,   In today's episode, we'll explore the anti-diet approach to health, the 5 steps to genuine self-care Does adopting an anti-diet lifestyle mean not focusing on health? For people who have adopted intuitive eating answering this question will be obvious: NO! For anyone looking from the outside that doesn’t understand (or for may know of) what the framework of intuitive eating, the answer is not so clear: You mean not following a diet is healthy? Umm... I get it... we live in a society that is not only laden with fatphobia but has a twisted perspective of what healthy eating should be. Health experts and diet gurus have led us to a false belief that in order to be healthy one must be on a diet. The anti-diet approach to health starts with these 5 steps to genuine self-care. The healthiest diet is no diet at all In fact, the healthiest diet that one person can be on is no diet at all. Adopting an anti-diet lifestyle actually means choosing health first. It means learning to care for your body in all aspects: mental, emotional and yes physical. Adopting an anti-diet lifestyle means choosing a self-care eating framework that teaches you to have a healthy and sustainable relationship to food: intuitive eating. Adopting an anti-diet lifestyle means choosing to care for your entire body, not just your physical appearance and body weight from a place of love instead of fear. It means moving your body from a place of joy instead of calorie deficit. Practicing it means setting boundaries so you can sleep better and longer. It means choosing food that makes you feel good instead of cycles of restriction and overeating, it means consistency in your effort towards health. You can’t hate yourself to health In the same way, you can’t bully your body into smaller weight, you can’t bully your body into health. Your body isn’t broken or isn't more “disciplined”. Your body needs love, care, and kindness. The truth is, your current state of health is the result of a complex mechanism of adaptation your body has chosen to adopt in an effort to keep you alive. From your body weight to your pain and disease: it was all created in an effort to keep you moving forward in the current environment. Your innate body wisdom knows what you need to stay alive. If you can see this, you will then be able to trust and respect your body and strive to support it and care for it. Health beyond dieting is possible. Health beyond weight loss is the future. Achieving health isn’t possible Health can never be achieved once and for all. It is a state of adaptation and will ebb and flow with life. As a matter of fact, health will vary with each stage of life, event, and bacteria your encounter. Health is a continuum and requires constant vigilance in monitoring and constant efforts in supporting your body's innate wisdom as it adapts and strives for your survival. How you can best support your body is the real question you must ask yourself. Choosing self-care instead a rigid health tactic is the best avenue when it comes to human health. Striving for Self-care Self-care is any activity that we do deliberately in order to take care of our mental, emotional, and physical health. Self-care is “something that refuels us, rather than takes from us.” as Agnes Wainman explained. It is not a set of rigid restrictions and activities that we dread doing and use our willpower to ensure we do daily. Moreover, self-care isn’t a selfish act either. It is not only about considering only our needs but it's also about knowing what we need in order to take care of ourselves, being subsequently, able to take care of others as well. As a matter of fact, self-care is realizing that if I don’t take enough care of myself, I won’t be in the place to give to my loved ones either. Self-care means different things to different people because we are all different and our body needs different things. That is why there isn’t one diet for all humans... It starts with a good relationship with self.