Is Paleo Giving You A Diet Mentality?

I hear from women all the time that say they eat ‘paleo’ or ‘healthy’, but still feel like they don’t have control over food. Food is not fun or easy.

Their relationship to food sounds worse than my freshman year boyfriend who made me call (and pay) for a taxi to take me home because he was too lazy to drive me 7 minutes.

They are confused as to why they don’t experience the instant She-Ra on crack super hero prowess that everyone else on the internet is talking about when they eat paleo or clean or real or whatever hashtag the cool kids are using these days.

Why does everyone else make it look so effortless and easy while you require a straight-jacket to be within 6 feet of the peanut butter cookies in the conference room?

**One reason: there is a HUGE difference between following a particular diet and having a diet mentality.**

Following a particular diet or way of eating can be harmless for many people. In fact, it can do wonders for health issues, as I personally experienced from being able to go off my anti-depressants and insomnia pills.

BUT, following a diet is not a remedy for the woman with a diet mentality.

In fact, it’s often a first class ticket into the VIP cabin of the diet-sabotage crazy train…. Ozzy and dove not included.

A diet mentality is what causes us to:

Eat because we’re sad, happy or lost our internet connection
Eat too much
Eat too little
Have food fears (carb-haters, I’m lookin’ at you)
Bounce between restriction and sabotage (weekend saboteurs, I’m lookin’ at you)
Feel like we can’t ‘ just have one bite’
Feel like we’ll never live to see what ice cream with freezer burn looks like
Be a hyper planner who thinks about food all the time instead of noticing life
Feel guilty when eating certain foods
Feel self-righteous when eating certain foods
Feel addicted to certain foods
Feel like calculating the square root of 4,374 is easier than putting food on your plate