Dieting, in and of itself, is a short term, goal oriented, and often uncomfortable way of relating to eating and food. And because it’s a diet that requires willpower and focus, it’s often something that you can’t maintain for the long term.

As a result, the benefits and the results are usually very short lived. This is why diets don’t actually “work” – meaning they don’t lead to what we really want:

To look and feel good in our bodies
To have the levels of energy, vitality, stamina, and strength that we want
To feel life itself flowing through our veins
To be happy, inspired, creative, productive and able to contribute to the world
To feel confident, masterful, powerful and amazing every day
To have a healthy, delighted, natural, easy relationship with food, our bodies, and eating

Don’t get me wrong – I’ve tried a lot of different ways of eating over the years and I’ve almost always gotten quick results from those diets, at least in the short term. I’ve even adhered to other ways of eating for years and years, loving how I looked and felt and everything about it.

But when I wasn’t able to stick to the program, I felt like a failure. When I couldn’t do things “perfectly” I became anxious and fearful. When I stopped seeing results, I was convinced there was something wrong or broken with my body, or with me. When my body gave me clear messages that it needed something that wasn’t a part of that diet or way of eating, I overrode that wisdom.

One of the biggest drawbacks with dieting, or adhering to one rigid way of eating, is that we stop listening to ourselves and the wisdom of our bodies.

Instead we dial into a program that tells us what to do, and how and when and what to eat. We start creating lists of foods that are “bad” and foods that are “good” and often a deprivation mentality starts to creep in. We invalidate the brilliance of our bodies for the intelligence of the program, diet or way of eating, instead.

Of course this is the case! We’ve been disregarding our bodies and their needs for decades. We’ve been taught for years and years and years that our bodies can’t be trusted, that they’re messy and mysterious and need to be whipped into shape. This is yet another way that we’ve been abandoning ourselves for as long as we can remember.

I propose something new. It’s edgy and a lot of fear might come up for you around it. I had the same reaction when I began, too. But hear me out because this is life-changing stuff:

I propose we slow down.
I propose we slow down and start feeling again – the pleasure, the pain, the beauty, the longing…
I propose we start feeling and listening and following what we feel and hear.
I propose we get curious about what our bodies really need and give that to ourselves.
I propose we elevate the quality of what and how and when we eat.
I propose we start following what really feels good – in the short and long term.
I propose we withhold all of the judgment, criticism, self-punishment and blame.
I propose we start honoring ourselves, wherever we are at.
I propose we return to honoring ourselves whenever we forget or choose otherwise.
I propose we begin today, here and now, and never stop.

There are so many things that influence how, what, when, why and how much we eat in any given moment in time:

Your state of health
Your geographical location
The phase of life you’re in
Your constitution
Your metabolic type
How you relate to food
Why you are eating
Your emotional state
Who you are being in the moment
Your thoughts
Your cultural background
Your blood type
How fast you are moving through life
How much pleasure is in your life
Your ability to receive
… and much, much more.

This is complex and important stuff! And yet, if we know we are honoring ourselves, and being true to who we are and what we are truly needing in any given moment, we will make the best choices for ourselves – even if those choices don’t strictly follow a particular diet or way of eating.

One of the most powerful things you could ever do to honor yourself is to start waking up the wisdom of your body. And one of the easiest ways to access that wisdom is by trying the self-honoring diet.

A healthy dose of being true to yourself, especially at the dinner table, will lead you to where and who you really want to be, every time.