We live in a world that rewards discipline in all areas of life and especially in the area of body-control.
The thinner you are, the more discipline you show (in people’s eyes), the more people admire you. No matter how toxic and destructive this kind of discipline really is. No matter the consequences: like developing anorexia or other eating disorders. People will tell us how awe-inspiring our behavior is and how they wish they could be like us, how they wish they had even an ounce of the willpower and discipline we seem to have.
Oh, how they wish they could be like us.
We look at models and we wish we had their discipline to not eat, to starve our bodies in order to look like prepubescent children. It’s crazy, but we do it.
Let’s be real.
There’s a real discipline in following any kind of diet, be it WW, be it Atkins, be it Keto.
Dieting takes a monstrous amount of discipline because no matter which diet you’re on, you’re always trying to overwrite your appetite. You are overwriting your body’s natural cues.
You are working against yourself, your body.
It doesn’t matter if you’ve done it for a day or for five, three weeks or decades, eventually, of course, your body, your instincts will fight back.
And yet please don’t believe that whenever your body starts to fight back, you’re failing at dieting.
No, no, no, it’s the diets that fail you.
The moment you begin to crave food that are not allowed in your latest “lifestyle change”, the moment you begin to experience more and more AND more appetite, your body is trying to tell you that what you’re doing is no way to live, that she – your body – in fact, can’t live like that, can’t survive like that, and can’t certainly thrive like that.
It’s then that some – I so hope you’re included – begin to desire to escape diet prison and say bye-bye to diets once and for all.
The question is: is there a discipline in doing that?
And my answer is a clear yes. But it’s a kind of discipline that you may have never tried, that may feel totally foreign to your cells, your mind, your heart.
This kind of discipline is about creating an environment where you have the chance to be yourself. This kind of discipline is about letting go of controlling thoughts, of numbding fears.
This kind of discipline takes courage, compassion and perseverance. This kind of discipline will come with a certain amount of backlash because even though body-peace is the natural way to be, our world doesn’t see it that way. Unfortunately, due to the diet and beauty industry, due to doctors being uneducated, we’re trained to see this gentle kind of discipline as an unnatural state of being.
So, yes, there’s a discipline in waking up morning after morning after morning, allowing yourself to listen to your body, allowing yourself to skip the walk of shame to the scale, allowing yourself to eat breakfast and wearing the clothes that fight your body now.
Yes, there’s a certain kind of discipline in not listening to your co-worker and her diet advice.
Yes, there’s a certain kind of discipline in unfollowing your fitspiration stars.
Yes, there’s a certain kind of discipline in looking the other way instead of opening the diet magazine.
And yes, there’s a certain kind of discipline in not going back to WW when it gets hard, when your body changes, when your birthday is coming up, or when you notice your clothes are getting tight – which they might.
Yes, there’s a certain kind of discipline in that, BUT it’s a discipline that supports you in living the freedom you crave.
So, discipline, yes,
Pain, no.
Discomfort, yeah, maybe.
But that comes with the territory, that comes with growth, with the choice to commit to no longer suffering, to no longer listening to the fear-mongering that is going on everywhere around.
Listen to your body, listen to yourself, and create the environment where this kind of discipline feels easy, until one day it’s not a discipline anymore.
Is your heart tugging at you, letting you know that it’s time to step it up and heal?
Does it make you queasy, scared shitless just thinking about contemplating what’s possible for you?
And yet, do you feel moved to change your pain and your life?
Then book your discovery session with me now and let’s dive into the deep end of the pool – knowing that it’s scary and a real challenge for you. And that’s OK. Book your call with me anyway.
