I have a fear of gaining weight, but want to try Intuitive Eating… help!

January 30, 2024

You’ve had enough… You’re sick of diets, sick of starting over every year & month, and so sick of your food rules… By now, you know diets don’t work and want to try Intuitive Eating (hooray!!!). But you have a fear of gaining weight. No worries, we can get through it together… I can help!

You want to try Intuitive Eating, but you have a fear of gaining weight.

You’re done with diets and sick of food rules, you want to try intuitive eating, but have a fear of gaining weight?

First, let me tell you that I 100% can relate because I thought the same exact thing.

If it’s your first time here, I’m Chelsey, an intuitive eating dietitian, but more importantly, an ex-chronic dieter so I know what it’s like to try and eat as little as possible, try to be “good,” but then feel out of control when you come face-to-face with your favorite foods.

I stumbled upon intuitive eating when I was healing from 4 years of a debilitating bout of illness (I had an undiagnosed chronic lung disease, in case you’re wondering). I had lost a lot of weight when I was sick (my body was “hypermetabolic”), so I could eat whatever I wanted without gaining weight for the first time in my life.

You see, I was never one of those naturally super skinny girls. I used to joke in middle school (now I know it’s not funny) that I could look at an APPLE and gain weight. I lived my entire middle school, high school, and college experience with a fear of gaining weight.

(And by constantly dieting I gained and lost a lot of weight over the years.)

As my body started to heal from my lung infections, I started gaining weight. This was a good thing for my HEALTH! I also happened to be in grad school for nutrition and knew by now that weight was so much more complicated than calories in versus calories out.

I was ready to stop shoving my size 7 shoe into a size 6, so to speak, but it was nerve-wracking…

If I ate what I wanted would I ever stop gaining weight?
Is there a weight I could maintain and feel good in my body?
Would I always think about food so much?

Here’s the reality… your fear of gaining weight is holding you back from becoming an intuitive eater.

It’s hard to notice your hunger cues if you’re always trying to eat less to weigh less.

It’s really hard to tune into your hunger cues and honor them when you have it in the back of your head that you should always strive to eat less and less.

Just the other day I was talking with a client about food timing. She had strict rules that she had to wait until at least noon to eat lunch. But she was up with her kids around 6am, ate breakfast by 7am, and was often hungry by 11am. By the time she gave herself permission to eat lunch – oftentimes well after 12pm – she was way over-hungry… which fueled her mindless afternoon snacking and even binging.

Her food rule of waiting until 12pm to eat lunch developed because she was trying to minimize her caloric intake. If she ate earlier, she would need to eat more throughout the day.

But this backfired! She would often over-eat all afternoon and evening because of this very rule!

When she was able to let go of this rule – and her fear of gaining weight – she was able to tune into her body’s hunger cues, a key principle of Intuitive Eating.

It’s hard to be satisfied from your food if you’re trying to cut calories from every meal.

Another cornerstone of Intuitive Eating is discovering satisfaction. When you eat satisfying meals, you stop thinking about food so much.

However, it’s difficult to eat satisfying meals if you’re always trying to cut calories or “save” calories to eat less and lose weight.

And satisfaction doesn’t mean eating pizza, burgers and fries, and ice cream all day.

An extra drizzle of olive oil makes roasted vegetables so much more enjoyable… and promotes better health!
A sprinkle of cheese can boost satisfaction like crazy!
Adding bacon to a salad totally transforms the eating experience… ya feel me?

Especially if you struggle with binge eating and intense afternoon or nighttime cravings, satisfaction is so important to stop these behaviors.

Fear of gaining weight? Well, weight does not equal health.

Another important aspect about your weight that’s important to consider is that weight does not equal health. I know you’ve been fed the narrative for so long that you’re only healthy if you’re skinny, but it’s simply not true.

We know that you can be skinny with diabetes. You can be fat without one chronic disease. Correlation does not equal causation, and what’s most important are your health-promoting behaviors.

That’s why when I work with my clients, we focus on these health-promoting behaviors, including:

Nutrition, in a realistic and inclusive way (no restriction!)
Stress management
Movement
Sleep hygiene

These are all doable habits that help you feel good… not just help you lose weight.

But if you only focus on weight loss and your fear of gaining weight, you’re not focusing on supporting your best health.

You can lose weight on a diet of Starbursts. That doesn’t mean you’re healthy!

So why do you have a fear of gaining weight?

You know diets don’t work… you’ve been through the yo-yo dieting, the ups and downs, the can’t seem to follow the plan long-term… but the thought of letting go of your diet rules and food rules feels scary because you don’t know how your body will respond?

Newsflash: you don’t know how your body is responding to all of your dieting either!

You think you’re trying to make your body smaller, but is it really working? Studies show that 2/3 of dieters gain more weight over time. Yo-yo dieters’ weights tend to trend UP over time, even if they lose some weight in the short-term.

Let’s examine why you have a fear of gaining weight to get to the bottom of it.

For many of us, it’s been well-engrained that you should lose weight. Diet culture, family values, societal norms,.. they all tell us to lose weight.

What do you associate with weight loss? Why is it so important to you?

More success?
Beauty?
Advantages in life?
Happiness?
An ability to do things you otherwise aren’t allowing yourself (travel, dating, etc.)?

Understanding why you fear a changing body can help you embrace living life diet-free.

You can do anything at any size. You can choose to be happy, choose to find success, no matter your size. It’s all about your mindset!

In my work with clients we get to the bottom of these fears of gaining weight and help you find a weight that feels good for your body...

Without dieting
Without food rules
With a realistic and doable nutrition + movement plan

You don’t know what will happen to your body when you stop dieting and become an intuitive eater.

You can lose weight, gain weight, or maintain your weight. But I can guarantee that you’ll find a weight that supports your best health AND you can easily maintain.

I’d love to support you on your journey to becoming an intuitive eater, stressing less over food, and eating without food rules. Book a time below or use this link to chat about your nutrition goals and see if we’re a good fit to work together!