My weightloss journey has brought me some radical changes lately and I'm having a "shout it from the rooftops" moment.
***Disclaimer: I feel it's important that when we give advice on the forums that we do so only from our own perspective so I want to openly share that I do have a diagnosed eating disorder, and that I am treating it by using Intuitive Eating techniques under the supervision of a nutritional therapist.***
I've been a compulsive overeater/binger for at least 2 decades in my life and I always knew in the back of my mind that eating disorders are not cured by diets or "lifestyle changes." So now that I'm finally addressing some of my food issues I have come to realize that food has sucked for a long time. I have my old standby binge foods and although I've gotten so bored with them I still reach for them for safety. But they don't bring me pleasure, they really don't. I wasn't enjoying food anymore. I was feeling guilty over every little decision, calling myself all kinds of bad names and ridiculing myself over "bad foods."
Since I've released myself from all that I've really been enjoying food. And not just the foods I've missed while dieting (I love you carbs!), but a whole slew of other things too. Eating is an event every time! I eat whatever I want, whenever I want, just as long as I do it mindfully and eat only when hungry and stop when I'm full.
Anyway, I've been so sad around here lately, everyone is so hard on themselves, restricting the bejeezus out of their food choices and then feeling virtuous for eating below calories or avoiding an evil food. I want everyone to remember that food can be pleasurable, that we don't have to avoid it or to banish it from our lives. Enjoying food does not mean we are bad or weak willed or destined to be fat. We don't have to punish ourselves in order to lose weight, we've done nothing wrong, and if we gained some weight over the years it's nothing we can't fix.
Health first! We must prioritize our emotional health first, and then our physical health will follow suit.