Navigating Food Through Life

This picture could be taken a number of ways. One could be asking me, “What the hell are you doing? Don’t you know that stuff is crap and is terrible for you?” The other could be wow, she is really enjoying herself and eating what she wants. 

I used to be a food snob. Like really bad. I was super judge-y of how people ate. I couldn’t believe when I would see some people eating fast food or chips or cheetos. It took me some time to quit being a food snob. But now, I am so much more than that. I know that sometimes those foods are what we need to be doing now in order to make progress. I really want people to realize that you can enjoy the foods you love and still lose weight. You really can. I eat a lot of food that people think is bad or not good for me and foods that are not considered “diet” food. I eat cookies, I eat lots of bread. I eat pancakes and waffles. I eat candy sometimes. I also eat a lot of fruits and vegetables and lean meats. I have a really good balance in what I eat. I don’t feel deprived and I rarely feel hungry. 

It has been a little over a year since I started eating macro style, or what I like to call Lifestyle Dieting. This has been such a blessing for me. I was able to lose over 40 pounds and have kept it off.  I have been able to help so many people find their way and navigate their eating and life. This is not a quick fix, but it is the magic pill people are looking for. This is not a magic powder, but it is a magic bullet. If more people would start tracking their food they would realize how much they are overeating. That could start it. That could start the way to weight loss. That could start the way to a healthier life. The awareness of tracking is huge! I don’t say that lightly. It can be life changing. 

So many people say they would never be able to track their food and enter what they eat. I ask those people why not? People complain all the time about being overweight, about not being able to sleep, about being tired all the time and basically about feeling like crap. Well, don’t you think your diet has something to do with that? I mean, seriously, how could it not. 

If you really need to get a handle on your eating, which really means habits and behaviors, try tracking, try coaching. What do you have to lose? The time passes regardless. I say that all the time because it’s true. The time does pass. Pretty soon it’s six months down the road and you wonder why you have gained another 20 pounds. If you had been tracking, you might be saying, I can’t wait to lose another 20 pounds. 

But guess what? It takes some work on your part. It just does. Nothing worth having is easy. You can’t expect to just wing it. You can’t expect to be able to drink and overeat every single weekend and be able to make up for it during the week. You can eat the things you want, just not in the quantities you want. You have to realize that there are consequences to how much we eat. If you’ve read this far, you know there are. We are always looking to make a change. This is a good change to make. This is a good habit to learn. 

Learning about food and portion sizes and actually what foods contain protein, carbs and fats, is a big eye opener for people. So many people just eat. I say eat with purpose. I give you your guideline numbers and you start eating. 

So many people say they can’t. Are you sure it’s because you don’t want to. Because that is what change boils down to. You have to look inside and ask yourself those tough questions. Are you content being where you are or do you want to change? Do you want to get healthy? Do you want to have control of your food? Do you want to have control of your diet?  

This style of eating is a mindset. It’s not about how much junk food or less optimal foods we can stuff down our throats. It’s not about thinking that is a healthier way to live. There is more to living than following restrictive diets. It’s living a life of flexibility. It’s living a life knowing you can enjoy a piece of birthday cake and not feeling that shame, that guilt and that remorse because you ate a piece of cake. That mindset that has been drilled into our heads for years and years. It’s knowing you can do that and then just move right along. It’s enjoying life and living life. This is the beauty of lifestyle dieting. There will ALWAYS be life things that happen. There will always be something that happens. There will always be family things, work things, and just things. That’s called life. Being able to navigate and figure out ways to handle these things is the key to being successful.