad joke is because most setting goals for the new year will almost always include some type of fitness or weight loss goal. The health and fitness industry experiences a boom in marketing this time of year. Participate in any gym and you're likely to have difficulty finding an open treadmill until March.  

So for all of us who are exposed to these messages, this push to change our body - this message is for you. You can say no. You can make a decision to NOT participate or set diet and weight loss goals this year. Research indicates that 95% of diets will fail and of those 5% that succeed, it's likely those individuals have had to shape their entire lives around being a certain size or shape (i.e. meal planning, working out, counting calories, skipping social outings, etc.).

If you're in recovery, or newly embracing the intuitive eating message, you may find it especially difficult during this time of year. Promotions and advertising are centered around weight loss and the office becomes a place where diet-talk and trading New Year's resolutions intentions will be constant. It's likely you'll feel a pull to engage and participate with everyone else and that's okay. Use this as an exercise to not get sucked back into the diet culture. Use this as an opportunity to share with others why you're not setting diet resolutions this year. Challenge others to share resolutions that have nothing to do with changing their appearance. 

Here are some non-diet resolutions you can consider instead:

• Learn to play an instrument (it's never too late!)
• Set a number of books you wish to read this year. (Have you joined the Bloom Book Club? #shamelessplug)
• Aim to get outside and enjoy the fresh air and nature daily.
• Plan quarterly home projects with monthly financial plans to make those projects happen.
• Write in a journal daily.
• Develop a bedtime routine that will allow you to have better rest and sleep.
• Treat yourself at least once a month to a massage, a day at the spa, or just a lunch out alone.
• Catch up with an old friend at least once a quarter.
• Join a recovery related support group via online or in person. (Bloom has a free Facebook Group!)
• Plan a destination vacation trip, even if it's just for the weekend. Set monthly goals to make it happen.
• Try one new recipe a week or a month, whichever fits your schedule better.
• Take one day a week to totally relax and recharge (i.e. stay in your comfy clothes, wear no makeup, etc.)
• Learn about a new subject. Read one blog post or article about the subject every morning to get your day started.
• Schedule a date night with your significant other at least once a week, even if it's just a movie together at home.

I would love to hear any other non-diet ways that you plan to be more intentional for this upcoming year. Feel free to share in the comments!

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Introducing the Bloom Book Club (And a Giveaway!)

Hello everyone,

I am excited to announce a project that I've been working on quite a while now! If you're like me and are a fan of all things books, learning, friendly debate, coffee, tea and wine -- then this is for you!

Imagine an engaging community where we can discuss with one another popular (and sometimes not so popular) titles and selections regarding a variety of topics. Intuitive eating, disordered eating recovery, women and feminism issues are just a few of the topics we'll be exploring. I think this will be a great opportunity to take advantage of a more affordable service if one on one sessions or group sessions are unobtainable at the moment.

The Book Club will include:

• Tiered membership levels, including a FREE membership!
• Quarterly LIVE discussions of the current selection participants can attend as a group.
• Action challenges and homework assignments emailed directly to you to help you implement the material of the reading.
• The ability to vote and recommend upcoming selections.
• A written review of the quarterly selection.
• A separate, private Facebook group with weekly discussions, live videos and lively debate about the current selection.
• A way to improve your learning, continue your recovery and promote positive change without attending sessions or webinars.

First Selection

Our first book selection for the first quarter, January through March, will be the ever infamous Intuitive Eating! 

*************GIVEAWAY******************

To kick off this launch, I'm giving away 5 Quarterly Memberships to the Book Club!! Just follow the link below and enter!

Enter GIVEAWAY Here ---> http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/0d1a90104/?

Drawing ends next Saturday, January 6th. Book Club begins on January 15th.

Special Promotion Ends January 15th

In addition, you can also signup for a Quarterly Membership for a promotional rate of just $5 (ordinarily $15) for your first quarter. Ends January 15th!

Enter GIVEAWAY Here ---> http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/0d1a90104/?

Explore Bloom Book Club Here ---->https://www.maddenwellnessky.com/bloom-book-club/

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you and your family and loved ones have a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving holiday! 

Below is a round-up of many great posts for if you struggle with disordered eating, want to learn more about intuitive eating, or simply need some additional support through the holidays. I hope you find something that resonates!

Being Better to Your Fat Friend This Thanksgiving - Medium

Tips for Dealing wit Diet and Weight Talk Over the Holidays - Jennifer Rollin, MSW, LCSW

5 Tips to Have a Health Thanksgiving - Jessica Spiro Nutrition

How to Not Obsess Over Food During the Holidays - Robyn Nohling, RD, NP

The Holidays Aren't 100% Healthy - Robyn Nohling, RD, NP

Intuitive Eating Holiday Survival Guide - Emily Fonnesbeck, RD

The Day After a Holiday... - Emily Fonnesbeck, RD

Self Care During the Holidays - Rachel Hartley Nutrition

How to Have a Stress Free Holiday Eating Experience - Anne Mauney, RD

A Holiday Survival Guide for Sad People - Pinch of Yum

How to Feel Less Stressed Around Food During the Holidays - Robyn Nohling, RD, NP

Self Care and Saying No Through the Holidays

Since I was a small child, I remember the Thanksgiving and Christmas meals as always being a time when everyone would eat to past fullness. It was normal and common to fill the dinner plate to the brim and then go back for seconds...sometimes thirds. There have been many holidays in my past in which I can remember feeling sick afterwards, finding it necessary to even go lie down right after dinner to "sleep off" the meal. 

Of course, there's nothing wrong with some over indulgence at the holiday meal time. Some may refer to this eat past fullness as a binge, but according to the DSM V and the diagnostic criteria for Binge Eating (link to archive blog), eating past fullness or eating more than others normally would only applies if it occurs in a situation in which others do not normally eat more than usual. In this case, the overeating behavior would not apply as a binge eating episode because it is normal for overeating to occur during the holiday season. 

However, I can remember my father engaging in the holiday meal time very differently. My father suffered and still suffers occasionally with acid reflux, in which sometimes certain choices with food results in having a very negative reaction for his stomach and digestion. He learned that it was better for him to start saying no to eating past fullness. He practiced saying no at family gatherings if he knew he had already ate a satisfying meal. Though at times other family members initially questioned and were dismayed at his behavior, most learned to expect and respect his decision in his eating behaviors during the holiday meal. My dad was making the choice to eat for how he wanted to feel, an intuitive eating practice.

During the holiday season it is known and nearly expected to overeat. Many find it difficult to skip out on meal selections that perhaps, they wouldn't normally eat. For example, if you don't LOVE green beans, but perhaps you still feel compelled to put them on your holiday meal plate just because they're there. Some reasons might be because you want to "get in your vegetables" or because "they were there and so I thought I would eat them."

Another common mistake some make in intuitive eating at holiday time is eating items in order to make others happy. Many individuals are blessed with multiple family gatherings, sometimes back to back in the same day, where they feel obligated to eat at each get-together. Again, it's a cultural expectation to eat during the holiday season and many fear offending the host or the cook if they skip certain food selections or if they were to not eat altogether.  

Sometimes, the best way to take care of yourself is to learn to say no. If you don't love the green beans and you're only eating them because you feel like some "food rule" has told you to eat all your veggies, or because they were there, then mark this as your freedom to say no. Instead, choose to eat items at the holiday meal that you truly love. For example, this time of year may be the only time you will be able to enjoy Grandma's apple pie. The pie is something you definitely want to make room for, so why take up some of that room with green beans you don't love and can have any time of year? 

During the holiday season, there can be a lot of pressure to eat ALL THE FOODS because you don't want to offend the host or the cook. This could easily turn into a problem if you are going to multiple engagements and there are multiple hosts to please. Practice saying no in these circumstances. Sure, it's plausible someone might become slightly curious about why you're not eating, but remember that most individuals will be in the same boat as you, with multiple holiday gatherings to attend in which they won't feel hungry for. Just like the experience with my father, your family members will learn to expect and respect your choice to not overindulge. 

All of this to say, listen to your body's cues this holiday season. The holiday meals ARE a time to indulge, celebrate and engage in fellowship with others which usually involves food. This time of year it is considered "normal" to eat past your fullness cues and it would not be considered problematic to do so. However, if you feel it is best for YOU to pick and choos what items or meals you plan to eat because ultimately you will physically feel better after eating, know that it is not selfish or bad manners to say no. 

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BLACK FRIDAY SPECIAL

The Break the Mold: Building a Better Body Image Course is available for half price until 11/30/17. Click here to for more information about the course and to claim your special!

3 Ways to Transform Your Body Image Perception

This week I'm sharing a post I wrote for Wellseek on body image. In this article I highlighted 3 ways to transform your body image perception. 

Wellseek is a collaborate that creates media and programs to help health and nutrition experts inspire happier and nourished lives. They are doing a fantastic job in connecting experts and creating a space that embraces the non-diet, intuitive eating concepts. Check them out!  

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If I Lived On An Island... (A Meditation for Body Acceptance)

I often work with my Bloom clients on how to recognize the root of their diet motivation. Why do they want to diet? Why do they want to change their body?

One way to help individuals move towards body acceptance is to try and target who they would be without all the noise in their life. Who would they be without the pressure of the media, society, images, Instagram, peers, friends, family, etc.?

We conduct an exercise in guided visualization  in which I instruct them to think deeply and patiently about each question and statement. This exercise is intended to help move towards body acceptance. 

The visualization starts with a simple question:

If you lived on an island alone, who would you be?

Who would you be in your body? Who would you be around food?

This island is remote and there is no one else around. There is no one to see your body. There are no mirrors.

How do you feel about your body in this moment, on this island alone?

Are you thinking about what your body looks like?

Are you fully clothed? Wearing a bathing suit? Wearing nothing? How are you most comfortable in your body, on this island alone?

On this island, you’re also tasked with surviving. This may involve building a shelter, foraging for food and escaping from predators.

In what order does your body’s appearance fall in your list of priorities for living on this island alone?

What other areas of living take precedence? Why are they more or less important than your body’s appearance, on this island alone?

How do you want to nourish your body, on this island alone? What foods would you find satisfying on the island? What foods do you think your body would naturally crave in order to sustain living on the island?

What foods might you miss because they are unavailable on the island? What foods would you be okay with never having again?

On this island alone, how important is health? Exercise? Well-being? Peace of mind? Does your style of eating change based on these priorities?

On this island, if you were able to invite one or two people to join you, who could you invite that would NOT significantly alter this state of being, in your body, on this island? Who would you welcome in which you would feel it is unnecessary to change anything?

As you’re preparing to leave the island, think about what part of this experience you want to take back with you. How will you incorporate this into your everyday life? 

I would love to hear your reactions and thoughts to this exercise. Feel free to answer any of the questions above in the comments below!

If this exercise really resonated with you, then I invite you to take a look at my online, course on body image, Break the Mold: Building Body Positivity, where we dive even deeper into the complexity of body image and food relationships.

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Body Image Opt In

The Closet Clean Out Guide for Body Acceptance

It has been slowly eating away at me. Calling and screaming at me from inside the walls of my house. Months that have added up to over a decade of failed promises and vows. A purple, spaghetti strap shirt I wore while dating my boyfriend, now husband (the straps didn't fit right then either.) A college sweatshirt that I've been hanging onto because it reminds me of a time long ago. A skirt I once loved and brings back a time of tan legs, tousled hair of humid summer nights and a time when I believed how I looked in that skirt would make all the difference. 

I have been putting off going through my old clothes for what feels like a lifetime, and quite honestly, has been at least a decade. Sure, I've sold/given away a few items here and there over the years, but there are so many more items I've been hanging onto for "when I can wear them again," or "when I lose the weight." 

Well, my newfound mission to accept my body for the size it is intended to be has also spurred  me to a total closet clean out. That and... well, the husband is "tired of looking at the boxes." So, this past week I finally made an effort to go through ever article of clothing. Here's how it all went down AND how I would suggest any person who has been unwilling/not wanting to get rid of clothing that no longer fits can make the process as smooth as possible.

Step 1 - MAYBE pour a glass of wine. Why not make this process a fun occasion, right? For some, this may be an emotional experience that will bring up ALL KINDS of memories. Find a way to make this process "fun" if possible. Pour a glass of wine, put on your favorite playlist, or pop in Runaway Bride. This process doesn't have to be the torturous event you've probably made it out to be. 

Step 2 - Decide on what "piles" you're going to need. You may want to try to sell some items that are a little less worn or name brand clothing, as well as donate some items you maybe feel aren't worth the time to make out the price tags for the next yard sale. My piles included: Donate, Sell, Sell to Ebay or Threadup, Try-On-And-Decide, Keep, Trash. For my "try-on" pile, I knew there were some items that looked like I might need to try them on and decide whether or not they would be kept. My nicer and more expensive items I either decided to sell in the yard sale or sell on Ebay or Threadup (if they were barely worn/still had tags). I also had a Trash pile for those that were beyond salvaging (looking at you shorts with paint stains). 

Step 3 - Gather supplies. Boxes for packing items up for the next Garage sale, stickers for pricing, etc. Pretty straight forward here and not sure what else I need to say about this... I mean,  you don't want to have to get up over and over again!

Step 4 - Reflect and reminisce. Take a few moments before you begin and accept the fact that this is a process. You're going to be going through clothing that is perhaps decades old. Some of this clothing may represent a different time in your life - a different person even. It's OK to feel uneasy about it. It's OK to feel sad that the clothing doesn't fit anymore. But more than anything, recognize that you're going through this process as a means of moving forward - to the person you are today and to honor the person that you are now. 

Step 5 - Do the thing. Nothing left at this point but diving in. When memories come to the surface, take a few moments to let those wash over you. Cherish the memories that were formed and then move on. You can always have the memory and the clothing item cannot take that away. When you find item that no longer fit the body you're in now, remember that bodies change constantly throughout a lifetime. We ARE NOT MEANT to be in the same body for our entire lives! You don't expect to fit into the onesie that you wore as a baby and you shouldn't expect to fit into the mini skirt your wore in your teens. It's OK. 

Step 6 - Take breaks. For some this may be an all day thing. Make sure you take breaks, get some fresh air, stretch your legs and take care of yourself. This process doesn't have to be a miserable one and don't make it so by forcing yourself to sit in one spot all day long.

Step 7 - Pack everything up. Decide what you're going to do to finish the process and remove the items from your home. A community yard sale? Thredup? Ebay? Goodwill? All are options. 

Step 8 - Reward yourself with new items! Now might be a good time to invest in some new items for your revamped closet. It may be that you've been wearing the same 5-6 items over and over again because they're the only items you've had that have fit the body you're in now. If you were able to sell some items, I definitely suggest reinvesting the money you earned into a new wardrobe. Some other options might be to try some rental companies. Le Tote and NY&C both offer services to rent items for one price per month. They are GREAT options for dabbling with a new wardrobe, new style and perhaps new sizes without spending a ton of money.

Step 9. - Reach out for support. Did this process take an emotional toll? Perhaps it left you feeling drained and even doubting the process of Intuitive Eating or accepting the new body you're in now. You may want to reach out to support for some feedback on your experiences and to reassure you that you've made the best decision.

Step 10 - Is mostly for the love of having an even 10 number of items on the list! Pour yourself an extra glass of wine and celebrate! And if I were you, I would hit up the online shopping to replenish that wardrobe with items that you'll truly love and feel comfortable in! 

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Dear Diet - A Journaling Activity

Below is a journaling activity we complete in Beat the Binge. I challenge you to write your own letter to your diet(s) and see what comes up. 

Dear Weight Watchers,

You were my first introduction into the dieting world. At only 12 years old, I was introduced to you SO YOUNG. Perhaps probably most messed up of all, was the fact that I didn't even join you because I wanted to lose weight, but because I wanted to be "in the club." I wanted to be part of this adult world and feel included with my mom when she went to meetings. I wanted to "weigh-in" with others and feel like I belonged. However, the fun was over when I began having to take tuna fish sandwiches to school and watch my other friends eating their normal lunches. You set me up for my first experience binge eating when every week we would "celebrate" weigh-in day by going out to eat afterwards. Because I knew I would be faced with another week of tuna fish sandwiches, I would feel compelled to eat as much as possible during these meals. I remember I would leave feeling stuffed, sick and guilty for eating so much. Weight Watchers, you did nothing for my life but make me feel like being on a diet was a mandatory passage into adulthood.

Dear YM Magazine (and others)

This particular issue in this magazine became a "diet bible" for me. It introduced me to over 100 diet tips that became a way of eating for me. In addition, YM Magazine, your publications brainwashed me into believing I would never be loved, never feel like I belong and never find happiness unless my body looked a certain way.

YM Magazine Cover

Dear Suzanne Somers,

I found your diet book in a box of yard sale items in a family yard sale. I remember sitting down and reading it from cover to cover. Your weird diet of combining different food pairings had me taking the bread off my sandwiches at school some days and eating only the meat and cheese on others. Dear Ms. Somers, you were my first introduction to "fear foods" many of which I sometimes still feel slight discomfort when eating even today. For nearly 6 years, I avoided white pasta, white bread, potatoes, potato chips, white rice and even carrots, peas and corn.

Dear Food Rules,

I spent the better part of my college years not allowing myself to have an enjoyable meal more than once a week. I usually would "splurge" on breakfast once a week, and the rest of the week I would stick to strictly "healthy" items. In addition, I also only allowed myself to have one dessert a week and three cans of soda a week. My friends marveled at how disciplined I was, but you only provided a false sense of security. For any deviation from you, including going out with friends for pizza, would send my guilt into a downward spiral. I would then feel compelled to run miles and miles afterward. I missed out on so much of the college experience because of you.

Dear Calorie King

I can't even remember where I found your book, but I remember it was my first introduction into counting calories. After discovering your book I could no longer go out to eat without first methodically looking up each meal and item of food in the book to see if it "fit" into my daily calorie intake. Mr. Calorie King you sucked all the fun out of dining out and taught me an entirely new approach to obsessively controlling my food.

Dear Weird Hot Dog Diet,

My coworkers first introduced me to you and I thought you sounded silly, but then I witnessed them losing weight. It sounded disgusting that I was to subsist on hotdogs, tuna fish, bananas, eggs and other weird items. But I gave you a try anyway. Dear Weird Hot Dog Diet you did nothing but make me hate feeding myself for a total of about 2 weeks. I definitely did not look forward to meal time during this 2 weeks, but maybe that was the point.

Dear MyFitness Pal,

When I first discovered you, I thought you were the greatest thing to have happened in my "health" journey. When I first computed my goals into your system, you told me I needed to eat 1100 calories a day to reach them. I began eating this amount calories and did in fact lose a considerable amount of weight. However, I also lost energy, became hyper focused on food because my body was actually slowly starving. Over time, my body adjusted to this low calorie intake and began to actually start gaining weight, despite the low calorie intake. I became more and more focused on you and more and more depressed and confused that I didn't understand why you were no longer working. Over time, this low calorie intake caused many other physiological responses in my body, including depression, loss of my cycle and even hair loss. Dear MyFitness Pal, I understand you are useful for some, but for me you're just another diet that causes me to feel crazy around food.

Dear "Clean Eating"

Once again I was fooled into thinking this was THEY way to be eating and the epitomy of health. Your philosophy of avoiding all foods that were processed and not naturally from the Earth were somehow evil to my body. You convinced me that foods such as chocolate, cheese and even cereal should be avoided. I believe you masquerade as healthy, but you're actually just another diet. You imply restriction and define the moral code of "good" and "bad" foods.

Dear Intermittent Fasting,

You almost had me again. After reading some "research" that seemed to indicate you might, indeed, be the solution to weight loss I believed that maybe I should give you a try. In order to make you work it meant giving up my favorite meal of the day, breakfast. I would spend the better half of the morning tired and lethargic because I had no energy from not eating anything. After the designated window of eating time opened, I would be so starved that I would sometimes overeat at lunchtime, which would leave me feeling stuffed, sick and leave my stomach upset for the rest of the day.

Dear Atkins,

You came into my life during a time when I was really trying to work on not dieting. However, after witnessing and overhearing my coworkers having success from following your plan, I almost decided to try you, too. I felt more and more confused about your way of eating because how could vegetables ever be considered "bad" for you. But on your plan I was only "allowed" so many ounces of vegetables on meals. On another note, I was to exist on literally no carbohydrates, an important source of energy for any human body to live on. I hated how I was having to focus on every meal and it seemed like I was having to relearn how to eat, when eating should be a natural thing.

Dear MyFitness Pal,

You continued to lurk in the background during my visits with the diets in between. I have spent years having an affair with you from the other diets. When I was engaging in another diet, you were always there in the background, whispering to me and telling me lies like, You know I worked before, I can work again. You know you've been eating more than 1200 calories on some days. You know this is the REAL reason you haven't lost weight. You know if you just would focus on every little item and put it into the plan it would work. MyFitnessPal, I finally decided to get rid of you once and for all and delete you from my phone. You bring me nothing but constant reminders of a time that I have moved away from now because I'm doing something different.

My Fitness Pal Delete Screen

Dear Diets, All of You,

You have been there overshadowing some of the most important moments in my life. No matter how happy of occasion or amazing it should've been, you've been there to partly ruin it. Dear Diets you suck. And you do nothing but suck the joy out of my life. No. More.

Different Types of Diets - From Break the Mold Course

What would you say to your diet(s)?

If this type of post resonates with you, then I invite you to check out my online courses Break the Mold: Building Body Positivity or Beat the Binge. 

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