Stop dieting and start living!
So I am just going to come out and say it. Diets are the worst! They don’t work and they make you feel just awful.
So first I want to define diet. A diet is any set of rules that tell you what to eat and what not to eat, that you are expected to stay on until you “get to your goal weight”.
By definition, diets are a set of food rules that you follow in the short term to help you lose weight.
Ok, yes it’s true that diets temporarily help you lose weight, but in the long run, I believe they do more harm than good.
Reason #1, that diets don’t work, they are typically based on restriction, by demonizing certain particular foods or ingredients (gluten), or food groups (carbs) and restricting calories to a specific level. And this diet expects that we must follow these rules regardless of hunger, (hunger is weakness remember). But the problem is, this goes against our basic biology. We are hardwired resist starving to death, so any significant restriction or even fear of restriction causes us have increased cravings and amped up need to eat. So after a while, we start white-knuckling our way through the days as our need for the forbidden food becomes stronger and stronger and boom, we fall off the wagon! And then proceed to eat the whole bag of Cheetos, because “we better get it in now because tomorrow, it is going to be off limits again.” And you feel bad about yourself and your lack of “willpower”. Fail.
Then you hop back on the wagon, but it feels even harder to follow those rules and hold on, and sooner than last time you fall off again. Fail, fail!
Which leads me to reason #2 that dieting doesn’t work for long-term body and lifestyle change, is that it causes you to create lots of unrealistic of food rules to help you control your eating. So you do a hotdog diet, then a grapefruit diet, and then a beans only diet, then the NO beans diet…and pretty soon, you don’t know what to eat, and you are hungry and not satisfied all the time! And everything you eat or don’t eat makes you feel like a failure. This causes you to lose your ability toself-regulatee your intake because you feel hungry and unsatisfied, but you want to lose weight, so you follow the I.must.follow.the.diet.rule and so when those hunger pains show up, your upset because you feel like you body is betraying you. And then you give in and eat, you are betraying you…Double Fail.
And that brings me to Reason #3 diets are the worst…they make you feel like a failure, big time and over and over again. But the kicker is, your body is really just doing what it’s suppose to do! It is protecting you, by helping you crave and desire food in this time of starvation and deprivation. It’s really basic survival and basic biology.
Reason #4, all this constant deprivation, then over eating, messes with your metabolism, so it’s more sluggish than it was before you ever started dieting in the first place.
See, traditional diets set you up for failure.
To top it off, people walk around feeling like they are the ones who are flawed for failing to to stick to a diet (yet again) instead of realizing that it’s the diet that is flawed.
But there is a better way and I give you permission to never go a diet again!(YAY!)
But you may be saying “wait, I still want to lose weight! how will I do that, if I don’t go a diet diet.”
Simple, my friend, listen to your body.
You and your body, have all the answers. I know it doesn’t feel like it, in fact sometimes it feels like your body is the enemy, because it is has no willpower, is betraying you because it feels hunger and cravings all the time.
But actually your body isn’t betraying you, it’s supporting you. And it’s beautiful, amazing and wants to be strong and healthy, it just needs to be loved, respected and listened to.
Listen.
- Listen to your signals of hunger and fullness. This is your first step to becoming an intuitive eater. You hunger will tell you when to eat and when to stop eating, and this the first hurdle to changing your body and your relationship with food. When are you hungry and when are you full? How hungry are you? How full did you get? What does hungry feel like, both physically and emotionally? What does full feel like, both physically and emotionally?
- Listen and understand the needs and feelings you are having when you feel the need eat. Does it feel frenzied? Do you feel anxious/tired/bored/angry/frustrated/stressed/happy?
- Listen to your cravings. What are you feeling when you have these cravings? Is there any emotion or discomfort you are trying to feed?
Respect.
– Nourish your body. Eat healthy, high-quality food, that gives your body and mind the building blocks it needs to flourish. Eat lots of fruits and vegetable, lean protein and limit sugar and processed foods. In my 30day Reset Program, I give a Nutrition Guideline to the participants. This guideline is a blueprint to nourishing your body, but I make it clear you are allowed to eat whatever you want. If you want and crave other things, just listen and understand why. If you really want something, have it and really, really enjoy it. Savor it from the first bite to the last. Many people find that when they understand why they are having the impulse to eat something “bad” they really are only acting on emotional impulse, not really meeting a true need. When you have that knowledge, you can actually meet the “need” instead of numbing it with food. Or maybe you still eat what you are craving, that’s fine too, the point is to be conscious of what you are eating.
– Move Your Body. Our bodies are meant to move on a regular basis, it’s how we regulate hormones, work through emotions and become stronger. Movement is not a punishment, it is a way to celebrate and develop your body to it’s highest good. So move every day, not to burn calories, but because it makes you stronger (And we need more strong women in the world!)
Love.
– Love your life. If you aren’t loving your life, find out why and work to change it. You are capable of anything! Don’t become a victim of your circumstances, as an adult victim-hood is a choice and a state of mind (hard-truth????). Yes, things may not be exactly how you want them, but you can work to change and shift it. Even if it’s just a change in your perspective, it will change the way you see your life and expand your potential. Oh, and don’t forget to have fun and let loose sometimes! I have found that many women eat out of boredom and dissatisfaction…if this is you, then you need to have more fun in your life! ????
– Love Yourself. Learn to love yourself unconditionally, as you are now. You are beautiful, amazing, and so much more than you give yourself, because all you are looking at is where you believe you are falling short but you are missing all the ways you are incredible. Realize you are more than a number on a scale or a pant size. It’s only when you love every part of yourself, the light side and the shadow side, will you be able to find freedom and ease with food and make the changes you want.
You can do it, I believe in you!
With Respect and Love,
Sally
P.S. If you want to change your relationship with food and your body, contact me and we can set up a mini-coaching call to discuss your struggles, your goals and so you can see if coaching would help you be happier, healthier and more confident!
