Oh Boy – we’re heading into boring diet season, right? Wouldn’t you rather just be able to lose unwanted pounds effortlessly? Diets and counting calories are SO old-school now. When is the penny finally going to drop that it doesn’t work to count calories, starve your body, or do any weird kind of combo (grapefruits and olive oil etc). If you restrict what you eat for a month, you might lose some weight, but I promise you that it will all come back on (and some), sooner than you can pop a can of soda. Same with a juice cleanse, or any kind of “detox” diet. So take the pressure off and follow my 3 tips for January 2016 and beyond.
- DO NOT Count Calories: Calories are simply little units of energy. If you put more units of energy into the furnace (your body) than you are expending, your body will shove it into storage for a rainy day. But counting the darn things is a waste of time because you’re not taking the whole picture into account: what is the food comprised of? Is it animal or plant-based calories? How much fiber and water is in the food? How much are your exercising today? Are you happy and energized today? And that’s just the beginning of the “it depends”. So please stop right now, and think instead of filling your plate full of fresh plant-based foods. This way you’ll be giving your body the nourishment it needs, while inhibiting fat-storage.
- TOSS YOUR SCALES: Scales are so nineties. They tell you nothing about your internal health. They lie about your actual body shape, and worst of all – it’s an ever-changing number that either makes you feel great (if it’s below your self-determined goal), or terrible. I beg you to trash it, or hide it (if there’s a family member who needs it for medical reasons), and instead start to feel your body: How do you feel in your clothes today? If they feel a big on the snug side, it might be time to move a bit more, or ditch the sugar. Does your body feel good and strong? This is a way more important indication of health and gorgeousness.
- PLANT-BASED: Switch to an 80% plant-based diet. Plants (unlike animal flesh and fat), contain fat storage inhibiting compounds. If you go meat and dairy-free (and toss in the sugar while you’re at it), you’ll see the unwanted pounds slip away very quickly.
- CELEBRATE FOOD: Whip out your cookbooks, or look up some great plant based recipes online, and celebrate the fact that most of us can afford (especially when we cook from scratch), to eat really good quality, fresh food. Part of celebrating food is slowing down enough to be able to enjoy it. Try to always eat sitting down – even better sitting down with friends and/or family. Chew each mouthful and luxuriate in the flavors and textures. This will help your body to thoroughly digest the food, and thus nourish your it with the nutrients it craves. When you are fully nourished, you won’t want to overeat, or eat junk.
- CELEBRATE YOU! Celebrate your particular body shape and size. Life’s too short for punishing yourself for not looking a certain way. My daughter, Lola, is fourteen, and thank GOD has a really healthy body image: She thinks I’m way too skinny, and she adores her curves. She thinks almost all runway models look unhealthy and weird, and she celebrates her body, which is curvier than mine ever was. She’s lucky because she’s got parents who have always told her she looks gorgeous no matter what, and a Mom who never mentions diets or calories (remember our daughters model everything we do). So, if you haven’t had this kind of messaging growing up, give it to yourself now, instead of wasting another year making yourself feel less-than for the gorgeous bod that you’ve been given.
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