Last week I discussed Marie Kondo’s KonMari organizational method. Specifically, asking if something is immediately useful or sparks joy before deciding to keep it. I asked what would happen if you applied this question to matters of food and body.
This week I want to discuss one of her other ideas: that of thanking your stuff for its service before letting it go. This idea has also been useful in helping me let go of stuff that has served its purpose. And it’s an idea that can help us let go of beliefs surrounding food, eating, and body that no longer serve us well.
The last few years has seen a revolution in our understanding of health and eating. It’s been widely recognized that diets don’t work and that calories in and out are a small part of a much more complex equation of weight. It’s now known that what we thought we knew about nutrition is wrong, and that there’s a lot more to healthy eating than what’s on your plate.
Yet outdated toxic beliefs based on these debunked ideas still reside in our brain. Beliefs like fat in food leads to fat on your body, appetite is the enemy, food can be grouped into good and bad, and that you have to earn the right to eat.
These outdated beliefs lead us to the opposite of what we seek. They lead us to correlate healthy eating with yucky taste, and to correlate moving our bodies with punishment. They keep us in the dieting cycle.
It’s time to bring your beliefs about food, health, and weight into the light so that each one can be analyzed. If it’s no longer useful, then let’s thank the belief for its past service and move on.
Sincerely,
Lisa
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This week I’m reading the lovely new book Eat Up – A Book About Food, Appetite, and Eating What You Want by Ruby Tandoh. It’s a thoughtful and inspiring romp through her life with food, exploring the meaning of our eating through our rituals, fears, experience, and beliefs.
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We’ve got much more coming, so stay tuned!
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