An important part of deprogramming ourselves from diet culture is learning the facts and reassessing the “rules” we may have been taught about calories, body fat, and food. If you are interested in a good primer on calories–what they are, what it means scientifically and how our bodies use them–this is a good resource. I like how Drs Beraki and Feigenbaum clearly identify the variety of human physiologies, the environmental, social, and psychological elements of eating behaviors, and show compassion for how challenging changes in eating behaviors and caloric expenditure can be. This is an important part of diet culture deprogramming, too–learning to accept that not everything is in our control, and some people have more cards in their favor for weight management and intentional changes in their body size than others do.
I’ve settled into a period of letting go of intentional changes to my body size. There’s been enough stressors in my life this winter and spring, and I’ve decided that self-care needs to look like letting go of unnecessary projects. That has meant focusing on doing what I can do to eat healthy, balanced meals but not focusing on limiting anything or making intentional changes to push my caloric consumption downwards. I am still focusing on my internal cues, listening to when I’m hungry and when I’m full, and as a result I’ve maintained my size with no intentional effort. This calm, non-food-focused time is possible for me because I believe the science that says we can trust our bodies to give us cues for when we’ve eaten enough and when we need more. Years of resources like this podcast give me the reassurance when my anxious, type-A brain wonders if I ought to be giving my eating more attention. We don’t have control over all of our thoughts, but we can choose how to respond to them. Listening to thoughtful, intentional, responsible resources on calories and food is one of the tools I use to help me respond in healthier ways when that diet culture thinking starts to creep in.
Do let me know if you give this podcast a listen and what you think!
Progressive Strength 