Lyndi Cohen - The Nude Nutritionist Stop obsessing about food and never diet again

Is obsessing about food making you miserable and anxious?

Are you an emotional eater? A binge eater?

Do you have a mental list of bad foods?

Have you been on a diet for as long as you can remember?

When you lose weight, do you always put it back on?

Do you go to bed feeling guilty, promising tomorrow will be different?

Are you in control of every part of your life, except food?

In just seven chapters of straight-talking, friendly advice, Lyndi Cohen shares the tools to heal your relationship with food and release you from fixating on your size, even if youve been dieting for years. Learn how to listen to your hunger and calm your mind. Lyndi is one of Australias most popular dietitians, known as The Nude Nutritionist of Channel 9s TODAY show. She started dieting as a young teenager, unhappy with her growing body, and gave up in misery, having steadily gained weight for more than a decade. Almost by accident she become a mindful and intuitive eater, and along the way she gently lost 20 kg.

With over 50 deliciously realistic recipes (no superfoods required) youll also be inspired to eat well to boost your mood and balance your hormones. Change starts today.

Lyndi Cohen is the resident nutritionist on Channel 9s TODAY Show, a Jamie Olivers Food Revolution Ambassador and an accredited practising dietitian and nutritionist.

TO MY BIGGEST SUPPORTERS:
MY PARENTS, DENNIS AND ELIZE,
AND MY HUSBAND, LES.

Contents

No-one ever intends to binge eat, but depriving yourself isnt sustainable. You might be happy to starve into a version of yourself that you like, but I know from experience that your body has other plans. This book is about learning to eat healthily without obsessing, so you can go to bed at night feeling comfortable in your own skin and at peace.

When I was growing up, I was dedicated to losing weight the way some people are dedicated to winning gold at the Olympic Games. I wasnt passionate about nutrition so much as obsessed with losing weight. I was bigger than most other girls my age, something I first realised when I was six years old while wearing my too-tight pink leotard in ballet class. I remember comparing the other girls bodies to mine. My legs were thicker, my tummy was naturally more rounded and my frame was definitely bigger. I was self-conscious about my body, but my size didnt seem to be a real problem for me until I hit puberty.

While my weight was within a healthy range, I started to care more about what I looked like and thought I needed to be slim to be liked. This triggered my obsession with losing weight. I saw my first nutritionist and she seemed nice, but it was clear from our first session that if I wanted to be slim (and everything around me told me that I did), I was no longer allowed to eat the same foods that my brothers ate. From then on, I had special low-calorie diet snacks and meals in small portion sizes. I watched in envy while my twin older brothers ate what they wanted. I was 11 years old.

As I grew older, it turned out that I was willing to sacrifice a lot to try to lose weight. Counting calories and trying to be good was my lifes mission. Id lie in bed scrutinising what Id eaten that day and swearing that Id be better tomorrow. I started avoiding social occasions that involved food and created a long list of bad or forbidden foods. Food was constantly on my mind.

This is me aged 11, when my obsession with dieting began.

Diet and exercise

I always had a goal weight; a magic number that I hoped one day to weigh. I imagined that when I reached this goal, I would finally love my body and be proud of myself. So I tried all the well-known diets; I did programs that promised body transformation within weeks and endured gruelling boot camps. I googled articles about losing weight and I bought every womens magazine that claimed it could teach you how to look like the photoshopped model on the front cover.

But even once I got to my goal weight, it never felt the way I imagined. Id still look at photos of myself and think: Your arms are still so big. You could still lose more weight. And so the goalposts kept moving.

Weigh-ins would happen first thing in the morning, before having anything to eat or drink. Id strip off my clothes and stare at myself in the full-length mirror. Id make sure the scale was in the right place then step on, nervous and excited. Some mornings, the scale gave me the answer I wanted. I had lost weight. But the relief was only short-lived.

As time went on, I became more disordered in my relationship with food and the scales. Im ashamed to admit it, but one night before a morning weigh-in with a dietitian I cut my hair into a bob in an attempt to weigh less at the appointment. I was left with a lopsided hairdo and a heavy sense of shame. I left her office sobbing, devastated by being such a failure. I was 15 years old.

Eventually, even when I ate well all week, I wouldnt lose weight. The scales went from being a friendly motivator to cruel enemy. After years of letting myself go hungry, my metabolism had slowed as my body no longer trusted me to feed it properly. To protect me (and because my body loved me even when I didnt love it) my body held onto the weight.

My willpower was depleted. It didnt take me long to say, Screw it! Ive messed up today already. I may as well finish this. Ill just start again tomorrow.

Bingeing and emotional eating

Id wait till the house was empty. Even then, I would hide in the pantry and gorge myself on all the bad foods I wasnt allowed to eat. Id sneak food to my bedroom and then hide the wrappers. Id sometimes replace food to cover up my shameful secret. I was so ashamed.