THE NO MORE DIETS PROGRAM PAST STUDENT STORIES
THE NO MORE DIETS PROGRAM PAST STUDENT STORIES
DIVE INTO THESE INSPIRING STUDENT STORIES
KRITHIKA
I was at my lowest low before starting. I was desperate for help to not have my entire life be about my weight and deciding what and how to eat. My relationship to food was stress and anxiety inducing. My sole purpose was weight loss, and I used to (unsuccessfully) track calories and assess whether what I ate in a day was "good" or not. I used to mandate that I exercise 6 times a week so that I can burn off enough calories to lose weight. I used to go from diet to diet, technique to technique, trying to lose weight, and even the slightest deviation from my plan, or not seeing the scale go down, would send me on days of binging, and I would feel absolutely horrible afterwards. I was absolutely stuck and feeling helpless.
I was in a state of "eat whatever I want" (not in a good way) before starting the program because I had given up on the hope that any diet would work for me. But I was sort of binging instead because I wasn't on a diet.
And now I can't remember the last time I felt horrible about my body and binged mindlessly to make myself feel better, it's been months. The bloating and discomfort I used to feel almost every night after dinner has stopped too. We walk our dog after dinner every night and for the past couple of weeks our walks have been longer simply because I'm not feeling too bloated to walk for long amounts of time! I feel grateful I found you and this program!
Now, I honestly, I feel like a human being again, who has nutritional needs and simply satisfies them. It's so basic and simple that my body will tell me what I need, if I just listen and give it what it wants. Just following my hunger and fullness, instead of calories or macros or any other diet bullshit, is such a simple and extremely powerful concept, which has been lost in society today. I've also slowly started reflecting on why I was in this diet-binge cycle and why I felt the pressure to constantly lose weight and look skinny. I've started to let go of that deep desire of being skinny and started to reject the belief that my body needs to look a certain way for me to be worthy.
The No More Diets Program has been life changing for me.
SHAUNA
I’ve spent my entire adult life evaluating my worth through the lens of my size and cycling from one diet to another. I’d see a triggering number on the scale or a photograph of myself and that would send me into a panic and I would start another diet. It would work for a time, I’d be praised for the weight loss and that was enough to keep me pursuing the smallest version of myself. Eventually as I’ve now learnt though, biology would take over and I’d return to eating normally. The weight plus some would be regained. The compliments stopped. The silence was deafening and the guilt of gaining weight felt like a personal failure and fuelled my self-loathing to begin another diet.
Dieting stole so much from my life and choosing to un-diet was the best decision I’ve ever made. The No More Diets Program helped cement the food and body freedom that I now enjoy. And to think when I enrolled I was at a crossroads of once again joining Weight Watchers to once again try and lose all the weight I had gained. I’m so glad I made the choice that I did.
The lessons in The No More Diets Program brought me a formal method of unpacking and internalising what I’d be haphazardly trying to work on solo. Working through this program has helped me to normalise foods so that I can eat in a way that nourishes me without stress, guilt and eating past fullness. It almost feels like magic!
I’ve never been better at caring for my body. I’ve now learnt to eat to nourish my body, fully in tune with my own hunger, fullness and satiety signals. I’m physically and mentally healthier than I’ve ever been. I get plenty of sleep and practice stress-reduction activities. I get regular exercise and I no longer hate the woman who smiles back at me in the mirror.
I now have the tools I need in the areas of Intuitive Eating and body acceptance from doing this work. It was truly telling for me when I was able to be on vacation and not be triggered, and able to fully enjoy my time and live in every moment. Such a difference from previous vacations where I felt like I needed to get my body ready to wear vacation clothes, obsessed over what I was eating on vacation (enjoying everything with a side of guilt) and plans on the flight home of how I was going to "reset" and "repair" the "damage" that was done.
I am so thankful that I took the plunge with your courses and 1:1 work. Working with you has truly brought me to a place of peace, freedom and happiness that I never, ever had when I was sucked into diet culture - even when my body was smaller, ironically! This shift definitely doesn’t happen by accident and I am so glad I made the investment of time, resources and energy to do this program.
It is hard to put into words, just what doing this work with your support has done for me. I am about to turn 50 and I am finally, fully at home in my own skin and I’ve never liked myself more.
Shauna, 50, Michigan.
LINDSEY
I remember walking to school and holding my lunch. My mom always did such a great job making sure all my favorite foods were in my lunch. That was the problem, I knew I would be delighted by all this food. I would surely eat it all. I knew this was a bad thing. I went through my lunch when I entered my classroom and grabbed nearly half of it and threw it away. If it wasn’t there, I couldn’t eat it. I was only 10 years old. I have had struggled with food for as long as I could remember. Thinking it was bad to eat when I was hungry, trying to restrict food whenever I could, then eventually would end up eating a whole roll of cookie dough and then taking laxatives to “get it out”.
Over time, I learned to hide or morph my disordered eating to look more normal. I'm older now and a mother and I really do just want to live my best life and live as long as possible which is when I got help for myself. I found Nadia through Instagram.
The No More Diets Program was so helpful. I think my favorite part was meeting other people like myself who were struggling. It was like this instant support network. So many of the modules in the program made sense. Like, “oh yeah I do, do that!” If I didn’t restrict that food and allowed myself to eat it whenever, then it wouldn’t be a big deal. I totally found out, I didn’t even really like ice cream and a ton of other “forbidden foods”! It was incredible! I can eat when I am hungry and stop when I am not. I can trust my own body. It really was life changing.
I feel like I can trust myself more and especially around food. I would totally recommend The No More Diets Program”to anymore. You will not regret it. It not only helped with my relationship with food, but helped my relationship with myself too.
Lindsey, 38, Virginia
AMELIA
Before I joined The No More Diets Program, I was absolutely obsessed with my body – losing weight and maintaining that lost weight.
I was on a strict paleo plan in order to lose weight before my wedding. I had a goal and stuck to it. But a year after the wedding and when COVID hit, I found myself struggling with not eating any carbs (especially bread, my favourite food). I slowly started putting on weight. I was so mad at myself. I blamed myself for my weight gain – "my awful metabolism must be the problem."" My obsession with food." This wasn’t the first time I put on weight after a diet. I had tried so many diets in the past. I hated the way my body looked and compared myself to everyone. All I saw was thinness and beauty in other people. But in me, the obsession continued to consume my every thought.
I tried to get a GP to prescribe me weight loss drugs but he said I didn’t need it. I then went to my nutritionist friend hoping I could take a supplement that would "work." She suggested intuitive eating and gave me the research to support that diets don’t work long term. This is when I found Nadia and joined The No More Diets Program. My goal at the time was to stop feeling so distressed by my weight gain and the body fixation I had.
Every single module of The No More Diets Program was like another light bulb that went off in my head. I could hardly believe how rational this way of living was. Some of these moments stand out, for instance noticing I had ‘food labels’ that were driving every food decision I made. And the huge impact of diet culture. The more I listened and learnt, the more my eyes were open to society’s view of the ‘thin ideal’ – it was no wonder I hated myself when society painted this picture of unattainable perfection.
A year later – my life has COMPLETELY changed. Don’t get me wrong, I have thoughts all the time that I want to lose weight. But I am moving towards acceptance and peace. It has impacted every area of my life. My friends, the people I spend time with, the way others around me talk about their bodies, my family. My daughter will be able to go through puberty without seeing her mother utterly obsessed with her external appearance and know that she is more than a body. More than a number on the scale.
Life has so much more to offer – and as Nadia told me (which I was so confused by when she told me) “your body is the least interesting thing about you.” I know that in my heart to be true today. I am able to challenge that toxic chatter in my head. Food and my weight was never the problem. And today my solution is to have a relationship with myself where I respect, care and honour my body. What a relief to have found food and body freedom!
Thank you Nadia for your No More Diets Program and for supporting women all over the world. This work is the most important work I have ever done!
Amelia, 38, Brisbane.
RHIANNON
The impact of completing this program has been phenomenal! No food is off limits and yet I don't want to just eat pizza and chocolate all day long. I want to eat all kinds of foods. Foods that make me feel good, physically and emotionally. Love, love, loved the program.
LETITIA
I'm now more connected to my body and empowered to take care of it. It's such a lovely place to be compared to when I was restricting myself and stuck in the diet mentality.
LARA
I feel so much more relaxed around food now. Something I never could have imagined and that's meant I'm more able to make the right decisisons for me.
REBECCA
Despite being quite overcommitted at the moment, now when I think about what I should be doing when I'm hungry - I listen to my body, satisfy the taste/texture and think about what I need long term for the day ahead and wow! I actually end up making yummy satisfying choices! It's such a difference from when I was dieting and thought that was being healthy!
