Eat Without Guilt » self esteem

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

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

Inner Beauty: How Do You Define It?

Dinneen — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 18:22:21 +0000

Through my work I help women with their outer beauty, but part of what I do is also help them with their inner beauty ~ as I truly believe that inner beauty and outer beauty go hand in hand. Society today is so hung up on outward appearances. But part of my mission in life is to help you see your INNER BEAUTY. I believe there is nothing better than seeing a woman who exudes beauty from the inside….and with that her outside beauty shines, flaws and all. Which reminds me of a quote from Sophia Loren, a woman who truly had both inner and outer beauty: “Beauty is how you feel inside, and it reflects in your eyes. It is not something physical” So tell me: How do YOU define inner beauty and what does it mean to you? What makes a woman beautiful on the inside? And how… Read more

Kelly Clarkson’s “Self” Magazine Cover: A Weighty Issue

Dinneen — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 16:49:04 +0000

It’s all the buzz today, and I just couldn’t help but discuss it. In case you haven’t heard, there’s a new controversy over the cover photo of Kelly Clarkson in September’s issue of SELF magazine. She’s looking slimmer than ever. But it’s not due to a new fad diet or hectic workout schedule, but because she’s been photoshopped. But noticeably photoshopped — she’s been dramatically and artificially slimmed down due to all the retouching. And it’s causing a big debate. The big debate is because Kelly looks a lot thinner on the magazine cover than she does in recent photos. At this point in her life she is not as thin as the cover photo portrays. And to make it even more interesting, the theme for the September issue is all about “Total Body Confidence.” Both the magazine and Kelly Clarkson admit the photo was retouched — and let’s be honest… Read more

Interview with Dara Chadwick, author of “You’d Be So Pretty If…”

Dinneen — Tue, 05 May 2009 12:15:17 +0000

I‘m so happy to share with you my interview with Dara Chadwick, author of You’d Be So Pretty If…: Teaching Our Daughters to Love Their Bodies — Even When We Don’t Love Our Own. In 2007 Dara was the Weight-Loss Diary columnist for Shape magazine, where more than a million readers followed her weight loss journey as she attempted to not only shed pounds, but also old attitudes. In one column Dara reflected how her body image had been shaped in part by her mother’s feelings about her own body. A mom herself, Dara realized the huge impact she could have on her own daughter’s body image. This led her to write her book where through numerous interviews with women and girls, as well as her own experiences with her daughter, Dara explains the powerful effect that a mother’s body image has on her daughter and how parents can break… Read more