Honestly, diets suck.

Diets are so restrictive and unfun. There are so many things you need to keep track of, like calories, fat content or carbs. Even when I had 60 pounds to lose I knew dieting wasn’t for me, I just didn’t have the patience and I love food too much.

We are being told to watch calories and to eat low fat, and to not eat carbs and to eat a lot of protein etc. But nobody is teaching us that low fat products are flavoured with sugar (fat gives things flavour, take out the fat and you’re left with nothing), and we are now learning how bad sugar is for us. It causes cancers, aging, diabetes, hyperactivity in children, the list goes on. Healthy fats are important for our brain health, energy and even fat loss. They’re also key in keeping us satiated. 

And eating low carb can lead to other issues. There are carbs in vegetables, fruit, whole grains etc. The fact is we need complex carbohydrates for our brain (and for energy). Without them we cannot think clearly. Think about how you feel if you haven’t eaten for awhile…you get spacey, angry, irritable etc, that is your brain starving for carbohydrates. Then what do you reach for? A carby (read: sugary) snack…and voila, you feel better again. It’s the REFINED carbs we need to get rid of, namely white bread, pasta and rice. Whole grains, beans and lentils are excellent sources of B vitamins (for energy), fiber and protein.

And then there’s the whole low calorie stance. So I can have 100 calories of something, it doesn’t matter what it is, so long as it’s not more than 100 calories. But doesn’t 100 calories of an apple yield more nutrients than 100 calories of a low-fat chocolate snack? There is little to no education on the fact that all calories are not created equal. And how tedious to count and weigh out your food all day long. Nope, not for me.

The key is to eat foods your body knows what to do with: fats from nuts, seeds, fatty fish, avocado, flax and hemp, and even organic, grass fed butter or Ghee. Carbohydrates from whole grains like brown rice, oatmeal, millet, amaranth, quinoa (technically a seed), vegetables and fruit. Protein from eggs, organic, free range chickens or turkeys, grass fed beef, sustainable fish, nuts, seeds, beans and legumes, organic tofu or tempeh…the list is endless. And it doesn’t need to taste “granola-y” – I’m a foodie, and ever since I’ve switched to whole, organic foods conventional food tastes bland to me now. I can taste an imposter a mile away.

Misinformation

I am always so irritated when I see commercials on TV for things like those slimming bands, or low calorie/low fat cereal snacks. They are selling lies to people and it makes me mad. In 2 words: they suck. 

Food companies are clever, they play to people’s vulnerabilities and ignorances (not because people are stupid but because we are not taught this stuff in school) around nutrition. They add things like “low fat”, “low carb”, “gluten free”, “natural”, “low sodium”…etc. in an effort to lure us into eating their seemingly healthy products. The truth is, most of this stuff is laden with preservatives, GMO ingredients, artificial sugars and flavours that it can hardly be considered “food”.

Then there’s those commercials for the stomach bands; they have a woman who seemingly has zero willpower. She was doing so well until she went to a baby shower, and then a birthday. That’s it. The end. Diet over. “I am TOO WEAK to stick to my diet. Time for surgery. This miracle band will go inside my body and now I can eat whatever the hell I want and I will never get fat again.” What a load of shite. I mean seriously, how weak do these companies think people are. And the super ironic thing is that they say “life’s too short to be on a diet.” And that my friend, is the truth.

[pullquote align=center]The problem is not that people are weak, it’s that they haven’t got a friggen clue what to eat anymore.

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Stop DIEting and start Eating

The problem is that dieting puts us in a negative mindset. Even the word itself DIEt. Who wants to DIE every time they eat? I don’t. Holistic nutritionists never use the word diet, we instead offer lifestyle changes. Working with a nutritionist is kind of revolutionary and some people aren’t quite ready for it yet. They want the quick fix and so will follow a DIEt…until they regain all the weight again, or develop some health condition or whatever. That’s usually when people come to see a holistic nutritionist and are pleasantly surprised when we tell them to EAT!!

Eating whole foods that your body knows what to do with is synonymous with losing weight. I lost all my baby weight (both times) by switching to a holistic lifestyle full of regular mealtimes, no packaged foods, increasing my veggies, fruit, water, smoothies, juices and the right supplements for my body and needs at the right time. It took a little while to get into the groove, but I will never go back now.

Once you start to eat real food your taste buds go on a transformative journey. All of a sudden that sugary treat you used to eat tastes sickly sweet and you simply no longer want it. It took me a while to get over the sugar craving but I certainly don’t crave it anywhere as much anymore. Instead, I crave green juice.

My mission

I am on a mission to help people understand that eating food, real, whole food, is the way to go. Even before I started this nutrition journey, I never followed or agreed with the diet information out there. I didn’t understand it, I didn’t study it, but I just knew intuitively it was wrong.  

I ate pretty poorly before embarking on this journey – lots of white bread, Kraft cheese slices, Kraft dinner, very little veggies etc. And because of that I had a lot of health issues (click here for my story). But despite this, I never dieted. It just seemed like so much work, and my friends who did diet looked miserable and confused. And they ALWAYS gave up and gained back all the weight PLUS more. It was sad to see.

Free Guide

Why don’t you click here and you’ll receive my latest newest, bestest guide on how to lose weight when you have no time. There are no calories to count, no fat to avoid, no scales, no deprivation.

Let’s go back to eating the way we should, let’s bring back love and enjoyment where food is concerned. All of this fast food and confusion is making us sick, and it so totally doesn’t have to be that way. Click here to find out how. It’s free!

Let me know about your journey in the comments below. Let me know what your struggles are and I’ll write about it. I’m here to help so ask me anything =)

This week’s actionable item: take a look at your current relationship with food, look at what you’re eating that is maybe not making you feel good, download my free guide and follow the steps within.