Diets are a vicious cycle, they know it, you know it.

I think because I am a dietitian people assume I have always been healthy, but that is not the case. I grew up in the typical American house hold in to 90’s - 2000’s where everything was either fast food, prepackaged, or could be re-heated in the microwave or oven.

What you ate yesterday should not impact how you eat today!

What I mean by that is, if you “over indulged” yesterday you should not starve yourself the next day. This creates a punishment cycle where you feel guilty eating, which *cough cough* isn’t a healthy way to live with food!

Raise your hand if you have ever felt pressure to eat a food because you didn’t know when you could have it again (hand raised).  Our brains developed in a time of scarcity, when food equaled life, so when you saw food you ate it.

Today I want to address a phrase that I hear WAY TOO often. The phrase “I was so bad I had….” insert any food. *Deep Sigh* You having a slice of pizza or cake does not make you a bad person.

How many times have you said the phrase “no I can’t” when someone offers you food? No you “can’t” because you just started a diet or no you “can’t” because that food is bad?

A sure way to fail........Doing too much at once.  How many times have you told yourself “after this (insert life event) I am doing on overhaul of everything!

Do you ever finish a meal and feel like you instantly gain five pounds? You look down at your stomach and the bottom portion it is sticking out like your pregnant. Well good news

Research has found your personality is dependent on the species of microbes in your digestive tract. What’s important to note is that the foods you eat determine what microbes will be in your digestive tract.

Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night and found yourself standing in front of your fridge? Its not from a lack of will power, but a physiological response!

Motivation 100% of the time determines if you will be able to make a long term lifestyle change. If you have negative motivations 99.9999% of the time you with fail, however if you have positive motivations 99.9999% of the time you WILL succeed.

Like the famous breakup quote “it’s not you, it’s me”, I dare to say it’s not you that is flawed for not being able to fit into the pants, IT IS THE PANTS!

Any woman who has gone clothes shopping can attest to the frustrations of not being able to find good fitting pants. You go in and out of 5 stores try on over 20 pairs of pants and still nothing looked like you hoped. You then jump immediately into the self talk of needing to lose weight, shaming yourself for eating carbs, and make a promise to start a diet next week.

The longer I counsel clients the more I find it’s not that most people don’t like vegetables, it’s that they don’t give them the same love and preparation as they do meats and starches. Vegetables can easily be your favorite part of a meal with the right seasoning and preparation.

EXERCISE!!!!! You don’t have to tell most people that exercise is an important part of health. That is why every January when people make their New Year’s resolutions to be healthy they buy a gym membership.  

When our bodies experience a negative response to stress a whole cascade of damaging things happen; impaired digestion, tissue inflammation, poor sleep quality, anxiety, headaches, chest pain, etc. Research has now shown chronic unmanaged stress has a clear connection to Heart Disease, Stroke, Cancer, and Obesity .

Sleep is one of the most underrated components of health. It’s easily overlooked simply because it’s not exciting, you don’t “feel the burn” while your doing it. However sleep impacts the other 3 areas of health (nutrition, movement, and stress) I would argue more than any other component effects it.

Have you ever heard of the phrase you are what you eat? Well it’s LITERALLY true!

All of the things we can see our nails, hair, skin, and eyes are rebuilt and repaired on a daily basis from the nutrients our bodies take from foods. These nutrients are called vitamins and minerals.

Mainstream media has told you that to become “healthy” all you need to do is eat less and exercise more. This information is INCORRECT.

Think about it. If the key to becoming healthy was as simple as that everyone would be living to 100 and I would be out of a job!

Are you eating enough?

I know this is the last question you expect a Dietitian to ask!

Many of the problems that stemmed from my last post about being Hangry can be tied back to not eating enough.

If your day looks like this …..

Are You HANGRY???

Come see if you are falling into the Hanger trap and learn what simple steps you can do to prevent it!