I eat what I want, when I want.
These could be the (really annoying to some of us) words of a naturally slim person, genetically blessed with a speedy metabolism. The rest of us have to slog on with a never-ending battle with the scales, right?
But these words belong to an ordinary woman who has struggled for years trying to lose weight on every diet ever invented. Lotta Dann, also known as Mrs D through her books on quitting alcohol and wine mum culture, is now busting diet myths and chowing down on whatever food she feels like.
Lotta Dann on Ditching Diets
The author, addiction advocate and mum of three is saying nup to counting calories, restricting food groups and denying herself “treat” or “naughty” foods. She’s practicing self-acceptance of the way her body is, right now and not trying to change it.
The idea for her fourth and latest book, Mrs D Is Not On a Diet, began when Lotta had put on “a whole lot of weight” after yet another diet had “stopped working”. Convinced by a wellness “guru” that she was addicted to food and needed to weigh every single thing she ate, including lettuce leaves, Lotta had been in the supposedly blessed skinny girl zone, complete with flat tummy, bum and thigh gap. But ultimately, her body rebelled from eating minute amounts of food – mainly coleslaw – and she returned to her old habits of secret comfort eating and bingeing.
Mountains of crackers smothered with butter and jam and bowls of lemon icing were eaten furtively and furiously. “I tried so hard to get back on track, I wrote everything down that I ate but no matter what I did, I couldn’t stop eating.”
On the eve of going on holiday with a “bunch of very lovely, absolutely gorgeous but skinny women” Lotta was full of dread. “I was full of shame about putting on weight and seeing them but there was a part of me that was like, ‘Why am I feeling this way about this magical holiday that means so much to me?’”
The anti-diet movement that had been hanging out on the edge of Lotta’s social media algorithm now came into focus. She fired off a letter to her book publisher to see if they were interested in a book exploring the “bullshit” of diet culture.
“Part of my process is like taking control by articulating the arguments. I knew if I write a book, it would help me fight.”
Jumping off the diet cliff
The main components of rejecting diet culture, which Lotta says is ingrained in all of us and fuels a multi-billion dollar global industry, are not demonising or limiting any type or amount of food, and complete body acceptance.
Jumping into food freedom was terrifying at first, and took a long time to get used to. “Deep down I still felt like some foods were naughty and rebellious and I really had to free myself from that perception. Your mind has to learn to trust that food's always going to be there and you can always have it. Only then can you start genuinely asking yourself, ‘Do I actually feel like eating that right now, or am I just doing it because I'm being naughty?’ If there’s a little bit of guilt, that’s diet culture thinking.”
Lotta’s favourite potato chips had a free-for-all for a hot minute but eventually became less appetising when she stopped restricted them. “I still have them but sometimes I'm like, ‘yeah, no’, they’re a bit cardboard-y.”
Eating intuitively is another mainstay of the anti-diet culture. Three years down the track of not dieting, Lotta now questions how she is feeling about the food she’s eating and whether she’s eating to be truly satisfied.
Ditching diets is a good idea
Her relationship with food has completely changed – she still loves it but it doesn’t carry the charge it once did.
“In a way, it's become more ordinary. I can still get happy and overjoyed about delicious meals but because I'm allowed to eat whatever I want, whenever I want, it doesn't hold the same kind of power. I'm not obsessive or sparkly-eyed about it. Now, it’s just a part of the fabric of every day.”
Back in her dieting days, food would rule her life. “On that last crazy diet I was only allowed to eat three times a day with zero snacking in between. Those three meals became this huge event because, you know, I was freaking starving. Now it's like, ‘Here comes another meal. Yum, yum, moving on.’”
Letting go of the skinny ideal
Completely accepting that your body may not be skinny or living up to a perceived societal standard – and doesn’t need shrinking – is not easy. “It takes time and it takes work, there's no doubt about it.
“Most people in the world are still very driven by diet culture,” she explains. “They will genuinely look at any fat on the body and think it's unhealthy and not attractive. I know that's happening in people's minds, but then at the same time I often look at people with bigger bodies and think how great their outfit is or how good they look.”
Lotta still has the occasional “bad body image days” and “shame spirals”, but far less than a few years ago.
“We know that 90% of diets don’t work in the long term. I love living without some arbitrary set of rules that tells me what I’m allowed and not allowed to eat, or someone telling me I can’t have a wobbly tummy or big boobs.”
Getting to eat what she wants without thinking about the scales is freeing. She agrees that ditching diets is a good idea in her experience. Lotta Dann on ditching diets? It's a GREAT idea, she says.
“I'm probably heavier than I've ever been but it's totally manageable. I'm moving my body more and I'm feeling healthy. It's a great way to live.”
This article was first published on Capsule.
Find retailers for Mrs D Is Not On A Diet.
Contact Good Health Coach - registered mental health coach, Paulette Crowley, if you'd like to find out more about how coaching can help you.
Comments