“Oh my…there are so many diets out there, how do I find the right one? How do I find the one that I will be successful at? Which one will fill me with energy and vitality? Which one won’t leave me wanting more?”
When you hear on the radio every single day, a thousand times a day, to go on this diet, take this diet pill, it’s your hormones…take this pill to lose weight. It is like they are children at recess saying…PICK ME! PICK ME! PICK ME!
It is hard to know what to do. You feel at a loss, you feel lost, confused and simply want to give up.
Well, don’t do that just yet. I may have an answer for you.
Not every person on this planet can be on the same diet. Think about that for a moment; no 2 of us are alike…we may be similar but not the same. What works for one person will not work for another. We make assumptions that because a diet worked for our friend that it will work for us. Then, when it isn’t successful, we feel frustrated and “terrible”….thinking that we failed when in essence it is the diet plan that failed. It has nothing to do with us. We, each of us, are uniquely and beautifully made. Your eating plan is waiting to be discovered by YOU! You are the only one who intuitively knows what works and what doesn’t.
A successful eating plan takes the following elements into account: genetic inheritance, geography and cultural beliefs. Genetic inheritance is what is passed down to us from our ancestor’s i.e. Biological characteristics like body type, personality, physiology etc.. Geography is where you live and the environment in which the foods were grown. And cultural beliefs, the unique ways in which various ethnic groups see the universe.
Another thought is, “If “this” diet worked for me in the past, then surely I can lose weight with it now”. This is not necessarily true. Your body’s needs change over time. The 5 factors that influence your metabolism are
- Lifestyle
- Environment
- Season
- Age
- Health
So if the diet worked great in your 30’s, do you think it will be as effective in your 50’s? Maybe/maybe not. Look at the 5 factors that influence metabolism again, have any of those changed for you?
Yes, they have and they will continue to change. This is why it is important to check in with your body from time to time. Keep a food journal for a month, make notes of how well the food digested, energy, mood swings, lethargy, clarity of thinking, bloating, change in body weight, skin tone, body pain, etc.. Once you do this, you will have a really good source of information about your dietary plan. From this you can create some “eating guidelines” to live by. You want to feel good, right? Your body, the choices you make, will begin to shift as you recognize which foods bring you life and which bring you something else that is not desired.
In essence, you are developing a dietary eating plan that will work for your body instead of a diet that works against your body. I like to call these guidelines. I have my own dietary guidelines that I live by. They have changed several times over the years because of lifestyle, activity, work pattern, the natural change in the metabolism, food sensitivities etc… It is a ceaselessly changing diet. To give you an idea of what guidelines are, here are a few that I have had in the past and a few that I currently live by:
Examples of guidelines:
- Avoid grains after 3pm
- Eat protein and essential fat with every meal
- 1 main meal 2 snacks 2 mini meals
- Dairy free
- Eat meal w friend or family member
- No snacking between meals
- Eat live foods
- Eat to the point of energy – meaning stop before the fill marker
There is no wrong guideline when it is intended to help your body to feel alive and energetic and to empower you with confidence. When you see someone over and over through the years and they continue to look healthy and fit for the last 10-15 years, it is due to them living by their own guidelines. They have found a balance and what works for them. Take the time to find this out for yourself. This could be the most important discovery you will ever make for yourself.
Once you have your guidlelines in place you will have the confidence that this is what you live by, so when on vacation or out to dinner you have no guilt when you veer from them….because of the confidence you feel with your normal everyday eating guide.
When you know what you eat…it brings empowerment and confidence. It lets you be you…Your health is not contingent on someone else’s dietary plan but on your own.
Invest this time in yourself. This could be your answer… I know it was mine J
Ashly