Spring Cleaning: readying our hearts and homes for a non-diet shift
Written by Natalie Wilson RDN, CEDS
All around the country, spring offers us a sense of renewal and a much-welcomed shift in weather to sunnier days and new life popping up in all forms: flowers, grass, and baby critters hatching. Many people use this time to clear out the dreariness in the home and pack up the things that remind us of colder, darker days. This process is referred to as spring cleaning. Whether you’re readying your home for a much-needed change in season, or considering doing some much deeper soul-cleaning work, the process of spring cleaning can also transcend to our relationship with food and body.
Is it possible that we can become comfortable with things around the home or in our environment that keep us in an unhealthy relationship with food and our body, without even knowing it? In this blog post, we hope to explain the many ways that spring cleaning our homes and environments can welcome a more positive shift in the way we see ourselves as we continue to embark on the non-diet journey.
Old Clothes
In the eating disorder space, these clothes can be referred to as sick clothes, but can more broadly be defined as any clothes we hold onto that hold an unfulfilled promise that we will “one day” fit back into these clothes. Maybe it is a dress from an event or a swimsuit from summers ago that no longer fits our body. Getting rid of these clothes can not only free up more closet space to fill with clothes that actually fit our body and personal style, but also provide some psychological healing in “letting go” of a potentially harmful unrealistic and old version of our bodies.
Old Pictures
Taking a walk down memory lane can be fun, and if those pictures include you in a different body this may also magnify some negative body image thoughts. Maybe it’s not ideal to delete photos of you with loved ones, on a trip, or with a certain precious memory, but it might be worth deleting some old “selfies” or before and after photos that keep you entangled with negative body image. I have seen folks store images on their phones or elsewhere of their body when they were at their “sickest” or most disordered (in terms of relationship with food) and this has really haunted them later on when trying to pursue a safe, healthy, and healed relationship with food and body. If these photos of you aren’t worth sharing with future friends and family, maybe just delete ‘em.
If these photos of you aren’t worth sharing with future friends and family, maybe just delete ‘em.
Social Media
Are there accounts you follow that end up making you feel worse about your body? There may be accounts that have good intentions regarding nutrition, fitness, and overall health. However, we must remain mindful that social media is not an accurate representation of someone’s life, and it often lures us in with highly filtered, altered, and unrealistic images that we are comparing to our unfiltered life. I often tell my clients, if the account makes you feel worse about yourself, it’s probably not worth following. We might be able to come back to that account in a more healed place with food and body, or we might realize that specific content is totally not for us and move on!
If the account makes you feel worse about yourself, it’s probably not worth following.
Dieting Books
Hello to anyone born before the 2000s that might still know what a cookbook is. They can still be really fun, but I’m reflecting on diet cookbooks specifically, plastered with labels of calorie limits, “good” and “bad” foods, weight loss plans, and overall quite bland and boring food! Let’s free up some room on those bookshelves for books we actually love, or if you’re not a reader like me, fill them up with things that elevate your environment like candles or a plant! The 90’s called and they want their diet books back, for good!
The 90’s called and they want their diet books back, for good!
Scales & Food Scales
Is the scale in the bathroom tempting you back to a life in bondage to numbers? Our weight does not define our worth, and fun fact - we actually have no idea what we’re measuring when we step on the scale! What is that number even measuring? What does that number really mean? Is it helpful? Is it necessary? I’d like to suggest an old-fashioned scale smash, or you can simply toss it if that’s more your vibe. Do we need food scales? Maybe, if we’re into making homemade items (I’m thinking of my recent sauerkraut recipe), but if you’re using it to weigh out your chicken breasts and grams of pasta, then friend it is time to go!
Fitness Videos & Gym Memberships
Speaking of the 90’s, does anyone have any exercise videos lying around? Maybe from mom or grandma? Not a bad thing if these videos are fun and get your blood pumping and body moving, but if the narrative is solely based on weight loss (perpetuating weight stigma and shame) or you just flat-out don’t enjoy it - toss ‘em! What about gym memberships or exercise video memberships? Not using them? Maybe this form of movement isn’t enjoyable for you. Try something else like a walk in the park, spontaneous dance party, gardening, cleaning the house, taking a bike ride, or other forms of non-numbers-based movement! We don’t have to engage in “traditional” forms of exercise in order to move our body.
We don’t have to engage in “traditional” forms of exercise in order to move our body.
This is just a short list of items around the house that may be keeping us in an unintentional (or intentional) negative relationship with food and body - and there surely are many more ways depending on each individual’s home environment. It’s okay to let go of things we no longer see as part of our future. As we prepare for brighter days ahead, take a moment to reflect on how we can also do that for our bodies, starting off with a good spring cleaning!