Change your mindset to change your body.

 

Are you stuck in the cycle of dieting/binge eating?
Are you someone who prides yourself that you ONLY EAT CLEAN?
Do you think other people are wrong because they eat things you would never eat, like sugar, or junk food?

The trend came about for CLEAN EATING and let’s just say,  a mess was made.  There is NO such thing
as “clean” eating. I’m a recovering clean eater. “Clean eating” served my family well for a few years while
we re-tooled our household from a steady diet of fast food and soda during some stressful times in our business.

We got our shit together and made everyone around us miserable because “clean eating” was all we talked about.

What is Clean eating?
Problem one: No one really knows the definition of “clean”.
Vegans/Veg say meat isn’t clean but they eat grains.
“Clean eaters” say processed food and sugar isn’t clean.
Paleo  folks say grains aren’t clean but they eat meat and consume sugars.
Some people abide by only organic and NON-GMO and the rest is not clean. We are all screwed there!

Problem two:  All these diets are restrictive and can lead to binge eating.
If you are Paleo, yet you drink beer, pizza and wings on the weekend.. what is that?  Cavemen did not make cookies, paleo friendly protein bars with processed whey protein and chocolate chips. Beer is processed, yes?

If you are a certified clean eater and enjoy a cheat meal of the exact things you say you never eat.. what is that?

Retrictions!! UGH!

The cycle of binge/eat disorder (BED) might look like this.
Diet hard- I’m a rock
Slippery slope moment leads to binge either in public or privately.
Mental beat down 😦
Over exercising and even more heavy restriction.

One way we can break this cycle is to step back and re-cultivate our  relationship with food.

Food is Fuel: Carbs are not bad. Fat is not bad. We must stop using terms like “good food” “bad food”.
Food is macro nutrients. It’s carbs, fats, protein.  Your body doesn’t know if protein comes from ‘what you deem’ as clean or not clean.
Science, much?

If you are restricting foods the one thing you never eat is probably the one thing you really want to.
Restriction leads to binging. Have you ever done that? I have.

Cheats, cheating or cheat meals: Negative connotations on food can create guilt. Why do we need more guilt?
Frankly, when my coach gave me a “cheat” meal for meals 5 and 6 on my menu, I will be honest, I had a hard time being trusted.
Cheat meals read as  binges.  I can eat a whole cake in one sitting.  One binge can set me back for 3 weeks.
I almost didn’t get to the stage because I went crazy on a sanctioned ‘cheat’ meal. I know that’s NOT what my coach meant, but
that’s how my brain works!

Post cheat meal/binge  can follow with even more restrictive diets, guilt and extra hard beat downs in the gym.
How stressful and self defeating this cycle is. If this is you, then you know!

Find some peace.
Flexible dieting allows you to have food that you prefer. If your body likes more paleo, vegan, non-processed, NON-GMO that’s ok.
You can eat how you like as long as you reach your  personal macro nutrients of Protein, Carbs, Fats and the micro nutrient fiber.

If you have macros that allow you to fit in your sweet treats or pizza then you able to enjoy food rather than being on lock down.
If you are not able to eat sugar because it is a trigger for you, then you don’t have to!  You have freedom and no food is off limits.
If it fits it fits.

This year, I am working on my brain as well as my physique.  A mindset of always be catching myself in a failure state makes a person weary.
I am no longer using these terms of which consumed me. I am learning how my body responds to different food sources.  I have definitely learned that I am at my best when I am eating nutrient dense whole foods. My skin looks much better when I have the right amounts of fat in my diet.
I notice how sugar pre-workout fuels me, but sugar laden foods while watching TV is a trigger to binge. And if that happens..I am working on not classifying eating off my macros as a failure but a learning experience.  Every person, given patience can realize peace in their meal plan, with a desire to change of course.

Changing your mindset to change your physique. All or nothing mentality cannot sustain. What could we accomplish if we enjoyed food without guilt or punishment?