Jenny Eden Berk in 11 reasons why I stopped Dieting (and why you should too)

Jenny Eden Berk

gives 11 reasons to stop dieting. These are the three reasons that I most resonate with.

#5 — To not base my self-worth on a scale

#6 — To stop obsessing about food

#11 — To free up energetic and physical space in my life to do things that truly matter

The number on the scale is now a feedback to remind me to be more vigilant with my basic food-behaviour boundaries, increasing hydration, and improving habits to ensure better sleep.

I obsessed far more about my body size than about food. Not so much about the number on the scale as how I felt when I looked at my body. I hated the fact that I took up so much more space than I used to. I’ve always been awkward and clumsy, but I seemed to be bumping into more stuff than usual.

I went on my first serious diet with Weight Watchers in 2002 when I reached an all-time high of 176 lbs. Way too wide for my 5-ft height. To make time for all of the learning, planning, and food preparation, I gave up playing piano. I’ve only uncovered the piano a few times in the last 20 years. I’ve not dieted for a long time, and it’s given me more mental space for my spiritual life, for chess, and for writing on Medium.

I view the following of food boundaries as something both different and simpler than dieting. Most of my food boundaries are more about behaviours around eating and timing than about the actual food. I’m a simple person who resists complexity, so I’ve never been remotely attracted to the foodie trends. I admit to being fat phobic in the sense of not wanting to get beyond a certain weight, so the number on the scale is more of a motivator than I’d like it to be.