Either I eat kale, or a I eat a tub of ice cream. Either I am sober, or I drink a pitcher of sangria. Sound familiar? This is called all or nothing and it is everything to dieters. That cycle of either, or. The feeling of extreme defeat and shame when a diet goes "off the rails." We call this dichotomous thinking and it is in a word: unsustainable for lasting change.
At s+s we embrace the gray. The area in between kale all day or cookies all night. Once the freedom of all or nothing is achieved, the the healing can begin.
As we always say, it's a practice. So even the idea of being in a balanced relationship with food is in itself a practice. Some examples of balanced food thinking:
- "I had a great eating day, I'm so proud of what I've achieved and I know that a homemade cookie is not going to stop my trajectory."
- "I drank a lot yesterday. I feel pretty awful. I'm going to make sure I get a bunch of veggies in today in order to make my body feel better."
- "I am at my friends wedding and there sure are a lot of tasty looking appetizers. I think I will try some of the more decadent items, but balance them with salad from the salad bar."
Balance is everything. There is no need to give a definitive "no" to the foods you love. But when you and your body are on the same page, nourishment always takes first place.
<3
Donna
