Tag Archive for: Diet

Celebrate NO Diet Day

Have you skipped a meal because a “diet” told you to?  Have you replaced meals with shakes or avoided entire food groups?  Do you restrict your favorite foods or force yourself to eat foods you don’t like because your “diet” says you should?

 

You may have fallen prey to the many fad diets out there, but you don’t have to anymore.

 

Let’s celebrate International NO Diet Day tomorrow, May 6th by stopping the diets.  Use this day to celebrate body acceptance, body shape diversity and to raise awareness of the harmful effects unhealthy dieting can have. The goal of International No Diet Day is to teach people how to have a healthy relationship with food and ditch restrictive eating habits.

 

Effects of Dieting

 

Diets can be filled with restriction, deprivation and cravings, which may lead to bingeing, emotional eating and guilt.  This can move you further away from having a healthy and balanced life.

 

Diets can cause you to ignore your internal hunger signals that your body naturally gives you for when and what it wants to eat.  This can lead to an altering ability to recognize these signals and affects how you feed yourself.  The change in mindset also alters the “brake” system your body has in place to avoid overeating.  If you restrict, you are more likely to binge.

 

Remember, a diet provides you with a set of rules about what you can or cannot eat.  They are a short-term strategy to reach long-term goals.  Fad diets, diet products, and the way body image is portrayed in the media are detrimental to forming healthy eating and lifestyle habits. Body discrimination can be seen all around, from advertisements showing off thin models to the current “fat acceptance” movement which is quite the opposite and celebrates curves while shaming smaller physiques.

 

Here are 3 tips to help you break the never-ending diet cycle:

 

  1. Become an attuned eater. Choose foods based on an internal sense of hunger, appetite and satisfaction. This will help you learn more about what your body craves and help avoid overeating.

 

  1. Eat without distractions. Chew thoroughly and enjoy what you’re eating.  Listen for the internal cues your body will give you as you reach satiety.

 

  1. Do not deprive yourself. Instead, eat what you want and savor it.  Avoiding deprivation will help limit the temptation “avoided foods” have.

 

Remember, dieting is about restriction which can lead to feelings of guilt and ultimately alter your relationship with food and your body.  Stop the diets by accepting your body where it is now.  With acceptance comes admiration and you will naturally feed your body better and avoid restricting to provide your body with all the nutrients it needs.

 

Celebrating and loving your body and yourself is the drive behind much of the work I do. Rather than restricting yourself, focus on nourishing yourself. I stress this to all my clients. Self-care and loving yourself go hand-in-hand. Please stop comparing yourself to others! Embrace your uniqueness and celebrate your body by treating it with nourishing foods and mindfulness.

 

If you need help celebrating your body, head over to www.TalkWithBonnie.com and request a time to chat!

 

Take the “International No Diet Day Pledge”.  Repeat the following as many times as you need to:

 

“I will accept myself just as I am.
I will feed myself if hungry.
I will feel no shame or guilt about my size or eating.
…and I will LOVE MYSELF for who I am, not who I feel pressure to be!”

 

 

Be Your Own Valentine – The Ultimate Gift of Self-Love

It’s Valentine’s Day and I bet you’ve been thinking what you can do for you sweetheart, or what you can buy for him. You have spent countless hours thinking about this, what would make him feel special?

 

Yes, you find it! You are excited! Whether it’s that perfect gift or a special night on the town, you bare no expense when it comes to your honey!

 

That’s awesome! You are a wonderful partner!

 

But what about you? What do you do for yourself? When is the last time you said YES to yourself? When have you splurged on YOU!

 

Most probably it’s been a while. Especially if you have other people who rely on you (kids, spouse, elderly parents etc…). Well, their needs come first, you think.

 

Of, perhaps you don’t feel worthy enough of doing something for yourself. “How can I” plays in your head over and over again.

 

Today, on this day of LOVE, show some LOVE and KINDNESS to yourself. You’ve been struggling with your body, your weight and your food for years, maybe even decades. You think you’ve tried to help yourself by going on a diet, trying the cleanse that Jennifer Aniston was on (wow, look at her amazing body!), or signing up for Weight Watchers again (because if Oprah could lose 42.5 pounds, so could I!).

 

But I just want to talk to you straight from my heart right now. Those diets, cleanses, detoxes, even Weight Watchers won’t work. They never did work and they won’t work now. And you know what? I know you know this. It’s just that you are scared to try something different. Scared to go out of your comfort zone, even though staying in your comfort zone keeps you stuck.

 

Today, on Valentine’s Day, do this for you.

 

Schedule a call with me to see if Freedom to Eat Forever™ is right for you. If it’s not a good fit for either one of us, I will tell you!

 

The program starts on February 22, but you can start TODAY as soon as you give yourself this gift. Once you enroll, you will have immediate access to the Orientation and Pre-training Modules to get you started. Plus, the private Facebook group is already open and you’ll get to know the other amazing women in the group.

 

So, choose your Valentine’s Gift to yourself: Either –

  1. Register here for Freedom to Eat Forever™  
    There is a money back guarantee, so you have nothing to lose!
  2. Schedule a free call with me to see if Freedom to Eat Forever™ is a right fit for you. Click here to pick a time on my calendar.

 

Once you make this decision, you will feel relieved, happy and tickled all over!

 

Happy Valentine’s Day!

 

Freedom to Eat Forever Bonnie GIller

Here’s What to Do to Lose Weight Forever

Freedom to Eat Forever Bonnie GIllerAnyone who works with me knows that self-care is a major part of my work. Between taking an extra few minutes for yourself each day, fueling your body with nourishing foods, and knowing when to ask others for support, there are many ways you can put your self-care in the forefront of your life.

 

The process of improving your self-care may be slow starting and its okay to take baby steps to help yourself.

 

You may have started by giving yourself a few minutes to de-stress each day and eventually moved to learning how to prioritize your activities so you are doing what you enjoy most.

 

I have seen a lot of great turnarounds over the last year; people like yourself who have taken their self-care from the back burner to the front and center of their life. Making this shift is a major step on your intuitive eating journey.

 

Yet, what I am finding is that many of you are stopping there.

 

You are not taking the process to the next level.

 

You are seeking out free resources to help you become an intuitive eater, yet you are still spinning your wheels.

 

You are taking 3 steps forward, 2 steps backward.

 

Sure, if you continue at this pace, you may eventually get to where you want to be (an intuitive eater) but why wait that long?

 

You can accelerate the process by partnering with the right person who will guide you using an organized proven system.

 

I am that person for you.  And I have the system for you.

 

It’s the Freedom to Eat Forever™ Program, a 5 step intuitive eating process that will enable you to enjoy guilt-free eating and a life free of dieting.

 

But you know what? You have to step up to the plate and invest in yourself and your future. It’s when you invest in yourself that you see the results. I did it, and so can you.

 

Check out this cool video. Then email me or Facebook message me if you want to see if it’s your time for Freedom to Eat Forever™.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hurry. Class starts February 22, 2017. I don’t want you to be left out. Take your intuitive eating to the next level.

 

Are You Destined to Be Fat?

You know how to eat healthfully. You have heard it time and time again.

 

Eat whole foods, lean proteins, whole grains, plenty of fruits and veggies (the colors of the rainbow) and healthy fats. And, yes, avoid highly processed foods!

 

You don’t need anyone to tell you this! You know this already.

 

You actually have eaten like this. Then stopped eating like this. Then started eating like this again, then stopped again! Yikes, I’m getting dizzy!

 

Why do you NOT do what you know is good for you?

 

Well, there might be several reasons. For starters, it’s easy to fall back into old habits. Change is hard, there’s no doubt about that. And change takes time, patience and perseverance. You can do it as long as life cooperates. But once life throws you a curve ball, you haven’t learned how to juggle that curve ball while maintaining your newfound healthy habits. So, you fall back into old familiar habits that feel safe, even if they aren’t healthy for you.

 

Now, don’t feel bad about this. It happens to the best of us. What you should feel bad about is if you don’t keep trying. If you just throw in the towel and say and do one of the two following statements:

 

  • “It doesn’t matter, I’m destined to be fat, and so I might as well just forget trying. I’m going to enjoy my food and I’ll show them (by the way, who is “them”)?”

 

  • “I’m going to try the Atkins diet again, or Weight Watchers for the umpteenth time”.

 

Now, let’s discuss each of the above statements.

 

In statement number one, you are engaging in pessimistic thinking (the cup is half empty). This type of self-talk is negative messaging that only leads to more unhappiness and self-destructive thoughts and behaviors.

 

In statement number two, you know full well that diets don’t work. I don’t care what diet it is. Diets just don’t work as a ‘forever’.

 

Again, you know this. So, why do you fall for the fad diet’s false advertising time and time again?

 

I am going to explain why in full detail AND I am going to give away my 5 Step System to Break Free of Dieting so you can get the body and life you love on my upcoming Free Online Training.

 

Here are the deets:

 

Tuesday, February 7, 2017 at 8 pm EST/5 pm PST.

 

Register for free HERE.

 

You don’t want to miss this event.  I am going to shed some light on those limiting beliefs and mental blocks that are holding you back from committing to breaking free from dieting!  If you really want to lose weight and never gain it back, join me on February 7th!

 

There is no reason not to show up live.

 

Register for free HERE.

 

Did You Get Sucked in to the New Year’s Diet Scheme?

I’m sure it feels like everyone you know is starting a new diet or workout regime this month. In the past I’m sure that even YOU have fallen into the hypnosis of the “January start a new diet” trend set by the diet industry. I want to challenge you to try a different approach to your health this year.

 

The truth is that every “new diet” you see is actually the same. There is always going to be the latest trend hitting the internet or newsstands. But at the end of the day, all diets have one thing in common: someone other than yourself is telling you what to eat, when to eat, and how to eat.  And truth be told, they aren’t going to help you feel better about your relationship with food OR yourself.

 

So, let’s not kick off 2017 with a cloud of dieting thoughts over your head, okay? It’s time to jump OFF the diet roller coaster and to start listening to your inner wisdom.

 

Who better to listen to than your own body?

 

Okay, so this sounds all great, right? And the new programs that are being marketed now are calling themselves “Lifestyle Programs”. But let me let you in on a little secret. Those “Lifestyle Programs” are just fancy names for diets. They say they want to help you make lifestyle changes, but they are still giving you lists of foods to eat and not to eat.

 

Oh, by the way, don’t even get me started on those doctors with Harvard degrees that are promoting “Detoxes”. Give me a break! Anyone is going to lose weight if they drink these concoctions for a week or a month. Then what happens after the detox is over? You know what happens….

 

But I divert. Let me get back on course here.
If you are riding the diet roller coaster, you’re probably unhappy with your body and have an unhealthy relationship with food.

 

Coming next month I have a free training called “The 5 Steps to Break Free of Dieting” where I explain the 5 steps you need to get the body and life you love without the pain and restriction of dieting.

 

Come join our Facebook community group to get notified when this free training will take place, or check back to this blog next week for more information!

 

Please Tell Me What to Eat!

“Can you give me a meal plan WHILE we work on intuitive eating?”

 

This is a question I hear often from clients who are contemplating starting the intuitive eating journey!

 

The answer is NO! Giving you a meal plan goes against the core beliefs of intuitive eating which is eating based on YOUR inner body wisdom, not a pre-printed meal plan. Even if this meal plan is “calculated” and customized for you.

 

Let me explain.

 

You have been on many diets over the years. Perhaps these were formal diets such as Weight Watchers (you can have x points per day), Jenny Craig (you can only eat our prepackaged meals), Atkins (no carbs!) etc.

 

Or, you were on what I call a “Self-Designed Diet”, meaning you created rules that you told yourself you’d follow. Example:
• I can only eat carbs for lunch, never with dinner.

• I must stop eating by 7 pm every night.

• If I snack, it can only be on a fruit or veggie sticks

 

You get the picture, right?

 

Point is, these diets or your own self-designed diets gave you the rules of eating. You followed them like the good girl you are. But these diets don’t take into account what your internal body cues are telling you about when to start eating and when to stop. You eat when, what and how much the diet tells you to.

 

So, what’s the big deal?
This only “works” for as long as you “follow” it. Then when you have a bad day or an uncomfortable emotion surfaces that you’d just rather not feel, BAM….off the diet you go.

 

This cycle continues until you realize that you need off this merry-go-round. There is no joy in eating anymore. So, you hear me talking about intuitive eating and you’re like, “wow, this sounds amazing. Let’s do it. But, can you give me a meal plan too?’

 

I hope you now see why my answer is “no”. Not because I don’t want to help you. But because on the contrary, a meal plan will keep you dieting by telling you when to eat, how much to eat and what to eat. It does not allow you to relearn how to let your body guide your eating decisions.

 

Having said this, I will also say that at a certain point on the intuitive eating journey when my clients raise their hand and say “YES, the intuitive eater within me has woken up”, then we start talking about nutrition. And guess what? You are now able to make the best choices for yourself with my guidance based on what feels awesome in your body!

 

Sounds intriguing? Want in on this journey? Just reach out to me at www.TalkWithBonnie.com and let me know you want to Break Free of Dieting for good! I’m here to support you!

 

 

How to Love Your Body Just As It Is

banner-2If you’ve been searching for the perfect diet to get the body you’ve always dreamed of, chances are you are still searching.

 

The truth is, chronic dieting and yo-yo dieting will not give you a body you love.

 

Diets are not maintainable.

 

Dieting to drop the last 10, 20 or 50 pounds can only backfire.  It is only a short-term solution to a problem that needs a long-term solution.  Chances are, when you reach your “ideal weight” (What is considered ideal anyway?  A topic for another blog), you won’t be able to stay there for long.  The reason for your need to overeat or feed your emotions will still be there.

 

You may be asking yourself, “If diets won’t get me the body I love, what will?”

 

Here’s the solution: learning to love your body right now.

 

The way to start loving your body is to step away from diets.  If all you’ve ever known is dieting, this might seem a little scary.  But, when you stop dieting, you become more in tune with your body’s internal hunger cues.  You are able to listen to your body and feed it when and what it wants.

 

Here are 3 steps you can take now to start loving your body:

 

  1. Respect your body. Respecting your body does not mean accepting your body how it is now and thinking you have to stay this way the rest of your life.  It means accepting your here and now body.  When you respect your body, treat it with dignity and provide your body with what it needs, then you’ll make room for loving every aspect of your body and what it does for you.

 

  1. Trust your body. Start listening to your body’s inner hunger cues and feed them.  Your body has the ability to tell you when it’s hungry, when it’s full and what it wants to eat.  When you listen to what your body wants, you’ll start to change your relationship with your body and see it differently.

 

  1. Stand in front of the mirror and tell your body what you love about it, whether it’s a physical trait or something your body has done for Use this as a way to show your body the same support that it has given you over the years- I love my ears, eyelashes, smile, butt or stomach.
  • I love how strong my arms are.
  • I love the freckles across my cheeks.
  • I love my legs because they take me where I need to go.
  • I love my hips because they help me carry my child.

 

When you love and respect your body, something wonderful happens.  You no longer obsess over it and see weight release happen without all the worry.  Having the ability to do this will help you succeed on your intuitive eating journey and you might be surprised to learn what your body is capable of when you show it love!

 

If you’re looking for more tools and techniques to learn how to love your body, come join my Love Yourself, Love Your Body free giveaway event happening now until September 30th.  I have complied 25+ experts who are giving away programs and gifts to help you make peace with food, enjoy guilt-free eating, a life free of dieting and a body you love.  Grab your free gifts here.

 

If you’d like help on learning to love your body again, contact me here.  I can help you.

 

Why a Diet Food Delivery System is Making You Fatter

Menu deliveryBreakfast Burrito, Chickpea Falafel, Shitake Glazed salmon with Basmati Brown Rice and Broccoli, Veggie Pizza….YUM!

 

These sound delicious, right? They are menu items I am reading off a menu that you can have delivered to your door daily for an exorbitant amount of money. But the money doesn’t deter you because this is a “diet food delivery system” that tells you exactly what to eat in the exact amounts to eat each and every day, several times per day. You have ZERO decisions to make about food.

 

Wow, sounds awesome!

 

Or, does it?

 

I’ll tell you, at a quick glance, sure who wouldn’t want cooked food delivered right to your doorstep which all you need to do is eat when it arrives. But let me ask you. For how long can you shell out the big bucks for this convenience? And, what happens when you want to live your life again by going out to dinner, meeting your friends for lunch, going to a party, wedding, or barbecue get-together. I could go on and on and mention all the social occasions that revolve around food, and you won’t know what to eat. Or, worse yet…

  1. You will sit there and NOT eat and stick out like a sore thumb.
  2. You will bring your boxed food, and again, stick out like a sore thumb.
  3. Say, “the heck with it” and eat everything in sight because tomorrow you are going back to your delivered food. But in the meantime, you overeat, feel bloated, cranky, lethargic and guilty for having blown your diet once again

 

Let me ask you, why do you put yourself through this time and time again?

 

I know the answer. It’s easy to follow what someone gives you, or the foods someone else prepares for you.

 

It’s easy to not make any decisions about food.

 

But ultimately, this does not make you happy. This NEVER helps you reach your ultimate goal of a healthy body and a healthy life where food is just…dare I say…NORMAL!

 

Take a moment to digest what I am saying. I know that you are in agreement here. But I also know that you are afraid to let it go. It feels safe to you, and without it, you don’t trust yourself. This lack of trust comes from your years of dieting and following what others tell you to eat and do. If for just one moment, you can think back to your early childhood, before you had a weight problem, you trusted your body to tell you when you were hungry and when you were full. You can get back to that point. But you have to let go.

 

Let go of the diets, the boxed food, the food rules, the conditions you place on your food.

 

Open yourself up to learning to trust yourself. It will be a journey, that’s for sure. And, some days, that trust will be there more than on other days. But learn from it each and every step of the way. You can only do this if you are willing to stop obsessing about the scale right now. To stop obsessing about numbers, how much you lost, how much you gained. If you continue to watch the scale, you will continue to diet for many years to come.

 

But, and this is BIG…if you can trust yourself enough to put the scale away (hid it, throw it away, ask your partner to discard of it), then you are one step closer to reclaiming the trust in your body and to forever NEVER DIET AGAIN.

 

I am here to support you in whichever way you please. Just reach out and ask.

 

 

How to Achieve Your Health Goals In 2016

Goals 2016I cringe this time of year. You know why? Because my inbox is flooded with dozens of miracle diets for the New Year. They promise quick and easy weight loss by following a set of rules to reach unrealistic goals.

 

Join me in throwing your New Year’s resolutions out the window. Start this New Year by doing the opposite of so many people. Release yourself from the prison of rules that you set for yourself, or worse – that someone else has set for you. Instead continue on your path towards becoming an intuitive and mindful eater.

 

I realize this isn’t an easy path. But remember, it may not be easy but it is worth it!

 

There are 3 essential ingredients I believe you need to piece together in order to achieve this goal for 2016.

 

Here they are (and resources to help too!)

 

Essential Ingredient #1: Create a healthy mindset. Commit to NOT listening to what others tell you to do. You need to decide for yourself what is best. What makes YOU happy? What makes you feel good? What eases your mind and fills your stomach?  Stop letting dieting books, relatives and TV hosts dictate what you need or what you should eat. They don’t know what is right for you. Only you know how to make yourself the best you can be. Re-learn to trust your body. You may be surprised what you get out of it.

 

Essential Ingredient #2: Find caring love and support. It’s no fun being on this journey alone. And, it’s possible that all your girlfriends are about to embark on the latest New Year’s diet. So what are you to do? Find a support group filled with people just like you who have decided to never diet again. They do exist. If you are interested, come on over to my private Facebook intuitive eating support group. This is a judgement-free space where real people share real intuitive eating struggles and successes. I offer my own advice and tips along with fun challenges and giveaways throughout the year.

 

Essential Ingredient #3: Be open to learning about nutrition from a reputable source. There is so much overwhelming nutrition information on the internet that it gets downright confusing. Just this morning a client mentioned to me that she has no idea what to eat anymore, there are so many recommendations she reads that contradict each other. It is key to connect with a reputable nutrition source such as a registered dietitian nutritionist to learn about nutrition. Get to know what you’re putting into your body. The more you know the more you will find yourself being more conscious about what you’re eating.

 

To help clarify the many nutrition questions you might have while you are food shopping, check out My Supermarket Sidekick: Your Aisle-by-Aisle Shopping Guide. I wrote this guide to help you as you navigate the aisles in the supermarket. Learn more here.

 

Your Turn to Take Action: What are your health goals of 2016? Comment below!

 

Beta GluCAN’Ts- A Supplement Scam that Won’t Enhance Weight Loss

supplements (2)

Today I want to share with you a blog that is a little different from the ones I have posted in the past. My daughter, Jennifer, is taking her first nutrition course in college and one of her assignments was to write a paper about diet scams. Here it is below. I added some of my own thoughts towards the end.

_______________

By Jennifer Giller

There are many supplements on the market that claim to help you lose an absurd amount of weight in an unrealistic amount of time. Often times, these supplements contain ingredients that are not even associated with weight loss.

 

A specific weight loss supplement I recently saw advertised (name withheld), claims to serve as an alternative to Gastric Bypass surgery. The company claims to have a 90% success rate in substantial weight loss. However, these are baseless claims.

 

The main ingredient in this product are beta glucans. Beta glucans are a soluble fiber. When ingested, these fibers absorb water and naturally expand. This limits the amount of food that you are able to take in, causing you to feel full throughout the day.

 

There has been research conducted to study the effects of beta glucans on body weight and health. One such randomized study looked at the addition of beta glucan supplements to a low calorie diet in 66 overweight women over the course of 3 months. The women were placed into 1 of 3 calorie reduced diet groups.  The first group was a control group, the second group received 5-6 grams of beta glucan, and the third group received 8-9 grams of beta glucan supplementations. Height and weight, blood glucose levels, insulin, triglycerides, and leptin measurements were taken at the beginning of the study as well as at the 3 month mark. Other markers of appetite regulation, such as cholecystokinin and ghrelin, were also measured.

 

At the 3 month mark, all 3 study groups lost weight. All groups also had a lower waist circumference and reductions in some metabolic variables. However, there was no significant difference in weight loss among the groups. Research concluded that the beta glucan supplement did not add to the effectiveness of the low calorie diets in these overweight women.

 

Other research however, puts a positive spin on this product. Multiple studies have showed that beta glucans may be beneficial towards lowering blood sugars and cholesterol.  The FDA (Federal Drug Administration) has already approved a health claim that beta glucans can lower cholesterol and the risks of heart disease as well as lower the risk of getting diabetes along with diabetes associated complications.

 

Personally, I view beta glucan supplementation marketed as a weight loss solution as a scam. The evidence shows that beta glucans do not have any effect on enhancing weight loss. It is instead putting a ‘band-aid’ on a bigger problem. If you believe that simply supplementing with beta glucans will help you lose weight, you will never learn how to eat or how to maintain your weight without supplements. On the other hand, if you find yourself at risk for heart disease or diabetes, I would suggest you include more food sources of beta glucans in your meals such as oats and legumes.

 

I hope you found this article as interesting as I did. Thank you Jennifer for your contribution to the blog this week, I am so proud of you.