Just wanted to share my experience:
For years, I have done diets on and off. I am 32 years old and I think I started dieting at 20, when I was actually already slim.
What I found however and I only realise now, that following ANY sort of diet plan was causing me to obsess over food in ways I never had before and was ingraining very bad habits into my psyche.
I lost weight initially with every diet, up to 3 stone with SW after the birth of my first child, but what I found on the whole, is that I was getting bigger.
I would binge eat on my "flexi-days" having never been a binge eater before so although I was looking slimmer, my habits were becoming more unhealthy. I wa also consuming lots of sugar-free chemical-ridden snacks and was breaking out in spots.
Before falling pregnant with my second child, I vowed to stop dieting. I decided that I would learn about nutrition instead. In the first 6 months of that decision, I gained half a stone as I over-did it with the luxury of suddenly being able to eat what I wanted. I then fell pregnant and after initially gaining a bit more weight and being diagnosed with gestational diabetes, I decided I was going to "just be healthy." I ate, good fats, wholegrains, fruit, veg, full fat yoghurt and had the odd treat if I felt like it and not because I had an allowance to use up!
What happened? I lost weight whilst pregnant and by the end when I gave birth I actually weighed less than I did prior to falling pregnant. I then breastfed for 1 year and lost another half a stone. I have since lost another 3lb or so in around 4 months.
The loss has been slow, but normal and healthy and I only weigh myself every couple of weeks. I don't binge anymore and have found myself getting that sickly feeling when I consume too much, a reaction that had stopped when I was obsessing over food and filling up as much as possible.
Nothing is off limits, but I tend to choose healthy foods more than ever without feeling restricted. I've found my favourite foods are actually healthy ones- olives, hummous and peppers with olive oil and tomatoes.
I guess I'm writimg this to say don't be frightenes to get off the dieting roller coaster. You might gain initially, but keep in educating yourself, remind yourself that nothing is off limits and choose health and fitness. There is no diet that "isn't really a diet."
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On stopping dieting
6 replies
Erinbookawitch · 06/07/2019 13:19
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