Have you stepped on the scale this week?
Post holidays, it’s not uncommon to be 5-10 pounds heavier than you were two weeks ago.
And frustrated (yet again) that another year has passed where you ate all this junky food and are feeling like crap from all the over-indulgence – too much pies and cakes and pastries at holiday parties (or too many cookies, in my case).
And now you’re regretting it!
Chances are your digestive system is also out of whack because you’ve been eating things you normally don’t eat. And you’re paying for it now with daily heartburn & indigestion – along with those extra 10 pounds.
It’s also the time of year when (after the wave of regret passes) you’re likely thinking about what to do to start losing that weight. (It’s why Gym memberships EXPLODE during January.)
You’re going to start seeing all these Detox and Cleanse programs – with the emphasis on exercising more and reducing calories.
And yet, you already know doesn’t work!
So let’s be real.
If you don’t always feel that great it becomes that much harder to schedule in some much needed exercise. (As for calories, losing weight has more to do with WHAT you’re eating, rather than how much).
What if there was a way you could maintain a healthy weight year-round, without resorting to diets, detoxing or the latest fad?
Would you go for it?
Ultimately, it’s about developing better habits so you no longer give much thought to those foods which you know don’t serve you well. Does this approach translate to deprivation, or punishment? Not by a long shot!
Instead, using myself as an example – finding your ‘path’ and being able to stick with it, might look something like this:
- I will never, ever intentionally eat any food that contains gluten – those days are long gone
- Likewise, I also avoid dairy (due to extreme sensitivity) and will likely not resume eating eggs either. (As much as I would like to).
My coach and mentor, Andrea Nakayama calls these your “non-negotiables”.
Then there are the things on your “bike path”, as she likes to call it, and those are the foods you’ll allow yourself to eat once in awhile – usually dictated by mood and availability.
It’s your typical “I had a bad day” mentality – or “I’m on vacation.”
And yes, things like snack chips would likely fall in this category. (The “healthy” kind, of course.)
What this means, is that even if a particular food isn’t ideal, it’s not going to do significant harm, either.
(That’s why gluten isn’t an “I’m on vacation” option – because it’s never ideal for anyone with a sensitivity, let alone Celiac Disease, and it WILL cause you undue harm – which wouldn’t be much of a vacation, in my opinion).
That leaves you with your ‘Path” – those foods which you’ll be eating 24/7, day in and day out; they’re the ones you can always rely on.
You’ll build your eating plan around that Path.
(To get you started, I provide a basic Healthy Aging Eating Plan with all my Coaching Programs).
And yes, private coaching is completely personalized to YOU – based on you unique physiology, your genetics and your sensitivity to specific foods.
Including gluten, of course.
And whatever else you happen to uncover along the way.
That last item?
Gluten-containing foods happen to come under what Andrea refers to as the “Poison Ivy” patch, i.e. your non-negotiables. (You can download a Free copy of her “Stick With It” Guide here.)
In other words, those foods that absolutely don’t serve you, and will only cause further inflammation throughout your body – the exact thing you’re working so hard to minimize so you don’t end up old and sick.
Remember your goal, here – to help you look and feel better than you have in years!
Once again, does this mean a lifetime of deprivation? Well, that’s one way to look at it, but I prefer not to.
After all, isn’t it best to focus on the foods that will nourish you and support your healing?
And celebrate the unique person that you are?
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