There are many nutritional beliefs that cloud our relationship with body and food. In this blog I will refer to 4 of these Toxic Nutritional Beliefs, giving some general suggestions to harness them towards a healthier life. Through years of my personal body journey I have seen the direct impact of negative nutritional beliefs on my body confidence and weight. In this blog, I invite you to explore this connection and also how we can challenge these misconceptions to cultivate a positive relationship with food and with our bodies.
As a coach, I have seen many individuals striving to achieve a healthy body weight and implementing positive strategies, but mentally been bombarded with conflicting messages about nutrition and body image, that often are detrimental and hinder their journey towards body love. As we know, the subconscious mind always overpower our intentions and conscious decisions, therefore a change of these Toxic Nutritional beliefs that are deeply ingrained in our collective consciousness, will make much easier and organic the shifting our attitudes towards food and body weight.
As we challenge negative nutritional beliefs, we pave the way for cultivating body love and a positive relationship with food. By re-framing our perspectives on nutrition, we can experience greater freedom, joy, and empowerment in our dietary choices, supporting our journey towards a healthy body weight.
Some Toxic Nutritional Beliefs:
1. FATS ARE BAD FOR YOU, THEY MAKE YOU FAT: We have been conditioned (often by the diet industry), to view fats as the enemy, associating them with weight gain and poor health. This misconception often leads to an aversion to incorporating healthy fats into one's diet, ultimately impacting overall well-being. This misinformation makes people connect Body fat with fatty food, therefore restrictive caloric diets limit the amount of fat in the food, establishing the phrase "Fat Makes Me Fat", as a scientific proved principle.
The vilification of dietary fats has perpetuated the misconception that all fats contribute to weight gain. There is a pervasive notion that certain foods or food groups are inherently "bad" or "fattening," leading to restrictive eating patterns and an unhealthy relationship with
THE TRUE IS: t is true there are fats that are bad for our body, promote inflammation, and makes us hungrier since they do not provide us with the nutrition the body needs; but there are also the healthy Dietary Fat: Essential Fatty Acid (EFA) which play a very important role in our health: Healthy Body Weight, Nutrient Absorption, absorption of fat-soluble vitamins such as A, D, E, and K, which are essential for numerous physiological processes. The function of the brain is also is also supported by EFA in our diet.
2. FOOD IS MY ENEMY, APPETITE IS MY ENEMY: Many people who struggle to sustain a healthy body weight, and are chronic dieters fight literally with food and with the sensation of appetite itself. They see them as the blocks in their fight to achieve the desired weight. Therefore there is always a struggle when they feel the cravings and the hunger. In a sense this is counterproductive, since it puts the body in a constant state stress which makes to trigger the cortisol and insulin hormones, the two hormones that are conducive to body weight loss resistance.
For many individuals, the perception of food as an adversary stems from a variety of sources, including societal messaging, personal experiences, and cultural influences. This toxic belief often manifests as a fear of certain foods, a preoccupation with calorie counting, and a pervasive sense of guilt and shame surrounding eating. Additionally, viewing one's appetite as an enemy can lead to efforts to suppress natural hunger cues and rigid, restrictive eating patterns.The consequences of this mindset are far-reaching, impacting both physical and emotional well-being. Chronic dieting, disordered eating habits, and a distorted relationship with food can arise from this belief, ultimately leading to negative outcomes for body weight, mental health, and overall satisfaction with life.
THE TRUE IS: Appetite is what keeps us alive, and eating beyond keeping us alive, allows us to connect with pleasure and relaxation state which are the sensations that trigger the parasympathetic state, it is in this state that our digestion is more efficient and the burning calories increases. Appetite is a great sensor and helper for a healthy body functioning, the problem is that through unhealthy eating and thinking habits we have distorted its function, but we can retrain it. When we feel appetite, we should be grateful and happy we are alive and we are thriving to feel pleasure and to tap into the parasympathetic state.
Another crucial aspect of overcoming this toxic belief is dismantling the notion that appetite is something to be controlled or suppressed. Instead, we can guide individuals to honour and respect their natural hunger signals, viewing appetite as a vital and intuitive aspect of our biological needs.
3. EATING LESS AND EXERCISING MORE IS THE BEST WAY TO LOSE WEIGHT:
This is the rule that has been sold by many dieticians, personal trainers and the weight lose industry. They say that burning as many calories as possible through exercising and consuming few calories through restrictive diets is the safest way to lose weight. Physiologically it makes sense, however this strategy does not count on the levels of stress that the body is given when we exercise in extreme and do not provide the body with the amount and quality of nutrients to function. Stress does not conduce to loss weigh, we only have a healthy burning calories when we are in a relaxation state.
THE TRUTH IS: At the beginning of a regime with these principles people can lose wight but, because this is counterproductive/aggressive with body physiology and needs, the body soon reaches a plateau. In this plateau, the body can not continue losing weight. It has been shown by many researches that being a very restrictive way of losing weight, this strategy is not is not sustainable in the long term and is detrimental for body and mind, people usually recover the weight quickly and carry with them feelings of anxiety, guilt, shame and despair. Not having the whole understanding of the how the body works people get confused and feel they are the ones to blame for not having lasting results.
4.MY DIET HAS TO BE PERFECT IN ORDER FOR ME TO HAVE A HEALTHY BODY WEIGHT: Some people in the interest of managing a healthy body weight set the goal of having the perfect diet and try to control what they eat, when they eat, how much they eat, count calories in and calories out. Dieters act as if having all this under control is the guarantee to achieve the desired weight. Restrictive diets very often do not follow scientific and physiological principles and very rarely meet the body nutritional needs, therefore they are not perfect. Even if you follow them aiming perfection.
THE TRUTH IS: There is not perfection, including body needs some times they are unexpected, the body is very dynamic, it changes depending on psychological, mental and environmental variables. Therefore the diet can not be a standardizes strategy that fits one person all the time.
Another aspect to consider is that people who design diets often do not have a deep knowledge about body needs, physiology, emotional/mental aspects in the process of dieting. Restrictive diets are conducive t make us hungry because they do not meet body’s nutritional needs. The brain knows it and cries : I am hungry.
As humans beings we are made to be adaptable, versatile, changeable this is a survival strategy and is in alignment with the fact that we thrive for pleasure and enjoyment. Eating is a way for us to feel pleasure and enjoyment, having a wide range of food and food preparations allows this to happen, while a restrictive diet is opposite to this possibility..
Promoting a non-restrictive, inclusive approach to nutrition can empower individuals to enjoy a wide variety of foods without guilt or shame. By emphasising the importance of balance, moderation, and flexibility, we can help individuals break free from the cycle of restrictive dieting and embrace a sustainable, nourishing approach to eating.
HOW TO HARNESS NEGATIVE NUTRITIONAL BELIEFS- SOME SUGGESTIONS:
1. Get into Your body: Observe how it behaves and reacts with different food
2. Do not follow standard Diets, be the master of your own body needs, experiment, adapt, dare to try food that is healthy even though you think you would not like, give yourself a chance.
3.Listen to your inner voice: What is guiding your actions: media, Your old patterns, negative self-talk? Shift these negative beliefs towards positive ones.
4.Do not belief all what the influencers say, try by yourself, be your own influencer.
5.Check where your negative beliefs can from and find support if needed in order to align your subconscious beliefs with tour body love intentions
6.If you do not exercise, engage with a gentle physical practice, they help you to tune into body wisdom and body intuition.
7. Engage with mindful eating practice as a tool. When you eat slowly, you are fostering appreciation for the sensorial experience of eating, you can develop a healthier relationship with food and make choices that support their body weight goals.
Our Mental and Emotional Body are one with our physical Body, honouring this fact will help our path From Body Shame to Body Love.
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