Hobbs - Fear-Free Food: How to ditch dieting and fall back in love with food

For those who want to live with less fear and more freedom

The information contained in this book is provided by way of general guidance in relation to the specific subject matters addressed herein, but it is not a substitute for specialist dietary advice. It should not be relied on for medical, healthcare, pharmaceutical or other professional advice on specific dietary or health needs. This book is sold with the understanding that the author and publisher are not engaged in rendering medical, health or any other kind of personal or professional services. The reader should consult a competent medical or health professional before adopting any of the suggestions in this book or drawing inferences from it.

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First published in Great Britain in 2018

Copyright Nicola Jane Hobbs, 2018

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ISBN: 978-1-4729-5017-8 (PB)
ISBN: 978-1-4729-5018-5 (eBook)

Designed by Matt Windsor

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Contents

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Nicolas passion is helping people eat, move and live with less fear and more freedom. She has a Masters degree in psychology, specialising in Eating and Exercise Psychology and is a qualified nutritionist and certified Intuitive Eating Counselor. Nicola also teaches yoga internationally and is the author of Thrive Through Yoga and Yoga Gym, both published by Bloomsbury. www.NicolaJaneHobbs.com.

INTRODUCTION

Fear- Free Philosophy

When I was consumed by my own struggles with food, I vowed that if I ever found freedom, I would write a book to help others find freedom too. Fear-Free Food is that book. It can be summarised by the following statement:

Eat freely. Love fiercely. Live fearlessly.

This is the philosophy of the whole book in a nutshell. Forget fad diets, clean eating and banning entire food groups, these six words are the short answer to the seemingly endless and confusing questions of what, why and how we should eat in order to be as healthy and happy as we can.

Eating freely refers to eating in a nourishing and self-loving way, having freedom from self-imposed food rules and restrictions, letting go of guilt and fear around eating, and celebrating food as a way to add meaning to your life.

Loving fiercely is about loving and respecting your body enough to make food choices that nourish you and leave you feeling healthy and energised.

And living fearlessly signifies how healing your relationship with food will empower you to become stronger and braver in other areas of your life.

Dieting, meal skipping and food restricting are so entrenched in our culture that they have become normal. We eat clean, avoid carbs and eliminate forbidden foods. We cut out sugar and gluten and dairy. We jump from one fad diet or lifestyle trend to the next in search of the perfect diet in the hope that it will give us the perfect body, perfect health and, ultimately, a perfect life. And millions of us are slaves to this diet culture where eating stresses us out and feeling guilt, confusion and anxiety around food is an everyday occurrence.

I spent years on the dieting, clean-eating, calorie-counting bandwagon and it didnt make me any healthier or happier. So Ive written Fear-Free Food to show you that there is another way. I want to show you that you can stop dieting, trust your body and still reach your health and fitness goals. My aim is to show you how to make peace with food, honour your hunger and eat in a way that feels natural to you.

Fear-Free Food is part of a new anti-diet paradigm a revolutionary non-diet eating movement that will empower you to remove all the rules and restrictions around food, respect your body and become healthier and happier. Its about replacing dieting and deprivation with nutrition and nourishment. Its about reigniting your passion, enjoyment and excitement for cooking and eating with heaps of delicious recipes. Ultimately, its about eating with less fear and more freedom.

Aim

I created Fear-Free Food because I was tired of reading conflicting nutrition information. I was fed up with being told that I should stand away from the buffet table at parties, that enjoying a slice of cake over coffee with a friend would make me fat and that celebrating food is at odds with health. I was tired of hearing that social gatherings involving food were problematic, that I should replace my favourite chocolate brownies with gluten-free, sugar-free, dairy-free ones, and that healthy eating requires willpower, self-denial and self-control. It upset me to discover the number of people who feel guilt and anxiety around food and it forced me to question why, despite all the scientific advances, nutrition research and expert advice, we are still deliberating over which foods are good for us and which ones arent. And while were deliberating, rates of obesity, eating disorders and diet-related diseases are higher than ever before.