Mindful Eating vs. Dieting - What They REALLY Entail

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You’ve seen the ads everywhere. You know the ones that claim to help you lose weight fast & easy? The ones that show “real stories” of women just like you who have finally found the perfect solution to all their weight loss problems. Maybe the products are powders you add to shakes, flavorless bars with zero fat, sugar, or carbs (what’s even in those?), or my favorite, detox teas that pretend like they’re the CURE to everyone’s problems. Sounds so simple right? Yep! 

But remember: simple is not always sustainable.

If you’re questioning whether or not to try one of these quick fixes after the holidays, dig a little deeper into your intention. Choosing the more challenging option (mindful eating) over a popular diet is a hard choice to make when diet culture is coming at us non stop with reason why we just need to try a diet that will finally be the one.

So why exactly is mindful eating better than dieting? Let’s break it down:

DIETING

  • Restricting foods you love (only to binge on them later)

  • Eating foods you don’t enjoy (and inevitably binging on what you really want later)

  • A scarcity mindset (that makes you feel deprived)

  • Correlates your weight loss to your overall worth as a human

  • Black and white thinking that allows for zero wiggle room (causing you to fixate and obsess over food)

  • A short-term “fix”

MINDFUL EATING

  • Helps you understand your body (outside of just hunger cues!)

  • Lets you eat food that will actually satisfy you (and you won’t be as tempted to secretly binge on them later)

  • Non-restrictive (enjoy a slice of cake on your sister’s birthday!)

  • An open, non-judgemental mindset (craving chips? Great! Have a side of them with your delicious homemade tacos!) 

  • Take the moral value away from food (because what we eat has nothing to do with who we are as a person)

  • A long term mindset


I think it goes without saying which one sounds better… Still confused about the whole mindful eating thing? Follow this link here to sign up for popular and free 5 Day Mindful Eating Challenge to help you change your relationship with food PERMANENTLY! See you there!

Kaylee Murphy