I was a yo-yo dieter with the same ten pounds.....

Someone asked me how much weight I have lost before. I said ten pounds. Her comment was that is not much. My answer was “Yes, it is if you have done it around 100 times! Of course, I got a laugh. I would be on some crazy diet and be miserable for a while and lose the weight. Then, get off of it and slowly it would creep back on. I would definitely call me a little bit of a yoyo dieter. This went on for well over 25 years. I was not comfortable around found. My mother was overweight and would always pressure me into not letting myself get like her. I was never thin. I loved food and still do. My sister on the other hand, was sort of skinny. She did not like most food. I never witnessed my mother saying anything to my sister. I know she meant well but I never wanted to look “chubby” around her because I would think it would let her down. So, all these years went by, and I hated my body, my short legs, and dreamed of being thin. One day, not even sure what I read or listen to, I realized that I was a yo-yo dieter. My body was so confused. I thought I had was eating well, which was it was cheese, lots of triscuits, lots of pretzels, vegetables, and salads. I hardly ate any red meat. Oh, and lots of chips and salsa. Once I discovered these few tips, I lost the ten pounds slowly and without all the negative talk and enjoying food. Most importantly, I do not even stress about it anymore. If I am somewhere and they do not have what I refer to as a healthy choice, I just eat a smaller portion and enjoy. This is not often and remember it is not what we do occasionally but what we do daily. Here is what I learned and started implementing in a quick synopsis. Remember to always treat yourself with kindness.

Water. Drink your water. I never knew it had so many benefits. How much water? Lots of opinions but I use a general guideline for my clients is half your body weight in ounces. If you weigh 150 pounds, go for 75 ounces daily as a guide. Water helps flush the body of waste, regulates body temperature and metabolism, helps balance blood sugar, reduces inflammation, and keeps our skin moisture rich. Good on kidneys too. Drink water.

Body acceptance. I am never going to have longer thin legs. I have short chunky thigh legs. Yes, I have cellulite on these thighs. I tell myself short people don’t have to worry about pants being too long. PLUS, with the new ankle length, which fits perfectly as pants lol. This is so important. Love your body. You need it! I used to say mean things to myself, and it caused me to feel rotten. I used to say things that I would not even say to someone I didn’t like! Practice in the mirror saying good things about your body. Don’t laugh. It works.

Dump Perfection. Decide what your food protocol is going to be and let it be 80% of the time. What is a food protocol? Look at a previous blog, I have discussed in depth. I cut our sugar, flour, and processed foods 80% of the time. Now, if I seem to be off track, say on vacation and indulging more than usual, I will go 100% off sugar, flour, and processed for a couple of weeks and feel back to normal. I do have the wedding cake, the birthday cake, and pasta but it is 20% of the time. I love a juicy greasy burger, but it must be a special place that is known for burgers. Decide what food protocol works for you and do it 80% of the time. I recommend everyone eliminating the sugar. Sugar has no health benefits and is highly addictive. The more we eat, the more we crave. Dump sugar and add more water. Cutting out processed foods such as crackers and chips is huge.

Eat slow, chew and chew, relax and enjoy. This is a BIG one! I bombed. When I was going through coach certification, I was asked to time myself (not knowing why) while having lunch. I was so embarrassed that I ate my lunch in 6 minutes and was told it should have taken about 20 minutes. Oh my. I was so unaware of what was happening. Our body takes at least 20 minutes to register that is getting satisfied. Slow down and enjoy your food. I then was asked to get a couple of nuts and eat while counting how many times I chewed. Not good. Chew your food. It will help with digestion. Big call out here is that it also helps with bloating. The more we chew up our food, the easier it is to digest. Now, I am not going to tell you I am good at this. I am still practicing. I am hyper. I do everything quickly. This is taking time to change. Lastly, is do not eat while stressed. Our body does not digest when it is stressed. Calm down, relax and enjoy.

Mindfully eat and cut out snacking. I used to open the pantry door and stand their unconsciously eating crackers, nuts, pretzels, and what ever was easy to put in my hand while determining what to fix for dinner. I sometimes would snack so much that I would not eat dinner. Too full on all the processed crap then would head back to the kitchen a couple hours later. If you always stay aware of when and what your eating, you will learn to cut out all the unconscious eating. Eat your meals slowly and eliminate your snacking.

So, to recap; drink your water, love your body, eat healthy 80% of the time, eat slow, chew your food, mindfully relax and enjoy!

Have a beautiful day!