Fit Lifestyle Jumpstart Day 1: Say Goodbye to Dieting

{ Note: Special, doctor-prescribed diets for pinpointing allergens, controlling seizures, addressing autoimmune issues, etc., are essential and necessary–and not the kind of diet I am referring to in this series. }

Sometimes January feels like the Super Bowl of diets–the big kick off for axing entire food groups or embarking on extreme fasts from celery juice to cabbage soup to no food until 2pm. While some of these programs and plans have beneficial parts, I think they are only helpful if they are treated more as a tool in the toolkit, and not as the toolkit itself. Our bodies and minds are smart and adaptive and when we try to lose weight using extreme measures there will be an uprising. No really. They will rebel. Our bodies will fight us to hold on to the weight we are trying to lose and even increase our desire for the foods we are trying not to eat. 

When it comes to creating lasting change and weight loss, I am not a big fan of diets and I think they can be incredibly counter-productive. There is a reason why most people who go on a diet gain everything back, plus some—diets work, but generally not long-term. So what exactly do we do instead?

If you want to stop spinning your wheels when it comes to losing weight and keeping it off, it’s time to say goodbye to diets for good and hello to a whole new way of life. 

Defining a Healthy Lifestyle 

The difference between a lifestyle and a diet is that with a lifestyle you don’t go on it and off it. It’s neither on nor off. It is simply how you live. The good news is that there is no falling off the bandwagon–because there is no bandwagon.

Here is what works for me in a nutshell. We will take a deep dive into each of these areas and more later this month, but this is the cliff notes version. And let me caveat this by saying I am never perfect (nope!) and always a work in progress. What works for me might not work for you, but my hope is that you can use this series as a springboard for creating a lifestyle that works for you, a lifestyle that gives you peace, joy, and freedom in this area of your life!

My Healthy Lifestyle

• I fuel my body with what is nourishing and life-giving 80% of the time and I treat myself to foods that are just for fun 20%. (No, I don’t actually do the math, this is a general principle, not a rule.)
• My 80% is lots of fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, legumes, meat, poultry, eggs and fish, healthy fats, and whole grains.
• My 20% looks like chocolate chip cookies, Thai food out with friends, chocolate ganache cake on a coffee date…yum. Sometimes these are the healthier version and sometimes they are straight up butter and sugar.
• I try to move my body every day and strength train weekly because it’s good for my body and brain.  
• I love what I eat–I’ve learned to make healthy food delicious.
• I don’t count calories, measure my food, and I really don’t think about it because I know my lifestyle will keep my weight in check.  
• I face my feelings and move through them and I don’t use food to feel better (or at least I am getting better at this year by year!)

I hope this quick overview of what I am referring to when I am talking about a lifestyle and not a diet shows you that you don’t have to deprive yourself of any of your favorite foods to get down to and maintain a healthy weight.

Check back tomorrow for Day 2 of the Fit Lifestyle Jumpstart Series and if you missed the introduction, you can find it here!