I’m a Nutritionist, and I love helping women get healthy and love the skin they’re in. If this sounds like something you’d love to do too, these are the five things you need to STOP doing immediately!
1. Stop depriving yourself
I personally believe Weight Watchers has done many women a huge disservice with all this point counting nonsense. Let me be clear. Starving yourself because you think you’re “saving” up calories for a dinner out/party/weekend, is ALWAYS a bad idea. This type of mentality only leads to bingeing behaviour. Depriving yourself is no way to live, it doesn’t feel good and it doesn’t make you happy.
2. Stop trying to do everything perfectly
Life isn’t perfect, you are not perfect and your diet will never be perfect. Understand that perfection is NOT the goal here. Trying to eat “perfectly” healthy is self-sabotaging behaviour that will make you feel bad in the process. You can’t build the body of your dreams by hating on the one you have now. Let go of being perfect, instead memorize this:
“You cannot “screw up” an entire week of healthy eating in one meal. This is not a diet you are either “on or off”. Healthy eating is forever. One less than perfect choice does not matter. Just make a better one in a few hours. Consistency, not perfection, is the goal.
3. Stop viewing food as bad or good
I don’t like any type of label when it comes to diet or food. The most important thing you can do for your mental well being and your health is to start listening to your body. The goal is to FEEL GOOD. Sleep well, feel balanced, have energy, be free of digestive discomfort and have a good poo every single day. So start paying attention to the symptoms that your body is sending, that’s the only way it can speak to you. If you eat something and it makes you feel bloated, tired, guilty, wired, anxious, etc. don’t eat it again. Try to pay attention and only eat food that makes you feel good, physically, mentally and emotionally. This is the only “rule” you need to follow.
4. Stop thinking there is an “end”
If you started on a plan to lose a certain amount of weight or for a certain period of time. That’s fine. But understand that if you stop doing whatever it is you embarked on to get the results you want, they will disappear. A healthy lifestyle and eating food that makes you feel good is forever. There is no end. The diet industry has fed you this nonsense because they want you to fail. They want you to believe that you only have to “work hard” for three months or one year to get to your goal and then everything will just magically stay that way. Come on, you know now that’s a myth. You’ve already done that and failed. When you go back to your old diet or lifestyle, you will gain the weight back and likely add a few pounds. Whatever method you choose to eat healthier and change your lifestyle, just make sure it is flexible enough to be sustainable. The only plan that works forever is the one you continue. Please, don’t forget that. I always eat healthily, but if I want a burger, an ice cream or a glass of wine, there is room for that too. The 80/20 rule is something I stand by.
5. Stop waiting to live
This is a huge one. So many people put off their dreams and stop living because they are waiting until they get to a certain weight. Have you ever heard yourself saying “I will start dating when I lose 20 lbs…I will start exercising when….apply for that promotion when….go on that trip when….wear a bikini when…..be happy when…
You are waiting to FEEL a certain way and you think losing weight will get you there. But here’s the thing. It doesn’t work that way. You have to love and put effort into yourself NOW in order to be healthy and lose the weight. It all starts from within and how you feel about yourself. Instead of waiting to feel a certain way “when”, do something for yourself every single day that makes you feel good. Buy and wear clothes that make you feel beautiful, do your hair instead of putting it up in a ponytail, socialize with people you love, travel and laugh, a LOT. Find joy in your life, don’t let food be your focus. Remember you have a life to live. Isn’t it time you pressed play?
Ciara Foy
Principal, Ciara Foy Nutrition
m:416-271-4369 | e: | w:www.ciarafoy.com | a: 100 King Street West, Suite 5700, Toronto, ON, M5X 1C7
