If you have ever been on a diet, any kind of diet, then you know the feeling of withdrawal, frustration, confusion, and the struggle of how to make your life fit inside the plan vs. the plan adapting to your life.
The word diet means lifestyle; meaning long term way of eating, not fanatically overhauling our life for the short-term gain of losing weight or fitting into a different size.
Diets don’t work because they are extreme, short-sighted, and extremely limiting. This can leave you feeling overwhelmed and alienated from those you love. (Seriously, it’s pretty hard to be on the medical shake weight loss plan and go out to eat. “No, really, you go ahead and enjoy that steak. I’m just going to enjoy this delicious protein shake.”)
Instead of going on a diet, it is better to create a lifestyle based on principles. Principles are flexible and shape our decisions vs. dictating them. Principles can be applied to any area of our lives.
In my twenties, I experimented with every trendy diet, each leaving me feeling more powerless, defeated, and deprived than the last. It wasn't until I underwent a Metabolic Design Assessment that I understood the importance of eating according to my body's unique needs—a principle to live by, not just another passing fad. This approach transformed my relationship with food, allowing for greater flexibility and ease at mealtime. Now, I no longer have to guess what I should or shouldn't eat; I can confidently enjoy a diet that feels right and sustains my health effortlessly.
Once I began to eat in accordance with my Design, I was able to shed the extra 15 pounds I was toting around, dramatically increase my energy, stop the cycle of colds and allergies every year, and do it all in a way that felt effortless.
I no longer have to guess what I should or shouldn't eat; I can confidently enjoy a diet that feels right and sustains my health effortlessly.
There are a few other principles that are critical for optimal health and disease prevention.
Drink water!!! This is the life force of every process in your body. Every function in your body needs water – not soda, coffee, juice or milk. Just pure clean water! Ideally, drink ½ of your body weight in ounces every day. Meaning that if you weigh 150 pounds, you would need 75 ounces of water per day, 200 pounds is 100 ounces per day. In just one week, one of my clients, John, went from drinking 8-12 ounces of water per day to 60 ounces of water, he felt an amazing difference in his energy, mental clarity and joint mobility. Pain he had had for decades seem to fade overnight! If you don’t believe that water can have that big of an impact, try it for yourself. I dare you! ;)
Eat Whole Foods. Whole foods are foods that are ingredients, not have ingredients. They typically do not have labels. Whole foods are foods in their most natural form. For example, a chicken breast is a whole food vs. a chicken nugget that has been processed in a manufacturing plant where they grind up thousands of birds into one batch, add fillers and flavoring agents, form them into shape, then bake or fry them, separate them into packages and claim that these food-like substances are real food. The more you process and alter a food, the less nutrition it will have.
An easy way to eat more whole foods is to shop only the perimeter of the store- Produce, meat, dairy and bakery. And then look for the most natural and least processed foods in each of those areas.
3. Keep your blood sugar stable. Stable blood sugar is critical to maintaining your health and energy levels. The best way to accomplish this is to eat 3 balanced meals and a couple of snacks throughout the day in accordance with your Metabolic Design. Make sure you have protein, lots of veggies and some healthy fats with each meal. This will not only maintain your health and energy, but may actually help you reverse chronic conditions you may have had for years.
For example, Cindy, a former client, had this to say after eating this way for just a couple of months:
“After 32 years on BP meds, I am now only taking a 25 mg pill at noon which was a 100 mg pill and another 300 mg pill at bedtime. None of that now. And although I had not reached my goal weight I was eating better than I had ever eaten and my BP responded to that after just 2 months! Now, after 3 months, my lab work for my rheumatologist shows my inflammation markers are down from 15.5 to 9.7 (Normal is anything under 10). This is so amazing and I am also enjoying a reduction in medication for the RA now as well as for my BP. I have tools for life and I plan to build a healthier, happier me with these tools. Thanks, Jen, for encouraging and supporting me on this journey!”
4. Consume 25-35 grams of fiber per day. Fiber is essential to keep everything moving through your system and to keep your colon clean, as well as reducing cholesterol and stabilizing blood sugar. Fiber keeps us satisfied, aiding in weight loss/management. One of the best source of fiber is vegetables. They are lower on the glycemic index than fruits and grains, so they will not only provide lots of fiber, but help to stabilize your blood sugar too.
5. Eat mindfully. In our busy, fast paced world, most people rarely take time to consider what they are sticking in their mouth, let alone chew it. There are a couple of things to consider when you eat.
a. Before you eat, ask yourself, will this provide nutrition for my body or will it just fill my stomach? Food is your body’s fuel source. If you have a Ferrari, you would not fill the gas tank with anything but the best performance fuel, right? You can replace a Ferrari, but you only get one of you!! Fuel your body with the best sources possible.
b. During your meal, observe, “Am I actually tasting and chewing my food or am I distracted?” All too often, meal time becomes phone time or email time, especially at work. When we are distracted, we have a tendency to overeat and not chew our food well enough to help the body digest it. Put away all technology while you eat (yes, including the TV and your cell phone) and focus on the taste, texture, scent and look of your food. This will engage all of your senses allowing you to enjoy your meal more. Don’t forget to chew each bite 25-50 times to help your body release the nutrients and absorb them. If you typically race through your meal, try putting your fork down between each bite.
If you are new to healthy eating or are trying to adapt any of these as new habits, TRACK YOUR FOOD. Not just what goes in your mouth, but how you feel 30-90 minutes after you eat. This will help you identify what are the best fuel sources for your body.
Following these principles will enable you to increase your energy and improve your health so you can thrive on a daily basis and make healthy eating become second nature!! It’s time to ditch the diets and THRIVE!
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Meet the expert:
Jen Beck is on a mission to empower high achieving professionals and entreprenuers to create a life they love, with the optimal physical and mental health to live it! As the CEO and founder of Complete Health Revolution, a registered Nutrition Consultant and
Master Practitioner of LIIFT UnTherapy, Jen has spent 20 years guiding thousands to discover the root cause of their issues and reclaim their health. In addition to coaching and teaching healthy living with her own clients, Jen is also an author, key note speaker and delivers corporate wellness programs to Fortune 500 companies worldwide.
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