Tough Love from Jillian - The Newsletter
I hear from so many people that they are "giving up" or "cutting out" something from their diet in order to lose weight. They typically sound stressed about it or are talking about the process in a negative or anxious way.
Sound familiar?
These comments never sit well with me because I know they are going down the wrong road or are stuck in the never-ending yo-yo diet battle. One of the main reasons fit-flavors has a Registered Dietitian on staff is because ultimately, people need support when it comes to diets and their relationship with food and themselves. For most people, the battle is in their heads, and until they can be at peace with their food consumption, grocery shopping, eating out, and snacking, they stay stuck in a self-sabotaging cycle.
Quite frankly, our anxiety around food can be so bad it controls our lives. I can say this because this was me for 8 years.
Here are some examples of how my crazy mind used to dominate my day-to-day decisions:
I chewed a pack of gum a day because my cravings for sweets were so bad.
I ate ice cream alone cause I didn't want people to think, I, ”the personal trainer" ate ice cream (I was in total denial cause I thought ppl would judge me).
I used to consume 180 grams of protein a day because that's what I thought my body needed to grow muscle and be lean (I'm a fairly petite woman...180 grams is way too much).
I drank so many artificially sweeten drinks to stay full and feel satisfied (diet coke, sugar-free red bull, sugar-free monster, crystal light, flavored water, and coffee w Splenda). This made me bloated constantly, hungry and craving sweets.
I only ate oatmeal, sweet potatoes, and brown rice because I thought pasta, bread, white potatoes, and fruits were BAD foods.
Then when I would have a “cheat day” (ps, wtf is that...stop doing it!), I would eat 8 slices of pizza or 15 cookies.
I wouldn’t allow myself carbs after 5:00 pm, I thought they would just convert to fat.
These are just some of the unhealthy internal battles I faced around food.
If you resonate with this in any way, let’s talk about how to get your mind right. It might sound hard to even fathom, but I promise it is possible. And I promise that if you can get your mind right, the results you are searching for will follow. I am so happy I figured it out. So happy I started fit-flavors, which helps people succeed at really creating a sustainably healthy lifestyle.
So how can you get started today, right now, as you're reading this? Let me break it down...
Acknowledge the things you think or do that are not good for your health. What is the root cause of continuing to do or think those things (aka, pinpoint the reason for this self-sabotage)? Hint: this usually has a lot more to do with feelings than actions.
Take ownership of what you don’t know and educate yourself. It is important for us to learn about nutrition if we want to understand how to make the right choices for ourselves. Some great places to start are credible blogs that are based on science and research. The fit-flavors nutrition blog is a great place to start. I also love this article on the basics of carbs from the Mayo Clinic.
Get support. I recommend working with a Registered Dietitian if you need help. Honestly, 4-8 sessions with an RD is life-changing. They have been trained to work with people's phycological well-being as well as provide science-backed nutrition guidance. They are food doctors guys!!! I'd love to introduce you to our fit-flavors RD. Just email info@fit-flavors.com to get hooked up with them!
These are the steps I took myself. Now that you all know how crazy I used to be….LOL. Know that it took me several years to get my mind all straightened out. It takes time to learn to think in a different way. I know I made a truly transformational sustainable lifestyle change. And while it took me many years to get where I am now, the day I decided to make a change was SO transformational and every day after that I just kept learning and growing. It keeps getting better and better when you're willing to do the work.
What you are feeding your mind is shaping your mind. Who are you following? Who do you talk to? Who do you look up to? Yours,
Jillian
NEW EPISODE! Owning the Wait Podcast
EP66: My 80/20 Nutrition Philosophy The 80/20 philosophy is the nutrition philosophy that we use at fit-flavors as well as my life philosophy. I think it is the most sustainable philosophy when it comes to health and nutrition. In this episode, I am breaking down the 80/20 philosophy to help you wrap your brain around it a little better and help you determine if it's something that could improve your life.