Ah, dieting. The most futile endeavor of our times. Diets completely work while we are on them, and then suddenly stop when we go off them. It’s a mystery worthy of Scooby-Doo.
It takes a level of deranged self-importance to think that one could make a meaningful contribution to the endless amount of lifestyle tips, healthy eating hacks, or diet tricks at this point of insufferable saturation. Luckily, I have that level of deranged self-importance, and am going to blow your mind. Then run for president.
So without further ado, I present the Damn, Girl Diet:
It’s not a diet, it’s a lifestyle
Wait! Don’t leave!
I promise the words “cheat day,” “bikini body,” and “moist” won’t escape my mouth. (“Moist” has nothing to do with this; it’s just a horrible word and I apologize for subjecting you to it.)
Nay. This is a straightforward guide for those of you who suffer from binge eating, occasional binge eating and “cheating.”
The Damn, Girl Diet is my diet. It is tailored around my relationship with food. It might work for you if you have a similar relationship with food.
Step one: asking the Horrible Question
Asking yourself what your relationship with food is is no simple matter. The question itself can unleash a hot, steaming pile of nasty emotions. The question seems judgmental and the first things that might come to your mind are justifications, excuses, hurt feelings, and discomfort.
DGGYST: What is your relationship with food?
DGGYST: Fuck you! I’m not some god damn Barbie doll! Don’t put your patriarchal standards of beauty onto me, you fuck! Ok, fine! I’m fat, IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT TO HEAR!? It’s been a hard year! I’m fat, fat, fat! I’m a slob with no self control! ARE YOU HAPPY?
The first thing you have to do is clear that away. No judgement, no emotions, only facts. I will use me as an example:
DGGYST: What is your relationship with food?
DGGYST: Honestly, I enjoy food. The thought of missing out on things like hot chocolates in the fall and popcorn at the movies and s’mores makes me sad. It makes me feel like I wouldn’t be getting the most out of life. I feel the need to restrict these things from my diet but always end up justifying their worthiness and giving in, but then feel guilty afterward.
DGGYST: So it’s a restrict and splurge thing. What part of your relationship with food don’t you like?
DGGYST: I don’t like that I sometimes want to eat until I am sick.
DGGYST: Why do you eat until you are sick?
DGGYST: Because it’s the only feeling that will keep me from wanting more food. Sometimes it is trance like and weirdly soothing…in a horrible, compulsive way
There you go. A fairly emotionless description from me to me about my relationship: sometimes I want to eat and eat until I am sick, and I want to eat freely all of life’s variety.
My “diet success” lies in not fucking with these truths about my relationship.
Giving up
We love the idea of reinventing ourselves, rising phoenix-like out of the ashes of all our old ways. We watch TV shows about miracle transformations. We love the montages in the Rocky movies. We have wooden plaques hanging in our kitchens and bathrooms that say things like “Dream to inspire” or “If at first you don’t succeed” or “Final notice: we will disconnect your water if not paid in full.”
If you have been following the Damn, Girl blog for awhile, you know by now that it is all about doing the boring, non-inspirational things that actually get you to where you want to go.
For me and my occasional binge eating, that meant first accepting my relationship.
I would love to have not been a starving kid. I would love if i could look at food and not feel that horrible desperation that says, “Eat now or YOU MIGHT DIE!” but this relationship was formed moments after my first breath. It was cemented in decades of uncertainty and as sad and non-guru like as this sounds, I have zero confidence in being able to ever change that relationship….but I do know that I can life hack the fuck out of it.
Eat this not that…how about eat this then that?
After coldly processing the data of my relationship with food I came up with the Eat This, Then That diet. You thought it was a joke but it isn’t.
I suffer from occasional binge eating, so what would be a nice attainable goal? Eat. Yeah, eat more. Attainable AF.
The way that I maintain my body weight and feel content and satisfied is by allowing myself to eat any amount of anything that I want, as long as I eat the following first:
Before I go out to a meal
I eat one boiled egg and a piece of whole grain toast with butter.
It’s important to note that I love boiled eggs. If you decide to spoil your appetite a bit, make sure it is with something highly nutritious, full of protein, and something you intensely enjoy, or you won’t do it. Also, boiled eggs last forever, they come in their own container, and they are cheap.
This allows me to enjoy the meals I eat out a lot more! I usually feel so desperate for the food to come I can’t focus on the ambience or my dining partners who, if they don’t fucking order soon, will be strangled to death and their faces will be my appetizer. (Seriously, do you take forever to order? Just pick something! I NEED TO EAT.)
A protein and a carb beforehand and my dinner companions are safe and I find their indecisiveness delightful.
When I hear the horrible siren song of binge eating
For those of you familiar with the beast of over-indulgence, you know when it is about to happen. This is where I give myself full permission to binge.
You can go to town: marshmallows, crackers, cheeses of all kinds, a box of cereal…all yours. But first, you have to eat two boiled eggs and one apple with two tablespoons of peanut butter, and a hot chocolate. That’s 390 calories of deliciousness. Then you may proceed.
One of two things happen:
- If I don’t want delicious boiled eggs and peanut butter apples and a hot cocoa, it really hits home how un-hungry I am. I know the box of cereal is all mine. I am free to have the whole thing, but the realization that I am not hungry enough to eat something else I love, really drives it home to my lizard brain that I am not hungry. 90 percent of the time, I no longer desire the snack.
- The 10 percent of the time that I am determined to binge, I eat the eggs and the apple and the cocoa and then eat the marshmallow and feel satisfied. And if I am on a weird mission to get sick, it happens after three marshmallows, not thirty.
The fact is, we are the way we are for a reason. We’re all just trying our best. There is nothing more admirable than striving to be a better version of yourself. Sometimes our relationships (with food, people, work, mental health…) can feel like a maze. It is. That doesn’t mean that you can’t learn how to run it.
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Also, fat shaming will not be tolerated in the comments. Don’t be that guy.
This is so funny and too relatable. I’ve just been giggling over some of your post titles. Will have to read some more. Thanks for the laugh.
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This is such a great article. Loved it. People don’t realize that they need to be realistic with dieting. It’s not good to feel like you’re being deprived.
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Your strategy to eat a food (or 2+) you really love before going out is what was missing. It’s too easy to skip eating something you don’t really like that much. I’m starting to do it today!
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Your strategy is genius! I have a similar relationship with food… going to try incorporating the boiled egg strategy to help balance some of my own eating habits. Thank you for sharing this!!
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I adore this post thank u soo much
Question &answer part is amazing 🤗🤗
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You have an immensely important line in your blog post we all need to remember, for ourselves, and for each other (when we are tempted to judge a sister) — We’re all just trying our best. 🙂
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❤❤❤
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I know you would all appreciate that for my sister’s birthday yesterday we had a chocolate cake bake off. I made two new recipes, one with buttermilk and one with sour cream. Luscious covered with ganache and frosting. I hated my sister the last two days when I was making these and wanted to be taking a load off, but it was super fun yesterday. We had a total of 8 cakes including one made by my wonderful nephew using beets. Very cool. I woke up yesterday at my HIGH UGH weight. Why is it that I weighed 1.5 lbs less this morning? It never seems to make sense! Just love yourself, and love this crazy life and laugh!
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I am at my high weight too! Fucking November!!!
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Reblogged this on truelovebreakingthecycleoffailedrelationships and commented:
This will hit home! Enjoy!
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You are so right about knowing yourself and working with and around your nature instead of constantly fighting against it or fruitlessly trying to change it over and over and over again. Oh, and pay your daggone water bill. LMAO!
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Haha!!!
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lmao this is like actually so relatable with some surprisingly good advice in it! (i say as i eat twizzlers and am waiting for my calzone to arrive… lmao)
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haha! Get thee a boiled egg lol
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shit you right, you right lmao
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I totally love your strategy for dealing with the urge to binge! I think “Eat This, THEN That” will be ingrained in my mind permanently now 🙂
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Kyla, thanks! and thank you for your support!
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Damn! That makes sense!
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Haha, this was hilarious!! 🙂
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Damn, girl, where have you been all my life? Today you liked my little lipstick page and so I came to see what lovely person would do such a thing. I love your brain and your attitude and will be following you as a fan and admirer. Thank you for being awesome!
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What a sweetie you are! Your little pup in his ridiculous outfit had me giggling like a child lol
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This is what I was looking for … 😎
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I just discovered your blog and you just crack me up lol I love hearing your thoughts:)
I have recently started blogging as well. It started out as a travel blog but has also become my internet self-therapy/journal thing.
https://wordpress.com/view/grannysweatersandbikinis.wordpress.com
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Nicole thank you so much for your support. Damnation, your link isn’t linking! Could you put it in again?
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oh sure! I think I linked the wrong address:)
https://grannysweatersandbikinis.wordpress.com
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there it is! Now I am just going to cuddle up with some tea and devour your blog
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Ahhh!! So timely!
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This was awesome!
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Thank you so much!!!
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This is really good advice and funny too. If I ever feel the need to go out and buy some junk, I usually just look at the price and that helps me take a step back. The only problem is when a sale happens. :p
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Great diet concept! I’ll pass it on to my diet buddy. I have a friend who gives me support and vice versa for losing those extra pounds.
Oddly enough, I found out that twice now, after a long and delicious holiday where I had not restricted anything, I came home at basically the same weight. Odd! So, my instant conclusion is to travel widely and enjoy every minute cause it probably won’t make a difference to my weight anyway.
Also, I have discovered that my fall craving, cabbage rolls, seem to be the best diet food ever. I eat and eat and seem to be losing more weight daily. Or maybe it’s cause I haven’t had 8 glasses of champagne daily since I got back from my Caribbean holiday?
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Where’s the ‘love’ button? Great post… again
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Rawww! Thank you so much Vicki 💗
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Damn girl – I’ll be back. Bank doing background check so I shut down for a fee days just in case. Email me if anything but in case you wondered
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i love how real you are, you a no crap kind of gal
i am new to your site and i have only read one blog post, and i know i will continue to read your posts
great work
keep it up
PS. thanks for liking my post
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Thank you so much for your support!!
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I have such a bad relationship with food I am an emotional eater and often binge. I have been making an effort to recognise my habits and using healthier alternatives so I don’t feel deprived. This is such s great post and you are so inspiring.
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Thank you so much sweetie! It is such a common battle =(
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As another fellow binge-eater, I truly feel your pain! Another great read! 🙂 x
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Wow. You put into words a relationship with food that I can relate to but would’ve never thought of. I love the idea of boiled eggs, especially because I experience the same frenzy of needing food STAT when I’m hungry which is why I end up shoving everything on the table in my face. Loved this applicable post.
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Such a good post! I love eating.. I try to take small bites / eat in moderation. And most of all, I’m just trying to love myself no matter how I look.
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Jeez, I can’t pinpoint precisely why, but I absolutely adore this article. So relatable! It is no wonder to me why you have such a following. Great post!
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Thank you so much!
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Please run for president!!!!!
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Haha! Yes!
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I’m soo hooked to your blogging.. I love the authenticity…
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I too have the deranged level of self-importance it takes to blog about dieting! I just stumbled on your blog, and like your perspective. Looking forward to digging through your archives.
In the interest of self-promotion:
https://tossedsaladandscrambledeggsdietblog.wordpress.com/
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So good!! Such good ideas!
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