Gentle reminders for when someone's diet triggers you

"How to get a bikini body: 1. Put a bikini on your body."

It is that time of year again. Everyone is getting their body "bikini-ready". Everyone seems to be going on a diet, calorie-counting, on some cleanse or new meal plan and everyone is talking about what they are doing. Yet, for those that have ever struggled with their relationship with food or an eating disorder, all this talk of dieting can be incredibly triggering. If you have ever struggled with your relationship with food, you may find someone sharing their dieting journey makes you wonder if you, too, should try that keto-meal-plan, new calorie-counting app or diet club. This dieting talk can also send you into a spiral of negative thoughts about yourself, your food choices and your body.

Here are some gentle reminders for times when someone's diet-talk triggers you:

1. DIFFERENT THINGS WORK FOR DIFFERENT PEOPLE

We are all very different. This is especially true when it comes to diet and lifestyle choices. Just because a certain way of eating or lifestyle works for someone else, it doesn't mean that it will or has to work for you. Even if we all ate exactly the same food and exercised the same amount, we would all look very different.

We also all have different values and priorities in life. Just because someone wants to place an emphasis on attaining a certain body or goal, it doesn't mean that this needs to be important or relevant to you and your life.

2. YOU DON'T KNOW THE MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL TOLL THE DIET IS HAVING ON THAT OTHER PERSON

Just because you see someone losing weight on a diet or making certain restrained food choices, it doesn't mean that you see the full picture. For example, you often won't see the mental, social or emotional toll that a diet is having on someone's life. You may not see that person skip meals out with friends, obsess over what they can and can't eat or struggle with their food choices every day. Seeing or hearing someone talk about just one small aspect of their lives doesn't give you the full picture.

3. YOU CAN CHOOSE TO LISTEN TO AND HONOUR YOUR OWN UNIQUE BODY

You may have tried certain diets in the past and it can help to remind yourself of why they just didn't work for you. They may have left you feeling miserable and deprived or you may have found that you lost weight only to gain it all back again a few months later. Dieting may have even triggered an eating disorder or behaviours like bingeing or emotional eating. Instead, you can choose to listen to and honour your body and its signals. Instead of following some random plan that someone else is following, can you instead tune into and work with your own unique body and what it is telling you is best for you.

4. YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE IS NOT TO DEDICATE YOUR TIME AND ENERGY TO DIETING

Often dieting can consume lots of your mental space. Worrying about your food choices can take up so much energy that you don't have time to think about or focus on other things. It can help to remind yourself that you are not on this earth on to worry about your food choices. Surely you have greater goals, passions, visions and plans. Surely you can think of better things to dedicate your time and energy to.

Now dieting, calorie-counting, meal plans etc. can all work for some people -and that is great. But if you are someone that has struggled with your relationship with food, it can be that even thinking about these things can exacerbate things like binge eating, emotional eating or even extreme food restriction. It is also great if you want to focus on nourishing and taking care of your health and body. But again, any extreme approach to achieving these things can be very triggering for some people. So be gentle with yourself in this summer season as everyone is getting bikini-ready. Just because something works for someone else, it doesn't mean that it has to work for you.