Eat Without Guilt » dieting

The First Step to Ending the Diet Cycle

Dinneen — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 19:21:37 +0000

It seems every day there’s a new miracle product, program, or ‘food’ that promises weight loss. Yet time and time again I see the promises are false (and I’m sure you do too!). Sure, if you follow a diet plan you will most likely lose weight — but after some time you put the weight back on. So you go on a diet AGAIN, and the cycle continues. Here’s how the process usually goes, in its most simple form: Start dieting (often on a Monday…) Restrict meals and/or types of foods Lose weight End dieting Return to normal routine & eating habits (and likely some bingeing in there too) Gain weight Start dieting again Repeat steps 1-7 again (and again, and again) Look familiar? You see, going “on” a diet implies that someday, unhealthy habits — and extra weight — return. More beneficial is learning — and sticking to —… Read more

One Simple Trick to Improve Your Diet

Dinneen — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 22:06:19 +0000

I like to think I’m not like “most” nutrition experts. And though I’m all about nutrition — I also take a different road than most people out there. I’m not going to tell you exactly what to eat and when. Sure, I’ll give you my suggestions and advice — but I need to look at the individual as a whole and not just say “eat this, not that” (because if it was that easy you’d already be at your ideal weight). You see, most nutrition experts and Diets give their clients a list of foods to avoid. And guess what? As human beings — all too often we want what we can’t have. Let me say that again. We want what we can’t have. Think about it. Imagine I tell you right now, that you can never have another cookie again. Okay, forever seems way too long. So what if… Read more

Stop ‘Weighting’ and Start Living

Dinneen — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 14:55:16 +0000

(I originally wrote this article for The Beauty Message Challenge website, but wanted to share it all with you too. I hope you find some insights & inspiration from it. Enjoy!) For the past couple of years I have had the chance to help women around the world with find peace with food and their body. They come to me out of frustration, stuck, and wanting to have a better relationship with food…and with themselves. Many of the women I work with email me or tell me their stories and asking for help and guidance in trying to be and feel better around food and with their weight. All of them at some point have dieted – most of them dieting for years. Going on and off diets so many times they’ve lost track. Or maybe they’ve tried every diet and self-help book out there, yet can’t lose those last… Read more

Why Waiting to be Skinny Could be Hazardous to Your Health

Dinneen — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 22:38:36 +0000

Over the past couple of years I’ve had the opportunity to talk to women around the country, and around the world. I’ve spoken to women in living rooms, at conferences, at talks I give and workshops I hold. I’ll even add that I’ve “spoken” to women on social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook. and of course, working with my clients — both in person and over the phone — I’ve spoken to hundreds, if not thousands, of women. And one thing I see over and over again are women putting their life on hold – waiting until they hit some magic number (whether it be a pants size or the bathroom scale) to find happiness. Whether a woman is from the Birmingham Alabama or Birmingham in the U.K., San Jose California or San Jose in Costa Rica….there is a mindset that is holding many of us back from living… Read more

Is Snacking Really a Diet Trap?

Dinneen — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 01:34:34 +0000

I’ve been spending a few weeks visiting my brother outside of Dallas, Texas and to my surprise, my pants are feeling a bit looser (yay!). But when I say it’s a surprise, I really mean it. I’m one of those people that need to ‘schedule’ my eating, or I’ll get ravenous. Just ask anyone…when I’m hungry watch out! My blood sugar drops and I get a bit (or a lot) cranky. So I always have a snack with me, especially when I know I’m going to be out all day and may not be able to eat at my regularly scheduled time. So being away from home, my schedule is totally off, including my eating times. I like to eat three square-meals a day. I’m not a big fan of snacking, but I do so when I feel my tummy getting hungry so I’ll grab something (preferably healthy & with… Read more

The Latest Diet Victim

Dinneen — Tue, 18 May 2010 19:44:42 +0000

As I started my week on Monday morning, I sat down with my coffee (yes, cream and sugar) and put on the television to catch up on some news. So I tuned into Good Morning America. Now I do realize these morning shows don’t really give us much ‘news’, but as I have my coffee in the morning I like to catch the weather forcast and there’s not much else on besides these morning shows. But they often (excuse my French)…..piss me off. Why? Because it seems at least once a week (actually, it’s usually a few times a week) they have a story about weight-loss. And the “right” foods to eat. And the right diet. And how to be slim and happy. Yadda, yadda, yadda… “Lose 10 pounds by eating superfoods!” “Sugar is bad (no wait, good) for your heart!” “Lose belly fat for good!” ”How to walk off… Read more

What the Diet Industry Doesn’t Want You to Know

Dinneen — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 23:14:22 +0000

I’ve seen too many women spend years dieting, spending hundreds (more like thousands) of dollars on weight-loss programs and diets. And having self-esteem issues because they just ‘can’t follow the diet.’ Well, you might not like hearing this, but… The multibillion dollar diet industry thrives on your failure. They need you to keep coming back to them for business. The diet and weight-loss industry is built on repeat business. It would be a very short-lived business if we all succeeded the first time. And let’s face it, if they could really show you how to lose weight AND keep it off — you wouldn’t have to keep purchasing their products, attend their meetings, and buying their special foods. And some of the “big name” diet and weight-loss organizations are owned by food companies ….(makes you think, huh?). Americans alone spend over $55 billion (yup, Billion!) dollars a YEAR on weight-loss products. And as a nation we keep… Read more

Have Your Pizza and Eat It Too

Dinneen — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 23:44:36 +0000

The other evening I went out to dinner with my husband when something really struck me that I wanted to share with you… I looked over at the next table and saw a young girl who had a piece of pizza on the plate in front of her. I saw the mother trying to coax her to eat, but the girl was just too interested in looking around, saying hi to other people in the restaurant, and she even got up to check out flowers in the restaurant. Then she went back to her seat, started talking to her brother, and then finally (after about 5 minutes) she took her first bite of pizza. And then it hit me — that’s what Intuitive Eating (also called mindful eating) is all about. About getting back to that place where *life* is more interesting and fulfilling that food isn’t so important anymore.… Read more

Will Work For Food

Dinneen — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 17:30:53 +0000

A few weeks ago I had a bit on an epiphany. It was after lunch. I had eaten a small lunch so a few hours later was hungry and decided to have some of the nuts my husband had bought. But these weren’t a can or container of nuts. These were “real” nuts. You know, the kind with the shell still on them? There were Brazil nuts, almonds, and walnuts. So I took a handful and started opening them one-by-one with a nutcracker (let me remind you I haven’t done this in years). As I was doing this I realized I was putting effort into eating. In other words, I had to WORK to get my food. And anyone who has opened nuts with a nutcracker knows that it takes time. With the time and effort it took, after about five minutes I had eaten about only 7 or 8… Read more

When Food Becomes the Enemy

Dinneen — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 20:11:11 +0000

Note: This article I originally wrote for the blog of Miz Fit Online as a guest post last year (you can read the original post here). But it’s message and usefulness has not changed, so I wanted to share it with you this week. -Dinneen As a weight loss coach and mentor, I help many women lose weight, look better AND feel better, and I’m constantly meeting women who struggle with food and their weight. And I get it, as I’ve been there myself. For years I struggled to lose weight, and even when I was finally “thin,” I spent many more years eating low-fat, low-calorie, and low-tasting foods. Food and eating was not an enjoyment for me. Any food I ate that was remotely decadent or a “bad” food, left me feeling guilty and eventually lead me to overeat. And so started a vicious cycle of dieting, losing weight,… Read more