How to Follow the Self-Love Diet and Succeed
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How many diets have you tried? How many more thousands do you want to spend before you’ll truly realize THEY are not the beginning of a healthy lifestyle, they are THE problem – not you! It’s time to go on the last “diet” you’ll ever go on in your life again, the SELF-LOVE diet.
Switching up your diet
How many times have you switched up your diet? Have you ever said this to yourself?
I fell for it AGAIN…..I started yet ANOTHER diet plan all because the scale told me I’d gained 4lbs…As usual, I told myself…This one will do it, this one will work, this is the answer, I’ll stick to it this time….NO, NO, NO!!! More total waste of money….. I started on “the diet”, lasted THREE days, I’m such a failure…I really HATED tracking food and not being able to eat this and that, I fell off the wagon AGAIN…”
If you are shaking your head YES to all of this, it’s time to switch up your diet for the last time. It’s time to go on the self-love diet and start living, really living, in your ‘now-body’ – the body you have right now today. I want you to be body wise and happy at whatever your size.
No more stressing over the next diet, they don’t work. Anything that makes you stress about food, your body, and your health stops you from living even the basics of a healthy lifestyle because chronic stress changes immune cell genes creating inflammation in the body which can create more health problems that our culture blames on weight.
Switch the calorie counting for self-love
Turn in the scales and get rid of the calorie counter. No more counting. You do not need meal plans, or calorie counting or food tracking, nor weighing and you definitely don’t need more self-loathing or body shame. I used to obsess over the numbers and it only had me more stresses and hating myself for not staying within the “limits” of the diet.
We’re replacing the diet mentality! When you replace your diet mentality with self-love, self-compassion and serenity, the diet noise in your head will slowly shut itself out.
How to create a diet of self-love
It might be hard to get rid of the old diet mentality since it’s pretty much all we’ve been feed our whole lives. We have to connect with the idea that we deserve to feel good in our body. We have to mindfully start to focus on loving our bodies by nourishing it with nutrient-rich, real, whole foods that will make you feel amazing from the inside out. THIS is what overall health and wellness are about.
We need to create a sense of balance when it comes to our food. Balance is important, and that includes giving yourself permission to have the occasional treat without feeling guilty or ashamed about what you ate. The key is to make a conscious decision to indulge, eat only the amount that your body is physically hungry for, and fully enjoy what you’re eating without guilt or shame. Be mindful of what you are eating.
Eat Mindfully
I know our lives are busy and we don’t always have time to slow down to really be mindful of what we are putting into our bodies. Sometimes, we are even eating as we drive from one place to the next.
Be aware of what you are eating and take the time to really taste your food.
Fundamentally, mindful eating involves:
- Eating slowly and without distraction.
- Listening to physical hunger cues and eating only until you’re full.
- Distinguishing between actual hunger and non-hunger triggers for eating.
- Engaging your senses by noticing colors, smells, sounds, textures, and tastes.
- Learning to cope with guilt and anxiety about food.
- Eating to maintain overall health and well-being.
- Noticing the effects food has on your feelings and figure.
- Appreciating your food.
Let Go of Perfection
I always say it’s not about being perfect, it’s about progress. We always look to be perfect when it comes to dieting and if we shoul happen to mess up, we end up beating ourselves up. Let go of the thought that everything has to be perfect in order to see progress. Remember no one is perfect, it’s inevitable that things won’t always go the way you want them to. We’re all human so it’s okay not to be perfect.
Notice Your Feelings
Do you feel deprived or satisfied? This is a big one when I work with my clients because a lot of them say they feel deprived with dieting. Well, you should feel satisfied with what you are nourishing your body with.
The more you connect with how good you feel when you nourish your body with healthy food, and how unwell you feel when you eat unhealthy food, the more you’ll naturally gravitate toward the healthier food. When you eat like crap, you feel like crap…at least that’s true for me.
Be Kind to Yourself
I can’t say this enough. It’s a self-love diet. This is where you are kind to yourself and give up the negative thoughts and feelings you may have towards yourself and dieting. If you fall off track with things, give yourself grace and know that it happens to the best of us. Don’t beat yourself up over it, those negative thoughts take a toll on your self-worth. Instead, treat yourself with compassion and love.
It’s not another diet
The self-love diet is not another diet. Diets don’t work. This diet is simply based on self-love, listening to your body, nurturing it, going at your pace, and gaining confidence in your overall health.
It is not a diet of two or six months, it is a change to your everyday lifestyle that involves immersing yourself to face your own challenges and to break down the walls that may have prevented you from making real and fulfilling changes. It’s more than just getting some abs and perkier butt. It’s a lifestyle change where you throw away your old diet mentality beliefs and knock down the walls that have been holding you back for years.
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