Going full HAES

I said in my last entry that I was going to go back to keeping a mindful eating journal - it lasted half a day!! I have still been trying to eat mindfully, but I realised I have spent a LOT of time over the years tracking what I eat in one way or another. I am DONE! Keeping a journal was very helpful for me when I first explored mindful eating but now it's just something else to rebel against, so I'm moving on.

Instead I'm really going to turn my attention to taking up a HAES approach to my journey.  HAES stands for "Health at Every Size" and the basic principle is that trying to control how much you weigh is both often fruitless and also not the best predictor of health outcomes. The HAES approach advocates for engaging in healthy behaviors such as regular exercise, eating your fruits and veg and practicing moderation.

For someone who is sick of worrying about all of the numbers it's the perfect approach. There is also just so much less pressure - you just do the best you can on any given day. 

I've been at it for a week and it's been up and done - there's been a few "devil may care" moments with regards to food and I'm still constantly tempted to check the scales to see if it's "working". That's the hardest thing, trying to change that almost hard wired mindset that my weight is the only thing that matters, trying to ignore that little voice in my head that says if I'm doing it "right" I should be loosing weight. 

With HAES comes radical self acceptance and self love - it means a commitment to taking good care of yourself - that sounds like a better goal to work towards than changing my relationship with gravity.