You’re reading the corner project, your one-stop recommendation station of self discovery, creativity, and lifestyle from Megan Batoon. It’s the first post of July, so here’s a post to get your month started. If you’re into it, subscribe hereÂ
Lockdowns are over and the sun is out which means pool gatherings, barbecues, in-person birthdays, and another adjustment period. Not that I have to remind you, but we’ve undergone collective trauma with covid and the changes that befell us this past year. With working from home, mental health journeys, and full months of a sweatpants-only dress code on top of every day stress, our bodies ARE NOT the same.
With July 4th a few days away, I know this can be a tricky holiday for some people without the added consequences of a pandemic to our bodies. Food is everywhere. We are exposed to family, friends, strangers, who may comment on our bodies or may not, but they can see us unrobed- and that’s sometimes enough for anxiety to set in. I always have had a personal relationship with this holiday because of my past with my body. I’ve tried so many diets and ways of eating (I promise I will do a full diet culture post about my experience and lessons I’ve learned from years of being stuck in the cycle) and every fourth of July is an easy marker for me to assess my relationship with food. I remember the fourth of July that I was doing keto and an egg fast- I was wearing a blue bikini. I remember the fourth of July I was doing crossfit and eating paleo- I was at a barbecue in Van Nuys. I remember the fourth of July where I was eating plant based- we spent the weekend in an airbnb in La Quinta because Palm Springs was sold out. It’s so easy to flip between July 4 through the years because I’m never in a swimsuit around many other people except for that day.
Last year, I posted this photo with a caption that really was me talking to myself.
If you want to eat a hotdog and a hamburger, do it. If you go up for seconds or thirds, do it. If you don’t want to finish your plate because you’re full but other people are making you- listen to yourself over them. If anyone makes a remark about what you’re eating- just remember that it is none of their business. Treat your body to what it’s asking for. Listen to the cues, enjoy yourself. You shouldn’t have to be shamed and monitoring your intake when you should be carefree.
I mentioned above listening to hunger cues, but if you’ve been dieting for a long time or have had experience with an ED, these cues could have subdued or disappeared completely because we ignored them for so long. Here are some resources that helped me recognize my forgotten hunger cues in the beginning stages of intuitive eating and breaking my bad habits that I learned straight from diet culture itself:
The F*ck It Diet by Caroline Dooner- I listened to this on Audible
The Intuitive Eating Workbook- as you can see I purchased this almost exactly a year ago in July and I can tell you that I have a completely different relationship to food now (thank GOODNESS).
I also followed some body-neutral Instagram creators to diversify what I was being exposed to and challenge the way I see my body and what I put into it:
Lucy @lucymountain posts a lot of these cheeky graphics that break down diet culture’s rigid rules and shows that food has no moral value:
Mik @mikzazon is super active and always posting really authentic examples of what it means to have a body and how she honors and celebrates her body without the intention of changing it":
Dana @danaemercer posts a ton of these ‘debunking influencer photos’ side by side collages and they are the greatest thing for people who compare what we look like to people on the internet:
Every month, I curate a music playlist on Spotify of ten songs that have high-replay-ability. Here’s this month’s:
Happy July, I’d love to hear your thoughts and current mindset regarding food freedom, diet culture, or intuitive eating in the comments. Please feel free and encouraged to comment and communicate with anyone in the comments section!
xM
OMG! What a read!! Growing up having an eating disorder for a long time during my primary school days to university i felt that i always had a negative relationship with food in general. I felt very early i was looking towards what was being shown on the television as screen time was all i had being raised from a single mother so, she was juggling with two kids and trying her best to keep everything under controlled. I remembered at the age of 6 i would always go to the salad bar instead of having a substantial proper meal for lunch since no one was there to monitor my food intake. Which led into high school where it became a habit of either skipping lunch or counting my calories to make me feel a bit better about myself.
In university, was when i got away with a lot just by over scheduling myself with classes and never wanting to go home because home = having to eat a meal. So i would make my schedule as full as i can make it either with classes or taking up a part time job just so i can avoid eating. Realizing later that i needed to get help with my eating where i stayed in a inpatient treatment centre for four months just trying to understand where my fear in eating stems from to better understand what food i like eating to the foods i don't.
Today, i feel like I have a better grasp on what food i enjoy eating versus foods that i strongly will avoid or in better words that i fear of eating. Although, i am not completely "recovered" from my eating disorder as there will be easier days than others. i can say for now it's still a working progress but i know it will be okay :)
This is very late, but I love this so much. I always grew up feeling like I always had too much on my plate, and it was a source of shame. While there's much for me to do to eat healthier than I currently am, I'm happy with the progress I've made.
Also, I love that you listen to Ricky Montgomery.