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I hate the word diet. As an online nutritionist, I find many people not using the word correctly. That's where the problems start!
According to the dictionary diet means "the kinds of food that a person, animal, or community habitually eats". That's how I use the word. For most people, diet means restricting food, either by not eating enough and feeling hungry or trying to stop eating all their favourite foods.
How many times have you been on a diet in your life? How many times have you felt miserable because you were denying yourself? How many times have you felt even worse when you caved in and ate more than you should? How many times have you felt you can never lose the weight you want to?
We know diets don't work. It's estimated that 80 - 95% of dieters put the weight back on.
What we need isn't another diet, we need long-term strategies to eat in a way that works for us as individuals allows us to enjoy what we eat, and keeps us healthy.
Recently, I've been doing some additional research on weight loss and healthy eating. I've also been playing around with what works for me and experimenting with plant-based diets, raw food, intermittent fasting, and detox diets.
This is what I've found. Everyone is unique, that's what is so great about us all. We have different lifestyles, likes, dislikes, and personal beliefs.
The basics of a healthy diet are the same for us all, like drinking enough water, and not having high-sugar foods at every meal. BUT we can adjust lots of things to suit who we are.
AND changes we think are impossible are doable with the right plans, habit formation, and support.
I now stick to plant-based as much as possible and do 16:8 intermittent fasting most days. That's what's working for me right now.
I get that it can be a nightmare, with all the conflicting dietary advice out there. I get that it can feel impossible to make changes. I get that you probably feel that you've tried too many times and are still back at square one. What I'd like to say to you, is if I can do it, so can you. I'm not special in any way, I have a busy life, just like you, I have days when I get it wrong. I've found I needed two things to create a healthy eating pattern. First, I needed to be clear about what healthy eating means for me. Second, I needed to learn how to create the habits to start putting that plan in place (spoiler alert - this was way easier than I thought it would be!).
If you'd like me to help you create a healthy eating plan, rather than a restrictive diet, and show you the steps to make it happen, then book an online consultation or join my new monthly membership program Nourish Insiders. I'd love to see you get to your happy weight, enjoy what you eat, and feel in control of your "diet".
You might also like a copy of my free 28 favourite weight loss tips or another free resource to help your healthy eating journey.
Wishing you much health & happiness
Debbie