Time and time again in conversation with people about IE I get frustrated when I hear them interpret the IE/Body acceptance philosophy to mean giving up on yourself, resigning to be overweight for the rest of one's life. I've always said that giving up dieting does not mean believing that excess weight is a healthier option than being slim (though based on the individual it may be), nor does it mean that you are going to be overweight for the rest of your life (though you may be), most importantly it DOES NOT mean that you are giving up on yourself in any way shape or form.
It is letting go of the idea that dieting is going to make you thinner, or healthier, or both.
That goes for any PC version of the word diet too-yes i'm looking at you 'it's not a diet it's a lifestyle'. If you are practicing any form of dietary restriction that you cannot logically perceive to be able to follow for the rest of your life (and I mean real life too,you know the kind with birthdays and weddings & christmas etc etc) then it's a diet and you should at least have the courage to come and out tell it like it is.
I for example cannot live the rest of my life without chocolate, cheese, cheesecake, etc etc etc. Ok maybe that's not true, maybe I could-but I won't. I know it , you know it- I love my food. So for me any adjustments to my caloric intake need to allow for my weekly, sometimes daily consumption of the above delights. That's what they are too, they are not 'guilty pleasures' or 'naughty foods' they are pretty much designed for pleasure and thus usually pretty nutritionally void. OK so I know sometimes we try and pass off that chunk of cheese as calcium but ........
We have moved out of the victorian era and pleasure is actually ok. Nutrition is still really important to me , I am always trying to find ways to add more fruits and veg , but pleasure is equally important. I will not go hungry and I will not eat food that tastes like crud. Would I still like a smaller bum? you betcha, but I am not prepared to turn into a cranky, hungry bitch to get one :O)
1 comment:
Hear hear! Gosh I love this blog!
Exactly! Cake and chocolate and cheesecake and fried chicken are not bad foods. I don't think there is any doubt that if you ate them every day for every meal then that's not good for you. But it's not good to eat 5 apples a day (which some people I know do to curb hunger) either.
Personally I think there is something very sexy about eating something so satisfying and enjoying every mouthful of it. Like how you can still have sex if you are 'fat' - who says you can't feel sexy and have an enjoyable sex life?
I don't feel like 'treat' food as often as I used to, but when I eat them, boy I enjoy them! And usually it satisfys you so much that your hunger is gone for hours and hours.
Go you!!
Post a Comment