Healthy Eating Habits that Last Forever

“Dieting may not lead to lasting weight loss and can increase binge-eating or overeating, while adopting healthy behaviors can improve health, dietitians said. Registered dietitian Amee Severson said when people stop dieting they may see improved self-confidence, self-worth and relationships.”- HuffPost (12/19/18)

Oooohhh y’all – I love this quote SO MUCH!!! I constantly preach the need to emphasize sustainable, long-term healthy eating habits over the use of a crash diet. Not only because it is much better for your body + results in more successful (lasting) weight loss, but also because it is much safer for preserving a healthy relationship with food. So many of us undergo cycles of “clean eating” followed by periods of binging. This is often due to how restricted we feel during our period of “clean eating”, prompting us to lash out and make poor choices before too long. The concept of dieting leads to short-sighted goals. For example, “I want to lose 10 pounds this month” or “I want to be a size 6 by the time of my friend’s wedding”. But what about after these short-term goals are met? Do you want to keep those 10 lbs OFF? Do you want to remain a size 6? Unless you stick with the dietary habits you employed to help you reach these goals, you are likely to revert to your original state. When this happens, you feel a sense of failure and discouragement (is that a word? Lol). I constantly preach about how, more often than not, what we do to achieve a healthy weight should be exactly what we continue to do once our weight goal has been reached. A long-term vision for healthy habits allows for a bit more flexible eating in the short-term, preventing us from going on a guilt trip after having 1 cookie…or eating one-too-many slices of pizza. It builds healthier relationships with food, in-turn resulting in less stress- WE ALWAYS WANT TO REDUCE STRESS! 😊 So please, rather than falling into the cyclical trap of dieting – binging – dieting – unhealthy eating…whatever your cycle may be- focus on more flexible, yet nourishing, dietary habits that can be adhered to both today and for many years to come. I think you might be pleasantly surprised at how liberating this new approach can be!