What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of the word "diet"? If your anything like me you think of "restriction". But the word doesn't actually mean that. Its primary definition is:
"Food and drink regularly provided or consumed. "-Websters Dictionary
I teach my clients that healthy people aren't fat. Healthy people aren't sick. So instead of trying to "diet" to stop being fat, or "diet" to "feel better" why not just eat healthy to be healthy?
If you are struggling with your weight, I'd like you to take a new approach mentally. I'd like you to simply eat healthy. Don't worry about how much you eat. Every diet by day three has you feeling deprived and lethargic because you have restricted your calories. I think its a poor approach.
I've been on my share of "diets" and every single one of them ends up back where I started or worse! Its just a matter of time. White knuckling against your body's desire to nourish itself is simply not a rational plan for optimal health.
Again, I want to say "healthy people aren't fat". By definition, "healthy people" are exactly the weight they are supposed to be.
Before you EVER restrict calories to "lose weight", I believe you should be eating nothing but healthy food. Think about that for a moment and ask yourself if that makes sense. Why would you go from eating an unhealthy diet that is high in calories to a low calorie diet? Why wouldn't you go from a high calorie unhealthy diet to a high calorie HEALTHY diet first? Then we can talk about cutting calories!
I'll make a deal with you. If you continue to gain weight or even if you don't LOSE weight eating nothing but healthy, nourishing, vitalizing foods THEN I will give you permission to start cutting calories. Try eating nothing but healthy food for 6.5 days a week for 6 weeks. No restriction. No starving yourself. If you want to eat, go ahead! But WHAT you eat is what I would focus on. I would also give yourself permission to eat whatever you want to one half day a week. Sure the first week you will probably undo some of your weight loss. But I truly believe that after a few weeks of eating properly in any quantity you want your body will adjust, your hunger will get firmly under control and you won't even be ABLE to over-eat. I know. Too good to be true right? Try it. Im not selling you anything. I have nothing to gain from giving you this advice but the satisfaction that I might help someone who has spent their entire life fighting against their body to finally start working with it.
Focus on eating great food. Lots of it! As much of it as you want for six weeks. Go nuts (literally). Eat as much of the following as you want for 6 weeks and then (and only then) can you really consider cutting back on calories. IF you decide you need to reduce your calories after the six week healthy eating plan, you will see it will be a far different proposition than cutting 4000 pizza calories a day from your diet. It isn't that easy to gain weight on the right foods. The foods I am going to suggest you eat all work WITH your body. They control your blood sugar levels and hormones. They avoid the wild swings and fluctuations characterized by a high glycemic, high fat diet. Watch. Eat minimally six meals which consist of at least two of the following food groups at every meal:
Dairy- cheese, yogurt, milk etc.
Beans and legumes
vegetables
berries - strawberries, blueberries, rasberries, blackberries
Lean meats -turkey, fish, chicken, lean beef, lean pork
Nuts - almonds, walnuts, pecans, cashews. NATURAL peanut butter.
Whole grains - whole grain cereals, breads, Oatmeal, and whole wheat pasta
Olive oil
eggs
Add a multivitamin. Drink 8 glasses of water a day. No restrictions. Go eat. Just eat healthy food that works with your body.
If you find that removing all of your favorite "bad for you" foods is simply too restrictive, I would encourage you to eat more from the list above to "displace" the bad food for a few weeks. So if you would normally eat two bacon egg and cheese biscuits for breakfast - instead eat one and a bowl of oatmeal for a week or two.
If you would eat a bigmac and large fries for lunch, lose the fries and eat a salad with your big mac for a week or two.
I want you to focus on adding healthy, nourishing food that works with your body not removing food from your diet. Slowly displace the unhealthy with the healthy. When your diet is 100% healthy, just stay there in any quantity for a few weeks and watch what happens. If at that point you feel you still need to restrict calories, go ahead. You'll find it much easier at this point.
Good luck! Go be healthy!
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