Two thoughts I had this morning while walking through a forest:

  • Dieting always required so much effort and focus, that if life would get in the way, if I would feel overwhelmed, it would become almost impossible to stick to a diet. Intuitive eating feels very different. And it should - it is about relaxing, and living your life - not about trying to follow a set of strict, impossible rules. 
  • One of the basic characteristics of diet thinking is the fact that we use the diet rules to judge our behaviour. We label a day or an eating experience as good or bad depending on what and how we've eaten (and funny enough, the same eating experience can  labeled differently depending on the diet you follow). This is no way to live a life. But if we are trying to achieve something, what is the alternative to setting rules (which promote new desired behaviors) and trying to follow them? And how do you enforce such a rule - you measure up against it and you say: I did well, or I've broken the rule. An alternative is to just observe in a non-judgmental way. First is to observe, and to learn. With insight, we then aim to understand. After understanding comes acceptance, and then forgiveness. We need to heal. We need to be patient with ourselves. As we learn, we'll grow.