I would very much like to bring boardwalk hobby horse racing back, but I'm only one person!
Golda Poretsky, HHC
http://www.bodylovewellness.com
Listen to the podcast here:
Time For A New Hobby -- The Body Love Wellness Podcast [ 5:28 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (13)On any given day in the U.S., 48 million people are on a diet. That number doesn’t even include people who are not technically on a diet but exhibit some forms of food restriction or just feel guilty for not dieting.
Because so many people are on a diet, dieting often serves as a source of connection and community. So if you want people to cheer for your successes, feel your pain for your failures, and share your obsessions, going on a diet and telling people about it will do you just fine. Dieting and attempting to change your body is the way you get approval, empathy and support.
In many ways, dieting is like a hobby. It keeps you focused on minute, often pointless details as a way to allay boredom. It’s something to do to connect with other people. It’s a way to share what’s going on in your life.
But as hobbies go, dieting sucks. It leads to obsessive behaviors, messes with your health, lowers your self esteem, and doesn’t even lead to long term weight loss. And if you’re using it to connect with other people, you end up connecting over things like comparing yourself to other people, complaining about how “bad” you are for slip ups and cravings, and approving of one another for a temporal, fleeting thing — the direction of the number on a scale.
Sure, connecting via the shared pain, temporary triumphs and obsessive behaviors of dieting is a form of connecting with other people, but wouldn’t you like to connect over something else? Wouldn’t you love to share who you really are, your dreams and desires, your thoughts, your talents?
If you’re on a diet now, or have ever been, how much time and mental energy have you spent thinking about, doing, or talking about the following?
- What you should or shouldn’t eat
- How many calories, carbs, fat grams, points etc. are in in something
- Adding and calculating how many calories, carbs, fat grams, points etc. you’ve had in a day or week
- Feeling guilty about what you ate or want to eat
- Over-exercising
- Feeling unhappy with how you look
- Comparing yourself to others
- Avoiding things that might have been fun because you didn’t like how you looked
Taking a moment to add up these things, how much time would you say you lost when you could have been pursuing things that you actually liked and enjoyed? Is it days, weeks, months or even years?
If you’re tired of dieting, or find that you’re always thinking about dieting, it’s time for a new hobby. It’s time to connect or (re-connect) with what you actually like to do. I recommend taking out a piece of paper and just writing, without stopping or critiquing yourself, about what you might like to try or do. If you’re having trouble thinking of things, consider these:
- Taking a class on something creative, like photography, writing, art etc.
- Starting a blog
- Joining a book club
- Learning tarot cards
- Learning or re-learning an instrument
- Aqua-aerobics
- Trying new cooking or baking recipes
- Learning to knit
- Trivia contests
- Extreme, high-stakes competitive whittling*
Whatever you do, just let it be fun. You may even meet people who like what you like and are willing to talk about things other than dieting. How exciting!
* May not exist, but you can start it!
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Golda Poretsky, H.H.C. is a certified holistic health counselor who specializes in transforming your relationship with food and your body. Go to http://www.bodylovewellness.com/stay-in-touch/ to sign up for her newsletter and get your free download — Golda’s Top Ten Tips For Divine Dining!
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
@Kita, I’m so glad you dug it! Thanks for reposting it on reddit!
It’s a good question, isn’t it? It can be so hard to find people who are willing to talk about anything else!
That’s actually part of why I created my new group coaching program, The Empress Club. I wanted it to be a safe space for women to connect about other aspects of their lives.
I have no idea what the women I know would talk about if we suddenly stopped talking about weight loss.
Love this article, posted it on reddit!
Great post, Golda! I love your list of hobbies – high stakes whittling!!
@Heather, Thanks! I always have to be a little goofy!
[New Post] Time For A New Hobby – via #twitoaster http://www.bodylovewellness.com/2010/09/…
@bodylovewellnes I agree with your post yet still don’t understand how people “should” lose weight if want to
@cherrywoodburn Good question! You have to think about the “should” & the “want”. I don’t think intentional weight loss is a good idea.
@cherrywoodburn Also, we often want to lose weight as a prereq to a better life and better health, when the prereq doesn’t actually exist.
@bodylovewellnes Warfarin (Coumadin) is used to slow blood clotting. Acerola contains vitamin C. http://www.shakemealreplacement.com
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