Can I Be Anti-Diet and Still Want to Lose Weight?

Episode 5. Today's podcast will help to clarify some important questions. You all have had some amazing questions over the past few weeks and I think it's important that everyone benefit from the answers. Before we dive in, this is a good time to remind you that this podcast is for educational and information purposes only and does not constitute any form of medical, psychological, or professional advice. Please always consult with a professional regarding your specific needs and situation. Listener Questions Here are some of your great questions. Can I move away from a diet mentality and still want to change my body or lose weight? Like choose bariatric surgery or follow a specific eating plan? I'm all about autonomy. Autonomy is freedom of choice without excessive pressure to behave or be a certain way. When I talk about the "diet mentality" or "no longer dieting", I'm talking about how you think and feel about what you are doing, not the specific eating behaviors you are or aren't doing (e.g., following a specific eating plan). A diet mentality moves us away from autonomy because its all about shoulds, pressures, and typically associated with feelings of restriction or stress about being "on the plan." However, you can autonomously decide to follow any eating plan, because you want to, because you feel good doing it, or because it feels like the best choice for you and your life and specific health considerations. Let's take an example. If someone has had bariatric surgery and is stressing out because they heard someone say "you can never eat bread after surgery" and feel like they really "shouldn't" eat bread and feel deprived. That's a diet mentality. It's all about shoulds, stress, all-or-nothing thinking. Yet that same person could choose to eat bread on occasion and really enjoy it without guilt. Alternatively, they could choose to avoid bread due to internal reasons (when they eat bread they feel ill). Both of these examples are autonomous choices. It isn't about the behavior