This week I’m going to focus on the second principle to help you lose weight like a goddess which is:
EAT to feel GOOD.
This is revolutionary.
Instead of focusing your attention externally on rules, you will focus your attention internally on what your body wants and feels.
You actually get to be a private detective and figure out what foods work for you. Of course we know no diet works for everyone, but the diet industry and the media make it seem like you just haven’t found the perfect combination of foods and timing, yet.
In fact, each person is different, and as their life changes – so do the foods that work best for them. I will admit it can seem sort of annoying or like hard work to have to pay such close attention, but the benefits are astonishing.
It is totally worth it.
It feels so good to feel good and energized after you eat.
It feels so good to know how to eat to maximize your health and happiness.
So, paying attention to your body is what you get to do now.
That means noticing how your body feels when you are eating and after you eat. It means deciding that you actually deserve to feel amazing most of the time. One way to think of it is as Anne Lamott writes, “it may help to remember this great line of Geneen Roth’s: that awareness is learning to keep yourself company. And then learn to be more compassionate company, as if you were somebody you are fond of and wish to encourage.”
Keep yourself company. Check in with yourself. “How are you doing?” How are you feeling now?”
It doesn’t have to be difficult.
It can be easy. It makes sense to “keep yourself company” and if you settle into it then you can notice how food affects you and how you physically feel in your body when you eat it.
We will be dealing with the tricky issue of food addictions later this month, but for now, just notice where you are stuck on certain foods.
A great way to find out what foods work for you is by doing an elimination diet. The Whole30 is a marvelous one that I have done and many of my clients have done with really great success. Whole30 has you cut out all foods that are known to increase inflammation for 30 days and then slowly add them back in. Weight loss is often a side effect of this way of eating, but it is not a long-term weight loss solution. Instead, it is a way to clear out all the foods that you are so accustomed to eating that you don’t even notice that they make you feel like crap!
I love the paleo diet, and I eat meat, veggies, fruits and nuts and I feel great. For 10 years in my 20’s I was a vegetarian and I felt terrible! I was sick all the time, but I didn’t know why-I thought I was eating well! Lots of whole grains, beans, dairy and breads really irritate my system, but I didn’t know that was why I was sick, itchy and groggy! I was so grateful when I finally did a Whole30 and realized how much energy and joy I could feel. For some people my vegetarian diet might have been fine.
Start with noticing how you feel as you begin eating, as you eat and after- directly after and then a few hours after.
Focusing on increasing your input of veggies, so they fill up half your plate at each meal is another great place to start. Eating whole foods, not processed foods, is much easier on your body and leads to increased health, weight loss and more sustainable energy.
You get to figure out what works for you and your body!
Let me know how it goes.