Living in the heart of NYC I find the noise of the cars, construction and sirens to be overwhelming. When I am home alone in my apt, I hardly listen to music as the sound of silence is soothing to my mind. But, noise is everywhere-my friend asked me if I meditate (she was trying to tell me that mediating will help me quiet the noise) and sorry to say, I do not. Maybe I will learn to practice this.
In the meantime, the noise inside my head has to do with many things, but what I eat is not part of the noise. While my relationship with food is far from perfect, it doesn’t take up space in my mind. As I work with clients who struggle with various issues, and in particular with disordered eating, I wonder how I can help them silence the noise about food and body image that they hear all day. Recently, the diet industry has adapted its messaging to be less blatantly about appearance and more about the in vogue ideals of health and wellness. But, the idea that we have to be “healthy” is also damaging. It is confusing as thinness and health are not the same, and fatness does not necessarily equate to being unhealthy. And these are the very messages we have been consumed with over the years. The saddest aspect of diet culture is that it sets consumers up for failure and disappointment because, truthfully, the “perfect body” does not exist.
So how do we dismantle the noise?
Reject the diet culture- Get rid of things that keep you stuck in the diet mentality like low-calorie cookbooks and your scale. Stop restricting yourself and stop getting caught up in the newest food fad. Practice letting go of your internalized food rules.
Be Mindful of the language you use- words like good, bad, clean, naughty, sinful, cheating, cheat day are buzzwords that we use and they do more harn than good. Also, saying to a friend “you look great, did you lose weight?” focuses on bodies which perpetuates the diet culture.
Learn to eat intuitively- By learning to eat intuitively, you’ll be able to reconnect with your hunger and fullness cues, focus on satisfaction, and stop restricting.
Nurture your relationship with exercise as a form of self care- Can you think of movement as a way to make you feel good inside rather than making you look a certain way.
Build a community- friends are very important and social media can be very discouraging (as we all know). Link up with like minded people who share your interests and beliefs!
For help with all of this (and it’s alot!), feel free to reach out to me at rachel@livehealthynyc.com