What If I Tell You – You Can Eat Anything You Want?

One of the most common questions prospective clients ask me is:

Can I eat/ Do I have to give up_____ (insert favorite food here: chocolate, soft drinks, ice cream)? 

My answer is always the same:

Yes, you can eat what you want; and no, you don’t have to give it up.

Can you drink a six-pack of soda? No.

Can you eat a whole box of chocolates or a tub of ice cream? No.

But you still don’t have to give it up.

Food Should Be Enjoyed

The foremost thing my program is not is restrictive. Restrictive dieting* doesn’t lead to good health or weight loss long term. Sure, you may end up looking good for that class reunion, or that wedding you need to attend, or that party you have to go to, but a year down the line, when the restriction becomes boring, repetitive, or passive, you’ll either get sick of it and quit, or cheat too many times, feel bad about yourself, and then quit. You’ll start seeing the numbers on that scale creeping back up. And it. Won’t. Feel. Good. 

Diets and meal plans don’t work the same for everyone. We’re all different, and that’s why the results are, too. Expecting that everyone will lose the same amount of weight after a specific amount of time is unrealistic. This is why, in my program, I don’t give you a meal plan, or prepare one for you to follow. When you’re done, I’ll have equipped you with the ability to make your own meal plans and make a go of this independently. 

Chances are, you’ve gone through a lot of diets before you found my site. And I don’t blame you. Quick weight loss programs are tempting, but there are many reasons why they backfire even though you probably lost a lot in the beginning. 

They trigger bingeing and overeating.

It’s human nature to crave what you want to avoid. Instead of forgetting about the types of food you’re staying away from, you become hyper aware of it instead. Restricting your food intake and depriving yourself of something you enjoy will only make you eat more of it than you normally would have otherwise. 

It triggers feelings of guilt.

Both resolving not to eat any of your favorites and overindulging in them will bring unnecessary guilt. We’re already dealing with enough of that in our everyday lives – do we really need to add food to the list of things we feel guilty about? Restrictions make us see food as the enemy, instead of as something to enjoy and savor. It adds needless stress, something that’s contradictory to your quest for a healthier lifestyle.

It triggers withdrawal from social activities.

When you join meal programs or follow a restrictive meal plan, you end up not only eating the same things over and over again, you also eat food out of a box (plastic or otherwise, which isn’t safe at all!) And because you can’t bring your meal with you when out to dinner with your friends, you end up staying home. So, not only are you miserable with your diet, you’re miserable alone, too.

Food is meant to be enjoyed. When prepared and eaten in a healthy way, it should enhance your journey to a healthier you, not get in the way.

The Tools for Success

What I will do is arm you with the tools you need to get the weight off and keep it off. I won’t restrict you and make you miserable. Instead, I want this transformative plan to be flexible. To suit your life and your lifestyle. 

When you lose weight, your metabolism drops precisely because it doesn’t want to starve itself. You need to be more in tune with what works best for you and your body without depriving yourself. When you enjoy doing something, even though you find yourself doing it for a while, you tend to stick to it, whether it’s dancing, watching movies, reading a book, chatting with friends... If you enjoy what you’re doing, you end up sticking it out for longer. If you allow yourself to enjoy your favorites – within boundaries, of course – and learn how to enjoy a balanced diet, your weight loss will stick.

A total lifestyle change would be hard to sustain if you don’t practice mindful eating. That means eating what you crave but knowing when to stop and following the boundaries you’ve set for yourself. It means making good food choices and being flexible with your expectations. 

Life is hard – it throws curveballs when you least expect it, and things happen that can make it hard for you to stick to your goals. 

Most of my clients start seeing results within the first two weeks. And they feel happier and more excited. They’re more invigorated, eager to get out of bed, readier to start the day, excited to see what comes because of their new life, their new transformations. Whatever your reason for going on this program, be it weight loss or fitness, when you embark on the journey to a healthy lifestyle, you have to play the long game; one from which you won’t easily be deterred when you encounter a plateau on your weight loss, or give in to a craving, or decide to accept a dinner invitation. 

There is no one diet that works for everyone. What you need is to do what works best for you, and what you can sustain in the long term. That’s what I care about. I want my program to be something that will last forever.

Life is too short to spend in misery, and overly restrictive diets can take all the enjoyment out of eating. Becoming healthier should make you happier, but people make a big deal over things that, in actuality, aren’t. Now you’ve learned that your worries over being unable to eat your favorite food was all for nothing. You can still eat what you want, do only what you’re ready to do, and give up nothing you don’t want to. 

Is there anything else you dread that prevents you from getting started on your goals? Send me a message and I’ll do my best to put your worries to rest.

*I’m, of course, referring to dieting that has nothing to do with intolerance, ethical or religious concerns.