Diet Books vs. Cookbooks

(I made an interesting point today, and I can’t wait to hear your comments. I think I’m right.)

I love bookstores. In fact, when I die, I’d love to have the “sitting up,” a southern thang, in the window of a little boutique bookstore. It would definitely attract some business. However, my mortality is not the point of this post. I want to talk about energy.

Bookstores are filled with all kinds of energy, from depression to over-excitement. As a coach, I am very good at reading the energy of others, and today, I was like a kid in a candy store, taking advantage of the various moods and spirits that pervaded the place.

I walked from section to section: fiction, world history, poetry, children’s, new age, but as I turned the corner to walk down the diet aisle, I felt a sudden drop in energy. I didn’t just feel it on a surface level, but it was a feeling that started in my gut and went all the way up my throat.

I watched some women pick up different books that presented opposing theories. A woman held a copy of skinny bitch in one hand and The Atkins Diet in other. Her face screamed despair and confusion. Another lady was holding a book on eating disorders. (It’s no coincidence that diet books are next to the addiction/recovery section.)

I started to remember my dieting days and the toxic cycle I was stuck in. With each failed diet, I became more desperate to find the next promised miracle. We have an energy scale of 0 to 10, the diet was about -99.

I walked quickly down the hall and around another corner to the shelves that were adorned with beautiful cookbooks from around the world. What I experienced was fascinating. So fascinating, I couldn’t wait to get home and write about it. As I began to walk through the cookbook section, my spirits soared. I became lighter amid the toppings of beautiful artisan breads and abundant fruits and vegetables.

I also experienced other changes in emotions:

– fear of peace
-Heavy to light
-lack of abundance
-sadness to joy
-self-awareness to confidence
-Negative internal dialogue to self-love.
-from frustration to calm
-confusion to trust

I also noticed the difference between women who were perusing cookbooks compared to women who were trying to decide whether to eat raw or eat right for their blood type. The women in the “cookbook” seemed relaxed with a bit of excitement. I heard a couple of them discuss their favorite recipes from Julia Child’s master tthe art of French cuisine.

I picked up one of my favorite cookbooks, Country kitchen in France, and I felt the excitement in my stomach, very different from the nauseating feeling I had felt before when I was stuck between the shelves of addictions and diets.

Interestingly, the women in the cookbook section were all skinny. Yes, the women browsing recipes made with real butter, sugar, and flour were skinny, while the women looking for their next diet weren’t.

So what does my observation mean? I believe that if a person allows himself to enjoy all kinds of foods that feel good on his own body, he will operate at a much higher energy level, which appeals to a naturally lean body. She does not have the fear of deprivation or lack like those who live from diet to diet or those who do not diet but live with low energy levels.

Women who are relaxed don’t usually binge. Women who indulge in an occasional treat don’t feel the need to eat the entire bag of Oreos. Women who love themselves find other ways to feed their hungry hearts. Women who possess higher energies, such as happiness, joy, excitement, optimism, and love, attract more of those powers into their lives.

The universe is abundant, and she relaxes in this abundance, not feeling like she must devour everything that comes her way, be it food or herself.

She simply listens to her body, feeding it a variety of delicious foods and trusting the natural process of eating when she’s hungry and stopping when she’s full.

If you are struggling with your weight, ask yourself the following:

Do diet books excite me? -Do I get clarity or do I gather more confusion from the diet books? -Would you rather cook (and eat) by following a beautifully crafted cookbook with fresh, delicious ingredients or adhere to a strict plan that requires rigid rules and keeping up with a bunch of numbers?

If your answers weren’t positive, chances are your body is telling you that dieting isn’t your answer. In fact, science has shown that dieting leads to more disordered eating and, in most cases, weight gain. The diet is very low in energy, which conflicts with the energy needed to lose weight.

Here’s a hint: weight loss comes when you learn to connect with your body and make peace with it. That means providing delicious food, abandoning the rules of others, and loving yourself as your ideal body emerges.

After doing my bookstore observation, I grabbed a new cookbook to add to my collection and went out of my way to avoid the grueling diet aisle that continues to suck the energy (and life) out of women.