Eat Without Guilt » yo-yo dieting

How To Eat Like a Naturally Thin Person

Dinneen — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 20:31:06 +0000

The other weekend I was at a friend’s house for a party, when all of a sudden a woman came up to me and said “You’re having a piece of cake?” “Yes,” I said, “and I’m enjoying every single bite.” The woman then replied, “Oh, you must be one of those naturally thin people…I can’t even look at a piece of cake and not put on 5 pounds!” Little did this woman know that for at least half of my life I dealt with overeating, emotional eating, binge eating, and yo-yo dieting. Quite often people see me eating a guilty food, see that I’m at a normal weight — so they just assume I’m a “naturally thin person.” What people don’t realize is that now, I have a relaxed relationship with food. And that was the turning point for me. Changing my relationship with food. So much of what I learned about food,… 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

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

The Magic Answer to Your Weight Struggle is Closer Than You Think

Dinneen — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 14:03:32 +0000

It seems every time I turn on the TV, there’s news of some celebrity, personality or public figure and their battle of the bulge and war on losing weight and KEEPING it off. Many of us can relate. Even Oprah. Yes, Oprah I wrote about Oprah’s weight gain (and losses) last year here in my blog. Many people in the spotlight, like Oprah — and even past winners of the reality show The Biggest Loser — can’t seem to keep the weight off. They lose, then gain, lose, and then gain again. And it’s the same for many of us! What the heck is going on? For one thing, we keep looking to external factors to determine what and how much to eat. We’ve spent years listening to others to tell us what to eat, so we’ve been disconnected from our bodies. If we listen to our bodies correctly, it tells… Read more

Do You Know How to Listen to Your Hunger?

Dinneen — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 13:25:13 +0000

You’ve probably heard over and over again “eat when you are hungry and stop when you are full.” Good advice, but often people tell me that they don’t even know what hungry feels like. They either feel hungry all to time, or can’t decipher if their “hunger” is true hunger or emotional hunger. Many people on their weight-loss journey have lost their ability to even know what real (ie biological) hunger feels like. And it’s more common than you think. The Clock Strikes 12 For some people it’s simply because they’ve never allowed themselves to be hungry. They eat all the time. Or they eat simply because it’s meal-time. The clock say’s 12 noon so they just eat. They’re not really hungry, but they’ve been eating at this time for so long they actually think they’re hungry. But their body isn’t giving them the signals. They have just been on… Read more

Monica Seles and Her Biggest Opponent – Food

Dinneen — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 17:34:10 +0000

I recently picked up a copy of Monica Seles’ book Getting a Grip: On My Body, My Mind, My Self. In it she talks she talks very openly and candidly about her biggest opponent, and it’s not something or someone she faced on the tennis court. But it was a battle that began to destroy her sense of self, her career and her life. The opponent was food. Monica Seles is best known for her incredible talent on the tennis court as a former World No. 1 player. She won nine Grand Slam championships and was the youngest player ever to win the French Open. Earlier this month she was even inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame. But with all of the wins, trophy’s and accolades Monica struggled for years with her weight, yo-yo dieting and overeating. Little did I know (nor did anyone else know) that Monica struggled with… Read more

Stop Worrying About Food…and Lose Weight

Dinneen — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 05:06:58 +0000

Can you imagine a life without the chains of dieting and constantly trying to control your weight? A life without rules, restrictions, and being told to eat the right foods? Image just how wonderful it would feel to wake up every morning without having to face the scale, without having to count calories, without having to eat foods you don’t like that leave you unsatisfied. Imagine…. being able to wear clothes you love and feel good in thinking of food only when you’re hungry finding real pleasure in eating eating your favorite foods without constantly counting calories or fat grams… and not feeling guilty – ever again! Think of how liberating it would be to feel truly nourished. Of being able to eat and stop when you’re full — and KNOWING when you’re full. You CAN eat and not have to settle for the “healthy option” all of the… Read more