For most people who struggle with eating issues, that ties into body image struggles and wanting to lose weight. And that’s probably a big part of why you started dieting or trying to eat healthier in the first place, right? You wanted to lose weight to feel better about yourself, or to try and be healthier. 

Now that you are seeing the reality that dieting doesn’t work long-term for almost anyone, it’s still hard to let go of the desire to lose weight, even if you don’t want to keep dieting anymore.

For most of my clients, one of their big fears as we begin our work together is, “What’s going to happen to my weight?” And it makes total sense that this is something that you’re worried about. 

Consider the multitude of ways that our society teaches us that our weight is of the utmost importance:

• Constant discussion about BMI, weight and health 
• All the diet and weight loss ads on TV, radio and social media
• Friends, family and coworkers frequently talking about what diet they’re on, or how they need to lose weight
• Clothing stores that only carry “straight” sizes (despite the fact that the average woman is “plus” size…even the fact that we are categorizing sizes this way is messed up)
• Doctors “prescribing” weight loss as the solution to pretty much any health issue for people who live in larger bodies
• TV shows and movies that almost exclusively cast thin characters as leading roles
• News headlines and click bait articles all about how to lose X pounds quickly
• The glorification of thinness and a “healthy lifestyle” aesthetic on social media (spoiler alert: a lot of this is fake, and a lot of it represents orthorexia and disordered eating)

When we put all this into perspective, OF COURSE you’ve been concerned about your weight! That concern just gets compounded if you’ve yo-yo’d up and down a bunch of times and you feel like you are fighting a battle against your body.

Sick and Tired of Dieting

The truth is, dieting doesn’t work long-term for the vast majority of people. Sure, you might be able to temporarily lose some weight, and even keep it off for a few years. Statistically, however, most people will regain that weight within 2–5 years, often plus some. 

If you have dieted and lost weight multiple times, chances are your weight has ratcheted up higher and higher over time. It’s not uncommon for my clients to come to me and when we are talking about their history with how their weight has fluctuated over time, they’ll share that they are currently at their highest weight ever. 

Essentially they dieted themselves up to this weight. 

It’s not their fault – they were just doing what society and doctors tell us to do. And it backfired. 

If you’ve been on this rollercoaster, up and down with food, and up and down with your weight, and up and down with diets and healthy eating plans…it’s exhausting. Especially given how ineffective it is in the long run. 

I get why you’re sick of dieting. You’re sick of all the counting, and the measuring, and the rules, and constantly thinking about food and wishing you could allow yourself to eat certain things, but feeling guilty when you do.

I get why you’re sick of waking up every day and getting on the scale, and the number you see dictating your mood for the day. And why you’re sick of looking at those smaller clothes in your closet from when you were thinner, and wishing that you could fit into them again, but knowing deep inside that it’s unrealistic to expect yourself to get back there and stay there. 

All of this. It’s exhausting. And it depletes your soul and your self-esteem over time. You end up blaming yourself for the diets not working, and for not having enough willpower and dedication to stick to it. But I promise you that you didn’t fail. Dieting fails for 95% of people – this isn’t a “you” problem – it’s a diet problem. The diet industry has gaslit us into believing that it’s OUR fault that their products and programs don’t work – when the fault is that dieting is an ineffective strategy to begin with because it works against our biology. 

Of course you’re sick of dieting – as you should be! This is a good thing. Because if you’re not sick of dieting yet, it’s going to be really hard for me to help you. I am asking you to consider breaking up with that toxic relationship you have with dieting. And just like any breakup, it’s hard, it’s messy, and you may have to grieve what you’ve lost to dieting.

No Man’s Land Between Dieting and Intuitive Eating

Here’s where a lot of people get stuck after they decide that they need to step away from dieting:

They’ll realize, “Ok I get it, dieting doesn’t work, so I’m not going to do that anymore.” But they’re also not convinced they can listen to their body, trust their body or eat intuitively. That might sound nice in theory, but when you’ve spent years or decades dieting and battling your body, it’s hard to trust it – especially when you’re terrified about gaining weight.

I call this “No Man’s Land” between dieting and intuitive eating. This is where people sometimes hang out where they’re not technically dieting anymore, but they’re also not fully embracing intuitive eating. 

Let me be clear about this: Simply not dieting is NOT the same thing as eating intuitively. 

You can be not dieting, and also still not listening to your body, still thinking of food as good and bad, still not letting yourself keep certain foods in the house, still having cheat days on the weekends, still obsessing about losing weight, and still trying to do some version of “healthy eating” that’s not technically a diet, but is still built around the diet mentality and has the same physical and psychological impact as dieting. 

Reasons You Might Be Stuck (And How to Get Unstuck)

If you’re no longer dieting, and the logical part of you gets that it doesn’t work, but you also still feel tempted to go back to dieting at times, because you so desperately want to lose weight and feel better in your body, and feel more comfortable in your own skin, and to feel healthier – I see you. 

Maybe you’re still not convinced that intuitive eating is a good idea for you. Perhaps you can’t see how it could possibly be healthy. 

As a dietitian, I get why people are concerned that intuitive eating might not be healthy. But let me share some Fun Facts with you:

• Studies show that dieting correlates with overall increased risk of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, inflammatory markers, cardiovascular disease and death. It’s not good for you.
• Intuitive eating correlates with improvements in blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar. That’s right, intuitive eating is legitimately a science-backed way to improve your health. 
• The other cool thing about the research on intuitive eating is that it shows that it helps improve body image. What I am telling you is that by NOT focusing on dieting and by NOT focusing on weight loss, and by instead focusing on healing your relationship with food and your body that you can actually improve how you feel about your body – even if you don’t lose weight. es to target specific health concerns, while still having peace with food. 

Another reason you might be stuck in No Man’s Land in between dieting and intuitive eating is because you’re still keeping certain foods out of the house, like cookies, ice cream or chips, because you don’t trust yourself not to overeat them. And even if you’re not having planned cheat days on the weekends per se, but if you still are trying to eat healthy all week and then all weekend is a party with food so it still resembles a cheat day and then come Monday morning you tighten the reins again. So you can see that you might not technically be dieting, but those patterns can still be there. 

Perhaps you’re frustrated with yourself for eating impulsively, and for not having self-control around food when you’re no longer dieting. You feel like you might the a person who can’t trust their body, or that you’re too screwed up in your hunger cues or your relationship with food to ever eat intuitively. That frustration, combined with a deep desire to be at a lower weight holds so many people back from moving forward with truly exploring, understanding and applying the intuitive eating framework.

Another thing that holds people back is if you are worrying about your weight all the time, and you’re scared that you’re going to gain weight. Or perhaps you have gained some weight since you quit dieting, and you feel really crummy about that and you’re worried about your health. These concerns, struggles and fears around weight keep so many people stuck. 

In fact, because of this I created a FREE masterclass called, “What’s Weighing On You? A Masterclass On Navigating Your Struggles and Fears Around Weight Gain When You Quit Dieting.” All you have to do to access the class is DM me on IG or FB and I’ll send it right over!

In the masterclass, you’ll learn:

• What your body thinks is happening when you are on a diet (Hint: it doesn’t think you’re getting healthier).
• What’s possible for you when you heal your body image.
• How to navigate weight gain (or your fear of it) when you quit dieting with tangible and actionable steps to take.
• Body image strategies you can apply to feel more comfortable in your skin starting NOW.
• How to *actually* improve your health (without dieting and chasing a number on the scale).

If you’re sick of dieting, but you’re also scared of gaining weight, or you have gained weight with intuitive eating and are worried about your health, THIS is the masterclass for you. Access it for FREE by sending me a DM on IG or FB.

We are going to tackle these fears around weight together, and I’m going to help you see why this is holding you back from achieving the peace and freedom you desire, and how to get there without things spiraling out of control for you.

Client Examples and Case Studies

If you want to hear me dig into a couple of client examples and case studies that are SO juicy, go hit play on this podcast episode and give it a listen. I’ve never shared these case studies before, and they are from two clients who were able to overcome their fears about their weight and health so that they could find true and lasting peace with food AND their bodies – while also taking care of their health. 

I’m going to show you how you can do this too – Hit play and listen!

Listen & subscribe on your favorite platform:  Apple Podcasts  | Spotify | Deezer |  Google

Search for Episode 124-Worried About Your Weight But Sick Of Dieting? This Is For You!

Looking for more support on your journey to food freedom and body acceptance?

• Join my Facebook group & community “Intuitive Eating Made Easy”
• Take my FREE quiz “What’s Your Unique Path to Food Freedom?”
• Save $120 on HelloFresh, my fav food delivery service!
• Check out my course, Non-Diet Academy