I spent years on the dieting train back and forth.

I went in and out of dieting clubs, online cookie cutter programs, books, and articles. I tried everything else to ‘fix’ my weight problem.

Eventually I lost the ability to trust myself around food, making the right decisions.

Planning took forever because it needed to be fun and exciting so that I could stick to it ALL WEEK.

I made sure I ate my protein targets to support my workouts. I wanted to enhance muscle growth. However, I felt worse because I was so full all the time. I felt worse by trying to make myself better.

It was exhausting, I was exhausted. I had no space in my head to actually achieve anything other than ‘what am I going to eat.’ Day in, day out, it was just all about the food.

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It’s incredibly common for women to feel disconnected from their own bodies after years of yoyo dieting.

You’ve spent so much time following external rules, counting calories, or measuring portions. This can make it really hard to recognise your natural hunger.

Labeling foods as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ also affects this recognition of fullness cues. You start to second-guess whether you’re actually hungry or just craving something out of habit.

Over time, this erodes your trust in your body. It also diminishes your self-confidence. You start to feel like you can’t be trusted around food without a set of rules.

The Impact of Diet Culture 

You’ve probably heard the term diet culture before, but what of earth does this actually mean? 

Diet culture is the way we think about food and our bodies. It equates thinness with health. Beauty and even morality are linked to thinness. 

It’s the subtle or not so subtle social voice. It says, ‘You’ll be healthier, happier, and more worthy if you’re smaller.’ 

The impact of diet culture goes far deeper than just the foods you eat. It affects your physical health. It impacts your emotional well-being. It also influences how you feel about yourself.

Physical effects of Dieting

When you’ve spent years following food rules, it can slowly disconnect you from your body’s natural ability. These rules include counting calories, avoiding carbs, or cutting out entire food groups. Your body knows when, what, and how to eat.

You stop trusting your hunger and fullness cues because you’ve been told they can’t be trusted. 

Dieting can also slow your metabolism. Your body goes through cycles of eating less and then overeating. It learns to hold onto energy. This makes it harder to maintain weight loss. I’m sure you know what I mean if you have ever been on a diet. Stopping the diet makes this clear.

On top of that, restrictive eating can lead to your body lacking certain nutrients. It can also cause a lack of energy and even gut problems.

Emotional impact of Dieting

This is just as significant. Chronic dieting erodes your self-trust. You become reliant on external rules—like meal plans or calorie targets—rather than listening to your body’s wisdom. 

Over time, this makes you feel like you can’t be trusted around food. Diet culture labels foods as ‘good’ or ‘bad’. As a result, you might feel guilty or ashamed when you eat something that’s considered ‘off-limits.’ 

This guilt can trigger a vicious cycle of restriction, followed by rebellion, and then regret.

And here’s the thing—dieting doesn’t just affect how you feel about food. 

It impacts how you feel about yourself. When a diet inevitably fails you—and let’s be real, most diets do—you blame yourself, not the diet. You start to feel like you lack the willpower. You think you don’t have the discipline or the motivation. However, the system is designed to fail. 

And this can seriously knock your confidence.

Diet culture also shapes how you see your body. It promotes the false belief that being thin makes you more valuable, more lovable, and even more successful. 

And this leads to body dissatisfaction, constant self-criticism, and a preoccupation with appearance. Over time, you might find yourself avoiding social events because you’re worried about the food or how you look. 

Or maybe you start to fear eating certain things. You might feel you have to ‘earn’ or ‘burn off’ your meals.

And finally, let’s talk about the mental load that dieting creates.

When food becomes something you obsess over—tracking every bite, stressing about every calorie—it consumes so much of your mental energy. And instead of enjoying meals or being present with loved ones, you’re caught up in guilt, rules, and restrictions.

But here’s the truth: your worth is not defined by your weight. 

Health is not about being as small as possible. True health comes from respecting your body. It involves nourishing it with what it needs. It also means making space for joyful movement, good sleep, and self-care. Breaking free from diet culture isn’t easy, but it is possible. And it starts with giving yourself permission to trust your body again.

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The Path to Rebuilding Self-Trust 

Now that we’ve talked about the impact of diet culture, let’s examine how you can rebuild your self-trust. This is about reconnecting with your body and your true needs. 

It’s not a quick fix—it takes time, patience, and a whole lot of kindness towards yourself. 

Let’s walk through four steps you can start taking today.

Step 1: Get Curious, Not Critical

The first step in rebuilding trust is to shift the way you talk to yourself. Diet culture influences how you perceive your food choices. It affects your view on your body and the things you do. But this path is all about curiosity, not criticism.

Start by noticing the dialogue in your head. What are you telling yourself when you’re around food?

Are you being kind, or are you making harsh judgments? For example, if you find yourself thinking, ‘I can’t be trusted around chocolate,’ that’s a red flag. Instead of judgment, shift to inquiry: ‘What am I really needing in this moment?’

Ask yourself what’s beneath the craving—maybe it’s a need for comfort, or maybe you’re simply hungry. The goal here is to explore your feelings, not judge them.

Feelings are a normal part of being the amazing human you are. We often view them as bad or unhelpful. This leaves you wanting to use something external to comfort the feeling you are having such as food. 

So, every time you notice yourself being critical, try to replace it with a more curious question.

Step 2: Reconnect with Hunger and Fullness Cues

Next, let’s talk about reconnecting with your body’s natural signals of hunger and fullness. After years of dieting and restriction, you might feel out of touch with these cues. But this is where rebuilding trust really begins—by learning to listen to your body again.

To do this, start with gentle hunger and fullness check-ins throughout the day. A great way to get started is by using a simple scale from 1 to 10. 1 is starving, and 10 is uncomfortably full. 

Where do you land when you feel hungry, and where are you when you’re feeling satisfied? Check in with yourself throughout the day, before, during, and after meals. This helps you get a sense of what true hunger feels like, and when you’ve had enough.

Next time you eat, try an exercise. Pause halfway through a meal. Ask yourself, ‘How satisfied do I feel right now?’ Are you just eating out of habit or are you truly enjoying and feeling full?

This practice helps you become more mindful of what your body is telling you without judgment.

Step 3: Permission to Eat Without Rules

A big part of rebuilding trust is giving yourself permission to eat without rules. Diet culture tells us that some foods are “good” and some are “bad.” However, this only creates shame and guilt around certain foods. This is especially true for the ones we label as forbidden.

Think of these forbidden food labels as your trigger to eat a fuck ton of food out of rebellion. When you’re finally permitted to have a food you’ve been forbidden for a long time, you might overindulge.

Examples of such foods include chocolate or pizza. Chances are you’ll go all out on eating it. You might overeat it because it feels naughty, like a treat.

You justify eating it all. Once it’s gone, you can remove it from your diet again. You never think about it until the next time it happens. Adding more guilt and shame for eating it or causing you to believe that you can’t control yourself around food. 

But when you allow yourself to eat these foods regularly, without guilt or restriction, they lose their power. 

The key is not to treat them like forbidden fruit. Instead, make peace with all foods. Eat them mindfully and without any shame. You’ll start to see the emotional charge around these foods fade away. You will feel more in control of your food.

Step 4: Practice Self-Compassion and Patience

Finally, remember that rebuilding trust takes time, and you have to be patient with yourself. This journey is full of ups and downs, and you’ll have some setbacks. 

But the important thing is to celebrate the small wins along the way, rather than focusing on the missteps.

If you find yourself overeating, for example, don’t beat yourself up. Instead, recognise that it’s just feedback, not failure. All that’s happened is you have done something you didn’t really want to do 

The goal is to learn from these moments. If you eat more than you intended, ask yourself why. Were you hungry? Were you eating for emotional comfort? This isn’t about shame; it’s about understanding your body’s needs.

And when you do have a victory—maybe you’ve eaten mindfully, or you’ve let yourself enjoy a meal without guilt—celebrate it. Give yourself credit for the progress, no matter how small. This helps reinforce the trust you’re building with yourself and encourages more positive habits in the future.

Real-Life Tips and Tools

So far, we’ve talked about the journey to a Diet detox. We have also discussed steps to reconnect with your body and food. Now, let’s get practical.

I want to share some real-life tips and tools with you today. You can start using them to support this process of building self-trust. These tips will help you take action. They will make this work feel more accessible and doable. You can achieve this even on your busiest days.

Journal Prompts for building Self-Trust

One of the best ways to start shifting your mindset and reconnecting with your body is through journaling.

Writing things down helps you process your thoughts and emotions. It’s a great way to check in with yourself regularly. You can solve so much of your own mental chitter chatter when you journal. 

Here are some journal prompts that can help you build a stronger relationship with yourself and your body. 

1. When do I feel most in tune with my body?
   Take a moment to reflect on the times when you feel truly connected to your body. Is it when you’re moving in a way that feels good—like dancing, walking, or stretching? Or is it when you’re nourishing your body with foods that make you feel energised? Recognising these moments can help you connect with your body’s needs and desires.
   
2. What are three things my body does for me daily?
   We often take our bodies for granted, but they’re doing amazing things for us every single day. Maybe it’s your heart beating, your lungs breathing, or your legs carrying you through the day. Write down three things that your body does for you each day, and take a moment to appreciate it.
   
3. How can I show my body more kindness today?
   This one is all about compassion. What’s one thing you can do to show your body kindness today? Maybe it’s taking a break. You might also drink some water. Move your body in a way that feels good. Simply talk to yourself with love instead of criticism. A small act of kindness each day helps build trust with your body over time.

Practical Strategies

Next, let’s talk about practical things you can use to put these ideas into action. Here are two strategies you can try right away.

1. Create a “No Rules” Meal Once a Week.
   Setting aside one meal each week is a great way to practice food freedom. Eat whatever you’re craving with no rules attached. No calorie counting, no restriction, no guilt. Just choose the foods that feel satisfying in that moment and eat without judgment. This is your opportunity to experience true food freedom and trust yourself to make choices that feel right. By doing this regularly, you start to eliminate the fear around certain foods. You reinforce the idea that you are capable of making choices that support you. There is no need for rigid rules.
   
2. Celebrate Non-Scale Victories.
   It’s easy to get caught up in the number on the scale. However, true health is about so much more than that. Focus on celebrating non-scale victories—those moments that show you’re making progress in ways that matter. For example, notice how your energy levels have changed, how your mood is improving, or how your strength has increased. Maybe you’ve noticed that you’re sleeping better, feeling more confident, or able to enjoy food without guilt. These victories are just as important, if not more, than the number on the scale. Celebrate them!
   

Mindset Shifts

Now, let’s focus on shifting your mindset. Building self-trust is not just about taking action—it’s about changing the way you think and feel about yourself. Here are two powerful mindset shifts to help you on your journey.

1. “Your body is not the enemy—it’s your partner in healing.”
   For so long, diet culture taught us to see our bodies as something to fix or control. But in reality, your body is your ally. It’s the one that carries you through life, and it’s constantly working to keep you healthy. Reframe the way you think about your body. Instead of seeing it as the enemy, start seeing it as a partner in your healing. Do not view it as something that needs to be fixed. When you build a trusting, cooperative relationship with your body, it can support you in so many ways.
   
2. “Trusting yourself around food takes practice, but you are capable of it.”
   This journey is all about practice. Trusting yourself around food won’t happen overnight, and that’s okay. You don’t need to be perfect. Instead, give yourself permission to take it one step at a time. Each time you make a choice that feels good, you’re building trust. Whether it’s enjoying a meal without guilt or listening to your hunger cues, remind yourself you are building trust. So remind yourself, “You are capable of this.” Every small action reinforces your ability to trust yourself more, so be patient with the process.