I've never been on a diet!

Published: Fri, 07/01/16

Hi

I heard this in passing yesterday – “I’ve never been on a diet.” I had to listen a little harder. I’m like, really? It was music to ears! I’m like “oooh, that’s awesome”. I can say that I don’t know one person that has never been on a diet and it makes really sad. :(

Diet culture is so ingrained in us that we barely blink an eye when are friends and family are talking about what they can and cannot have – and then the guilt surrounded by food. What’s good and what’s bad. I’ll never stop saying this “Food is not good or bad.” The sooner we can believe this, the better our relationship will be with food.

It’s a very common occurrence for conversations to shift toward nutrition and fitness when I’m around friends. Without fail, folks feel the need to justify how they eat, or that they ate good. First, I’m like stop judging yourself about your food choices, and secondly I am not judging you either.

If you have never been a diet, don’t start now! That’s what I wanted to say to the lady I passed yesterday.

It should go without saying, I am not saying that you should stay overweight, so let’s get that out of the way. The approach to losing weight does not have to be extreme, and you do not have to go on a diet.

Weight Watchers, 1200 calorie diet, Plexus, Isagenix, Advocare, Beach Body, Jenny Craig, Gluten Free (this doesn’t apply to folks unless you truly have a grain allergy or have Celiac disease – I think the percentage of people in the world that actually have Celiac is less than 5%) are all diets, and they’re all doomed to fail in the long run.

Insert any diet, I only named a few, and that’s a very small list. Any of those diets will eventually stop working, and the hunt for another is on the horizon. Quit today and take back your health, your metabolism, and your sanity.





Remember this, weight loss is specifically is about chasing numbers – getting smaller in the sense of numbers. Fat loss is about preserving muscle and not losing it. That, in itself, is where anything lost is sustainable. You lose fat slower (sustainable), whereas weight loss usually happens faster (unsustainable). Body change is all about changing body composition (losing fat and gaining or retaining muscle).

You will not see the change on the scale first, but it will come later, and when it does – it won’t be a lot.  If you are preserving muscle, the scale won’t reflect that, but your clothes and pictures will. I encourage you to look at your measurements, clothes, etc… if you must have a subjective number. I know, I may sound like a broken record. I’m on a mission to reach anyone that is willing and ready to give up diet culture because there are no secrets, and no diet that actually works for the long term.

So, if you shouldn’t diet – but you want to lose some weight/fat, I am “should – ing” you on this one with your health in mind. Weight loss doesn’t always mean health. When you lose weight, you may lose your health as well. Hear me out here. Your metabolism, muscle loss, disordered eating, and food obsession, may occur just to name a few.

This is what you do instead –​​​​​​​

  • Start with the things that you have control of. Meet yourself where you are at.
    • It can be as simple as adjusting portion sizes with the meals that you are already eating just to get started.

  • Having a nightly glass of wine or bowl ice cream? Cut back on said food. Don’t ban or eliminate it completely. That’s a recipe for disaster. Cold turkey doesn’t always work and before you know it, you’ll be polishing off the whole carton or whole bottle.
    • It’s been proven time and time again if we ban food, we just want it that much more. It becomes hard to resist and then we binge. 🙅

  • We do need to be in caloric deficit to illicit fat loss. There is no denying that. Where we go wrong is the drastic cutting of calories. We think we must go on a 1200 calorie diet to lose, which is not the case. You know who survives on 1200 calories? A person that is 120 – ish pounds – that’s just a maybe depending on their activity/fitness level. Even at the weight, a 120 lb person would need much more calories if they were highly active.

  • One of the things, I start my clients out with nutritionally speaking, is focusing on protein intake. Women, including myself at times, skip out on protein. The proper amount of protein is good for satiety, muscle building and muscle preserving.

  • Veggies and fruit are another missing factor in people’s diet. We tend to call it good if we get a veggie at dinner. That’s just not enough.
    1. 5-6 servings of veggies a day.
    2. Start with one more than the day before.


That’s it, this topic is near and dear to me because I’ve been in the trenches of it. Don’t diet, we are causing harm to ourselves and others. Others? Our children, our families, more specifically I am talking about our children. They learn from us, and when they see or hear us scrutinizing every piece of food we put in our mouths we are teaching them diet culture/mentality.


I know it’s a hell of thing to break and let go because of the fear of weight gain, especially if we are in the midst of dieting or doing all the cardio. It is possible, slow down, and back off the unsustainable things, one day at time.

P.S. Do me favor, hit reply and let me know – “What’s your biggest struggle around nutrition?”

Have a wonderful 4th of July weekend! Eat, drink, and enjoy without guilt or punishment. The next day or next meal and just carry on.