It's January and weight loss messages are everywhere. On the television, there is a steady stream of Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, and Nutriystem with a dash of Slim Fast and Special K thrown in here and there. Pseudo-dieting messages are prevalent as well. Many of my Facebook friends are discussing plans to start juicing or cut out refined sugar (with weight loss as the main motivator.)
So, in the midst of all this diet buzz, I want to take a moment to share a different perspective: It is SO CRAZY AWESOME to be DIET FREE! WOO HOO! Happy New Year!
Now, let me be clear: shedding the diet mentality was a slow process for me. It was a gradual unwinding. It took years (literally) of peeling back all the limiting beliefs and destructive habits. Falling in love with my body was definitely a one-step-at-a-time process. That process included learning to really trust myself, which meant actually getting to know myself. And the implications of doing that reached way beyond my eating habits.
It's been about one full year that I've been 100% diet free, though I started the shedding process over four years ago. "Diet free" to me means no counting, weighing, measuring, tracking. No rules about what I eat. No good food or bad food. I am guided by my inner wisdom, by my body's signals, and by pleasure. And let me tell you, it's every bit as fabulous as it sounds. Every time I encounter a diet message, I well up with gratitude for the freedom I've found.
This January - this month of diet insanity - these are a few things I am grateful for:
- to not be eating carrot sticks or chicken broth or red pepper strips when I'm seriously hungry.
- to have my mental space free from the chaos of food obsession.
- to not go to bed with a hungry ache in my belly, fantasizing about breakfast until I fall asleep.
- to be fearless when I enter a restaurant.
- to not have my mood or my self-worth tied to a scale.
- to eat real butter and real sugar.
- to leave food on my plate with zero panic.
- to eat everything on my plate with zero panic.
- to dance and ride my bike without ever considering how many calories I'm burning.
- to eat without shame
- to know that I am whole
So, I say, ALL ABOARD the diet-free train! If you're with me, I'd love to hear what you are grateful for or what you're looking forward to if you're still working on the process.
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I’m so happy for you Joy, what an amazing journey you’ve had to get to this place.
Happy New Year!
Thank you, baby.
I am grateful for your wonderful message as a breath of fresh air from the barrage of eat-only-this-workout-til-I-die resolutions from our diet-obsessed culture. I too am diet-free, have been for years and on a journey of self-acceptance that isn’t tied to how I look or what I weigh. I’m also taking a stand with friends who constantly engage in fat-talk by gently reminding them they are beautiful, worthy & lovable just as they are. After all, that kind of mentality is contagious so thank you, thank YOU, Joy, for being a beacon of light and reminding me just how wonderful it is to let go.
The coolest thing in the world is connecting with other people who really get this way of living, you know? And good for you for shining the light out to your loved ones. Much love to you, my diet-free friend!
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Joy Tanksley, TraceHawcoWinchester. TraceHawcoWinchester said: I love this girl, she is such a breath of fresh air & her post makes my diet-free heart sing! RT @JoyTanksley http://ow.ly/3xXjD […]
I too am grateful for this post and for your blog! I am grateful for the progress that I have made in over the past year of accepting and loving myself. It is absolutely amazing how many other things have simply seemed to fall into place once I started doing that.
I am thankful for the strength that comes with self love and acceptance — I do everything with more strength and enthusiasm than I have ever done before. In the past I felt so exhausted, both physically and mentally. I can now take ALL of that energy that I was wasting on diets, obsession, anxiety & stressors and use it to live a fabulous life! It is the coolest thing ever!
Jessica´s last [type] ..all about healthy
Hey Jessica! Thanks for this beautiful comment. I agree with you — it’s the coolest thing ever!
Hey, Joy—I just went thorugh a whole Christmas without weighing and I don’t have any plans to weigh in the new year. I don’t remember making a conscious decision not to weigh—-just hanging out with you intuitive eating bloggers must be getting in by osmosis. This is a big miracle for me—not that I won’t have more stuff to clean up or deal with, but I almost have to wonder—-is this really me? I usually let the scale tell me how to feel, what to do with my time (work out like a demon if I over-eat). That is not happening! So, I am beyond grateful for this huge gift which you had a big part in delivering, and I am here to say that you can change even if you have been living with an ED for over 50 years! I am still not sure how this happened but I have been going toward health for a long time now, and maybe this is the next BIG piece.
Happy New Year, Joy, and thanks for being a part of this miracle. Love ya!
Jean, I am jumping up and down with celebration for you! I know exactly what you mean about being unsure about how it exactly came about, but you can trust for certain that YOU created this! WOO HOO!!!!!
Woohoo for being diet free! I think it’s great that you pointed out what it truly means to be free of the diet mentality. I know that for many years I thought I was truly separated from this way of life, but still held on to things like “light butter”… Being free is incredibly liberating.
Ashley @ Nourishing the Soul´s last [type] ..The Last to Go
Amen, baby. And thank you for shining your light by spreading the word on your beautiful blog!
Im on the train with you!!
This is the first year that I resolve to simply be healthy and not by means of diet or weight loss. It feels so freeing
Val @ Balancing Val´s last [type] ..Flipping Emotions
YEAH! Congratulations! What an exciting way to begin a new year, baby!
I SO celebrate mac & cheese and being round.
Tee hee! That’s my girl.
And have you ever had mac-n-cheese made with fat free cheese? Let me tell you, it’s not pretty.
Well, AMEN to that, Joy! I am so very grateful for having not counted a single calorie since Dec. 23rd. I’m on a roll!
Megan´s last [type] ..Creativity– ie allowing our natural state of being
Awesome, baby! You’re on the train!
I am so immensely grateful for eating fresh foods that I find invigorate me because I have chosen them, not because I was forced by limitations. I am also loving that I exercise because I want to, because my body craves exercise, and because it feels good to me, instead of exercising to earn more food or more points. I am also feeling particularly liberated because I stop eating when I feel done, rather than eating more because some pre-determined system says I should.
And I love that when everyone else talks about the five, ten, twenty pounds they are going to lose, I don’t. I even go so far as to respond with “I don’t diet.” It has gotten some interesting, even verging on manipulative responses (um, no, you can’t say something that will guilt trip me into a diet or make me look for a quick fix)…but it is so refreshing. It’s also nice to be able to laugh at the idea of “holiday weight gain,” since I don’t over-indulge just because someone brings out “treats.”
Ok, I’m sure I could think of more, but I’ll stop there.
Oh, man, FEEL FREE to think of more! I love it. And I’m with you about laughing about the “holiday weight gain” talk. It’s so nice to be OUT of that loop!
Love this! I really appreciate how you describe this as an unwinding process; this has definitely been true in my life. I also think that one of the benefits you described is often overlooked, but it has really huge potential: “to have my mental space free from the chaos of food obsession.” It’s kind of unreal how much of my time and creativity were taken up by dieting in the past. Thanks for sharing!
Hey Anna! Great to have you over here!
I totally hear you about the time/creativity suck of the diet mentality. It’s amazing, isn’t it? One of my turning points was when I started thinking about what I could accomplish if I put all the energy I was putting into trying to change my body into something positive and productive. BIG AHA MOMENT!
Heh — ok, I sneaked a peak at the scale. So sue me
I’m definitely working on this one. I love reading about your progress and how you’re owning your relationship with food. What a great way to live your life.
Ami´s last [type] ..The best way to set resolutions – Dream of yourself
Oh, there will definitely be no suing (or judging) around here. Believe me, I understand the pull of that darn scale. And, hey, I’ve even heard tales of people who weigh in quite regularly and lead happy, sane lives.
Thanks for your sweet comment!
I’m still shedding the diet mentality (and its been two years).
I love that I don’t have to give up the foods I love just because they are “bad” for me. Instead I focus on how a food makes me feel and if I end up feeling junky I don’t have to it anymore.
Kate — so glad you are engaged in the shedding process. As I’ve said, it took a little over four years for me to completely let go. It’s SO worth it. XXOO!
Yay–love this post! Like you, I am grateful for the ability to leave food on my plate, or to eat the whole thing (and go back for more). Also, I am grateful for 18 years of recovery. (Wow, I am getting old. And I’m grateful for that, too!)
Dana Udall-Weiner´s last [type] ..To Keep– Change– or Hyphenate– What’s a Woman to Do
Hey Dana! You are such an inspiration. Thanks a bunch for reading and commenting. I love seeing your face over here!
I keep thinking about this post — I just love your freedom! I don’t even know how to describe it, but thanks for feeling good in your own skin, it’s inspiring and encouraging to see!
Allie´s last [type] ..A thought for today…
Oh, wow, well it’s truly my pleasure!
Thanks for this comment, sweetheart!
What a beautiful post Joy. I can totally relate — I have been diet free for almost 4 years after a massive battle with every type of eating disorder. I am always so grateful when I go to a restaurant and order a pasta or pizza, knowing that it will make NO difference to my weight. The only thing that ever made me gain weight was the dieting followed by binge eating!
Oh, Nina. Thank you. And congratulations on your recovery. It’s so amazing to discover that peace is possible, isn’t it? And I know exactly what you mean about the restaurant thing! What a joy to simply enjoy food… and life.
Thanks Joy! Yes the peace and freedom is something that I hope I always have gratitude for.
It is always such a pleasure to read your posts!
Nina´s last [type] ..The Power of Affirmations
Diets never work. It’s more a matter of making a personal decision to adopt a healthy lifestyle. We become successful in this ONLY when we have a deep love for the self and an appreciation for the gift of life. Through this we choose to make regular exercise, proper nutrition, and meditation core elements of life. Never to impress others, instead so that we can accomplish our goals. We cheat ourselves our of our full potential if we are not healthy in mind, body and spirit. Leading a healthy lifestyle becomes second nature when you have that deep love for life and hope for a better day.