If by “dieting” we mean – eating with a goal of losing body fat…then yes, it is possible.
Unfortunately the word “diet” is often associated with pain, suffering, deprivation, sadness, boringness, restriction, and many other negative choice words.
Seriously, when was the last time you heard someone say “oh I’m on a diet and loving it!”?
Here’s the big thing – it doesn’t have to suck.
You don’t need to cut out entire food groups, cut out entire macronutrients, cut out your social life, cut out birthday cake, cut out Christmas cookies…you don’t NEED to do any of that!
So if I can eat birthday cake and not have to stop eating _______, how the heck is it still possible to lose weight?!?!
You are an adult. You choose what your eat and drink. Time to take responsibility for that.
That’s the other secret word – aside from my favorite secret word (consistency) – is responsibility. Food doesn’t decide to jump in your mouth and crawl down into the warmth of your stomach. You CHOOSE to eat it. You CHOOSE to drink it. So first things first is you have to own the F up and be cool with that.
Once you stop blaming food itself, the fast food companies, or the little cute cartoon characters that MADE you eat 3 Quarter Pounders with a large fry and a 24 oz coke…and realize that you are in 100% total and absolute control of what you put in your body, only then will you be able to start your journey towards losing weight healthfully AND being happy aka “dieting”.
Ok, I get it – I am in control. But now what? Don’t I need to stop eating all that is pleasurable?
No. You are in control, and now you have chosen to be a responsible adult.
As a responsible adult you know:
- Don’t eat a bunch of candy/sweets/treats/junk food all the time
- Don’t drink your calories as much as possible
- Eat as much whole, unprocessed foods as possible
- Load up on lean proteins, vegetables, fruits on a pretty unlimited basis
- Be active
Everyone knows this. So where do we go so wrong?
It’s when it comes to eating and drinking everything else that most people tend to adopt an all or nothing mindset.
NEVER eat carbs if you want to lose fat.
or
Well I don’t give a hoot about my body and dieting is hard, so I’m just going to keep pounding every carb in sight, from Twinkies, to break room bagels, and even Sandy’s nasty ass homemade brownies she brought in to work…
What ever happened to the idea of moderation and, that magic word again – responsibility?
You can eat carbs and still lose plenty of fat. You can eat processed carbs and still lose plenty of fat. But we need to be responsible and figure out what the appropriate dose is for YOU, and learn how to factor that into your life.
As with many things in life, the dose makes the poison.
So what do I do and how do I find this happiness within weight loss?!?
Thats a loaded and answer, which for some people may take some time to figure out, and peel back layers and layers of years and years of poor mindset, feelings of guilt, negative associations with all things food and life, etc.
The best advice I can give everyone – for free – here it is…
Figure out where you are starting. Figure out what you are currently eating on a day to day basis…then make one little change. Stick to that. Then make another, and another, and another…
It doesn’t have to be a brutal all or nothing approach, you just need to be responsible, be consistent, and take a little step in the right direction every single day.
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Stay healthy my friends,
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