My career is entirely based on food. With work and eating in my own daily life, I end up thinking about food several hours of the day. And with all my experience and training, I’ve gotten pretty good at picking up on dieting behavior and all this diet talk.

What is diet talk?

Every where I go, whether it be in the grocery aisles, on social media, or with my friends, I hear people say things like,
“Don’t judge me for eating all this food.”
“I’m getting seconds because ______.”
“I diet to lose weight, then I gain the weight back, and so I do it again.”
“I need to go on a diet so that I can fit into my swimsuit or etc.”
“I can’t eat that because I’m on a diet” or because “I’m trying to lose weight.”
“I need to lose weight to get to my pre-pregnancy weight.”

I have heard all of those things and more, and it hurts my heart.

This is what I want to say to all my friends out there who say these things>>>>>>>

-I’m not judging you for eating “all” that food! No one is paying attention to what you’re eating and how much. And even if they were judging, does it really matter?
-You don’t need to tell us why you’re getting seconds or thirds. You don’t have to justify the reason to us. You are your own person and you get to choose.
-You don’t have to go on a diet to lose weight, YOU are BEAUTIFUL just the way you are. As you take care of your body and eat mindfully, your weight will naturally adjust to where it needs to be.
-You don’t have to diet to fit into your swimsuit or for that matter, those old skinny jeans and little black dress in the back of your closet. Be proud of who you are and be proud of your body! Our bodies can do amazing things. Let’s focus on that instead of what our body isn’t.
-Since when has restriction worked? It didn’t, doesn’t, and will not work. The sooner that you realize that, the better. Embrace the belief that ALL food can be part of a healthy and nutritious diet (diet as in your daily intake:)
-Pregnancy weight is a difficult thing to deal with.. I understand the pressure that comes to lose the pregnancy weight, I really do. But do you really want to spend your moments worrying about how you look when you have a sweet new babe in your arms? Enjoy those precious moments.

It literally breaks my heart when I hear diet talk.

Because at the center of it all, you are telling yourself that you are not good enough, that you are not worthy… And it just drives me literally angry that the media out there has convinced us that we have to look a certain way to be able to love ourselves. Where do they get off? Who gave them that power? Who gave them permission? Who gave them that right?

We did. We let them get into our heads and now they have us wrapped around our own beliefs that we aren’t good enough and that no matter what we look like, we still won’t be good enough. Because that’s just what they do.

Why can’t I just be good enough, the way I am right now and right here?
Why can’t you be good enough right now and right here?

I know how much GUILT and SHAME comes from dieting. I am well acquainted with that ever-present sense of FAILURE and not being good enough. I know how it feels to let the SCALE determine whether you’re going to have a good or bad day. I know how it feels to be STUCK in an endless cycle of restricting and bingeing. I know how it feels to HATE having pictures taken. I know the OBSESSION that can come. I KNOW what it feels like. I’ve been there and done that. I cry when I think about how many years I wasted worrying about how I looked. I cry over the countless hours and weeks and years that my thoughts were CONSTANTLY on my body, obsessively criticizing every. little. thing. And I cry when I hear that diet talk all around me because I know what that means. I know what you are actually telling yourselves and I know how horrible it feels.

How did I finally move forward?

Mindful eating.
Learning to trust my body again.
Learning to love my body one day at a time.
Learning that I am good enough just the way I am.
Learning that it is a life-long process, not a quick fix.
Do I have it down perfectly? Do I love myself every moment of every day? No, I’m human. But I am a billion times closer to it than I was, and my biggest wish is for you to feel the same freedom around food and your body.

Give yourself permission to let it all go. Give yourself permission to take the time you need to let it all go. Stop the criticizing and fault-finding. Quit the diet talk. Start giving yourself and your body the love, compassion, and respect you deserve. And then we’ll see who really had the power all along.

Love,
Kaylee