I’ve been pretty quiet on the blog lately.
The truth is, my opinions on weight loss and body positivity have changed quite a lot since I started Musing on Losing.
After I published my blog post on my experience with the seven-day I Quit Sugar reboot, my aunt referred me to a book called Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch. The authors suggest something that seems absolutely radical to people like me who have struggled with their weight their entire lives – stop dieting.
Say what?
This book completely threw me for a loop. I realized that with a lifetime of moral judgments about whether a particular food is “good” or “bad,” and whether I was “on” or “off” my diet, I had severed my connection with my natural intuition about what, when, and how much to eat. It opened up the possibility that eating can be natural and pleasurable; that I could reestablish a healthy connection with my body; and that I would never have to count another calorie again.
In other words, I could be free. Free of diet culture, free of fear and judgement, and free from using food as an emotional crutch.
Revolutionary.
So what does this mean for me? It means that I am never, ever, going on a miserable diet like that awful 7-day reboot ever again. It means that a cookie is not a sin. It means that my worth is not defined by any number on a scale. It means that I can enjoy exercise because I love it, not because I’m trying to lose weight or fit into a particular item of clothing. Clothing should fit me, not the other way around.
Above all, it means that I can love myself fully, unconditionally, the way I am right now, without losing a single ounce. I am beautiful, I am worthy, I am loved.
Now there’s a radical thought. 🙂
So what does this mean for Musing on Losing?
I’m going to be focusing much more on what I love – fashion, fitness, fun. I want to put a body-positive, forward-thinking focus on topics of interest to me. Life is way too short to waste it wishing I was anything else but the happiest version of myself.
It’s okay to give yourself permission to just be. Be who you are, what you are, as you are. If there are things you want to change about yourself, approach it with love. If you don’t want to change, then don’t! You only get one life; so go out there and live it!
Wishing you a whole lotta love –
Annette