The book that has changed my life (& I haven't even finished it yet!)

Do you ever feel like you have been on a diet of some kind for most of your life? Wanting to lose those few kilos for a special event, a wedding, a milestone birthday or just trying to lose that baby weight (or break up weight!)

Yes, me too!

I couldn't tell you how many times I have tried (and failed) to lose weight. Some successful attempts  but mostly not so successful.
A merry go round of different diets, all offering so much promise, but none really delivering. A bit of weight lost here, a bit more put on there.  It wasn't much fun!

At the end of of 2012, something in me shifted. I felt happier and had a sense of clarity about life that I hadn't had before. Maybe it was just getting older and wiser.
Anyway whatever it was, it made me want to make changes to my life, I finally wanted to nurture myself,  to take the time to look after myself.
As a single parent I really had invested so much time into nourishing Darby, and with finally some time all to my own, I wanted to start caring for myself. I wanted to make changes that weren't going to be just for the short term, but changes I wanted to implement for the rest of my life.

It was fantastic that I wanted to make all of these positive changes but the problem was I didn't know where to start, where to get the kind of assistance that would help.

 I knew a few things that certainly were going to help me in my endeavours:

* I was passionate about health, and the healing powers of food. This has long been something I have read and researched and tested. This inspires me everyday, to use my creative abilities to make amazing tasty food that is good for me  and Darby too.
* I was just as passionate at helping other people achieve their wellness goals, I live and breathe health and wellbeing in my career. This has been my job for the past 8 years and I love it. I know I am good at it too, so now its my turn to practice what I preached!
* I love to cook. Simple as that. Cooking nurtures my soul from the inside out. I am not the best or most sophisticated cook in the world, but I cook with love and I never want to lose that and I don't want to feel restricted to what I can cook because I am on a diet.

I knew these were  all great stepping stones but I just needed some kind of catalyst to start me up.

And it came in March, on a girls weekend away. A group of close girlfriends  discussing varying topics that girls do. We inevitably started talking dieting and body image and it seemed most of us were somewhat on the same page.

Even though it was sad we all had in common failed attempts of losing weight or somewhat distorted body images,  It was comforting to know I wasn't alone.   

My good friend spoke of this book that had helped her get in touch with eating intuitively. I stored the details in the back of my mind and as soon as I got home from my weekend, I downloaded it to my kindle.
It sat there for a week unread and then one Wednesday evening I was home alone, with nothing on TV, I opened it up, and from that moment I have felt changed. 

I'm not sure what shifted, but something did. It was the gentle push at first , but the more I read the more intense my feelings were and the happier and more content I felt.

This book spoke to me, it discussed the notions of failing at every attempt to ever lose weight. It went into great detail about how we reach a rock bottom before we do something.  I  knew  ultimately that  deep down all I was searching for was a sense of wellness, to finally be at peace with my body and peace with food. It taught me techniques on  how to be gentle on myself,  to be my own best friend and  my own coach.

To achieve wellness, not weight loss. To be happy in my own skin and to feel good about myself, not sabotage myself with all that weight loss jargon out there.

It wasn't just a book, but a new way of life. A way of creating a new relationship with my food, my body and my mind.
Its not about weight loss, its about freedom and honouring the body you have. (Weight loss may come over time, but it cant be the main motivator)
I was nodding along as I read, as so much resonated with me, as it would with most people I imagine.

I am  slowly learning to eat based on hunger and what my body actually wants, not a regimented diet, or an elimination of foods. I give my permission to eat any food I like, and you know what, my cravings for  certain foods have gone.  I eat when I am starting to get hungry and I check in with my body when I am eating and stop when I am comfortably full.

I have also given up sugar, it can still be in my diet if I want it to be, but I have realised that it was making me feel crap and I feel so much more balanced without much in my life (more on that another time.)

To say goodbye to that diet mentality and learning to eat intuitively has been amazing. I feel happier, calmer, and I finally have a sense of wellbeing that I haven't had for a long time.  I am respecting my body and what it wants. I eat healthily, not because I should, but because I want to. I want to nurture my body, give back to it, what its given to me.
I want to exercise because it makes me feel good, it gives me energy and that sense of wellness. I exercise because it puts a smile on myself, not because I want to be a size 10.

I have recommended this book to my sister and a few others who I think would benefit as much as I have. 

And to be honest I have only read 50% of the book, but it has already changed my whole perspective, I can only imagine that the other 50% will continue change my outlook.

 I know it will delve more into the emotional side of eating and respecting your body.   I can see a much  more positive future, where food does not rule, and I have a sense of wellness that has eluded me for so long, where self belief in my body answers back to any of those negative feelings.

I know there will be setbacks and times when I may not follow the principles outlined, but with this way of eating, there is no shame or guilt. A setback is just part of the journey.

My only regret is not reading this earlier in life.

If you want to check out the book I am talking about, head over to the Intuitive Eating website,  It is full of useful information and is definitely worth a look if you are ready to make a change the way you view yourself, diets and food.
Until next time
Java Jane

*This is in no way a sponsored post, I am just really passionate at how much this book so far has changed my outlook on dieting and how I want to live my life.