I Want to Listen to my Body, But I’m Scared to Gain Weight
By: Sammi Haber Brondo | NYC Dietitian
This is a really common fear among people who want to start listening to their bodies and eating more intuitively. If you give up control, what happens?
Let’s first acknowledge that it can feel really, really scary to let go of control around food. And that fear is totally valid. But, what you gain when you do give up control is so worth it.
The truth is that, yes, your body may change as you start to listen to it more. This definitely isn’t a reason to notpursue a healthier relationship with food though.
If the thought of your body changing is holding you back, read on for some of my tips.
Here are a few important things to consider:
When you start to listen to your body, your body might change
A lot of different things might happen when you finally start listening to your body instead of tediously monitoring what you eat. If you’ve been restricting what you eat for a while, you might gain weight. If you’ve been on more of a restrict and binge cycle, you may lose weight. Or your weight might not change at all.
I can’t tell you exactly what will happen with your weight. But I can tell you what will happen with your mindset: it will become a lot more free, less stressful and less all-consuming.
If meticulously watching and tracking everything you eat keeps your weight at a certain number, then perhaps that weight isn’t the weight that your body is most comfortable being at.
I know this is a hard pill to swallow. At the end of the day though, the most comfortable weight for you is the weight where you’re able to easily enjoy life - including food - without obsession.
Are a few pounds worth continuing the obsession? As scary as it is to let go of that control around food, the freedom that you gain when you do is so much more gratifying than making sure you see a certain number on the scale.
Acknowledge that you can be healthy at any weight
Let’s nix the notion that certain weights = healthy. They do not.
Let’s also nix the idea that intuitive eating means eating donuts and cookies all day, every day. It does not.
When you eat more intuitively, you’ll naturally crave a mix of all foods. Nutritious foods like fruits and veggies. Satiating foods like whole grains and fats. And fun foods like donuts and cookies. There is room for all of these foods in your diet.
And, once you are eating in this balanced way, not only will you probably not gain an excessive amount of weight, but also, you’ll likely be healthier overall.
Eating in a balanced way - one that gets you out of the restrict and binge cycle and mentality - is much healthier for your body overall.
In fact, research has shown that eating intuitively is associated with better mental health, improved blood markers like blood pressure and cholesterol, and overall better eating habits, too (1).
Not only that, but also, you truly can be healthy at any weight. Health means blood markers in a healthy range - blood sugar, cholesterol and the like. It means a healthy, easy going mindset around food. It means less stress overall. It does not correlate to weight.
Studies have shown that with a body neutrality approach, people have improved their health status overall – at every size (2).
You can have all of those above things, truly, at any size and weight.
Practice body acceptance
Lastly, it can be really helpful to practice body acceptance overall. The ideas of body acceptance and listening to your body go hand in hand.
Surround yourself - and your social media feeds - with body diversity that’s representative of real life. Different bodies of different shapes, sizes and colors are much more of an accurate representation of the world than highly curated social media and diet culture want us to believe.
Buy and wear clothes that fit you and feel good. Try not to focus on numbers or sizes (they’re super ambiguous and honestly, mean nothing!) and instead, wear things that you feel good in, both physically and mentally (read more about body image here).
Practice body gratitude. When you exercise, appreciate everything your body does for you. Practice getting comfortable looking in the mirror and, instead of picking your body apart, appreciate it for everything it is.
At the end of the day: would you rather obsessively monitor everything you eat, or eat more freely with a few extra pounds?
You’ve already made the amazing - and tough - decision to start to listen to your body and create a healthier relationship with food. It can be really scary but, if you’re here, I’m guessing part of you already knows that it’s worth it.
Like anything, learning to accept and appreciate your body - no matter where your intuitive eating journey takes you - will take time. But you got this. And you’ll feel so much better in the long run overall both physically and mentally once you get there, too.
1) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23962472/
2) https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0198401
Want tips on creating an easy, sustainable healthy relationship with food? Check out my membership program, All Foods Fit, with 12 thorough lessons to teach easy ways to create a healthy relationship with food. Or, check out my e-book, 7 Days to Make All Foods Fit, to learn a step by step guide to create a healthier relationship with food in just 7 days.
