Tag Archive for: healthy eating

The Truth About Diet Meal Delivery Systems

It sounds great, doesn’t it. Meals are delivered to your doorstep each day or week, and all you have to do is heat it up and eat it!

 

The convenience of these systems may be tempting, but is it really in your best interest?

 

If you’ve been trying to lose weight and find meal prep too time consuming, I can understand why the idea of someone else prepping, preparing, and portioning your food sounds like a dream come true. As a matter of fact, when I researched the benefits of these diet meal delivery systems, some of the reasons included “control your portions”, “no food decisions needed”, and “eat healthier”.

 

In fact, these are exactly the reasons why you should NOT use these diet meal delivery systems.

 

Let’s bust these false “benefits” right now!

 

False Benefit #1: “Control your portions”

 

This “benefit” that the diet meal delivery systems tout is causing you harm! Any time you must use “control”, you are doing something against your will. You are being forced to eat an amount that this diet company says is right for you. But how do they even know how hungry you are when you sit down to the meal?

 

They don’t.

 

Only you know how hungry you are and how much food you need to feel comfortable and to meet your needs. By eating the pre-portioned meals, you are disconnecting further from your inner signals.

 

And usually, these pre-portioned meals don’t sustain you for long, and then you are on the prowl looking for something to eat.

 

False Benefit #2: “No food decisions needed”

 

Again, this is not a benefit, it is also causing you harm. By not making any decisions around food, you are eating on autopilot. You aren’t learning ANYTHING about your food preferences or how much food you need to fill a particular level of hunger.

 

How many things do you do in your life that require you to NOT THINK?

 

None!

 

You have to think when you are working on the job. You have to think when you are teaching your kids. You have to think when you are making life decisions.

 

Why should you not think when it comes to food?

 

Good question, right?

 

False Benefit #3: “Eat healthier”

 

Okay, so maybe these diet meal delivery systems are sending you more fruits, veggies, and whole grains. But are YOU learning anything about why these foods are good for you, and what they do in your body to keep you healthy?

 

Are you learning anything about eating to honor your health that will be sustainable for you?

 

At some point, if you are relying on these meals to help you lose weight, and the scale doesn’t move or the weight isn’t coming off as quick as you’d like it to, you throw in the towel to find a new system. And the benefit you did have from eating more fruits, veggies, and whole grains goes out the window too.

 

Sustainability for Life

 

When you consider eating styles, it’s very important to ask yourself if this eating style is something you can sustain for life.

 

When you eat out of a pre-portioned box and you are invited to a party or wedding, do you bring your boxed food with you? Do you eat before you go and then sit at the table eating nothing when everyone else is eating? Do you say “the heck with it” and eat everything in sight because tomorrow you are going back to your delivered food?

 

I’ve seen this happen! I was at a wedding and one of the women at my table ate nothing! I knew her history of dieting and understood that she was on some new diet plan and couldn’t eat. She looked miserable and didn’t enjoy herself at all.

Most social occasions revolve around food. Wouldn’t it be nice to enjoy these occasions and not worry about the food and what you eat?

Losing weight on these diet meal delivery systems is generally not going to provide you with long-term weight loss. Throw this to the curb along with all the other diets you’ve tried.

If you’re ready to start your journey to breaking free of dieting, pop your name and email in the boxes below for your free online experience, Break the Spell of Diets in 3 Days.

 

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.

 

Cooking and Intuitive Eating

hearthealthycooking

Do you love to cook?  Do you take the time to prepare what you love?  As a past dieter (I’m hoping by now you are on your way to saying that!), consider how you decided what you were going to cook for dinner.  More than likely it was what the “diet menu” dictated for the night.  If you didn’t like the choice, I bet you still made it because to deviate from the menu would mean you “broke your diet”.

 

So think about it.  When you were dieting, and you cooked what you were told to cook, did you really enjoy it?  Did you derive great satisfaction from it?  I have many clients who are wonderful cooks, and unfortunately stopped cooking when they were on the diet rollercoaster.  It was too tempting to cook “something really good” and not be able to eat it.

 

Now think about the last yummy meal you cooked as an intuitive eater.  You took the time to figure out what you really wanted to eat, you pulled out a favorite family recipe or opened up a new cookbook, and took the time to prepare what you wanted.  How did you feel?

 

I have been working on writing my next cookbook which, although is not yet titled, will incorporate the principles of intuitive eating.  I have had so much fun creating and testing new recipes.  As an intuitive eater, it has opened my mind and my meal options to so many delicious foods that as a past dieter, I would not have eaten.

 

By taking the time to ask yourself what you want to eat, and taking the time to prepare that food, you will feel more satisfied, more in tune with your internal signals and more nourished.

 

It doesn’t have to be anything complicated.  It can be a simple sandwich, a plate of vegetable crudité with hummus, or if you are feeling adventurous, a three-course meal.  The key is to approach it from an intuitive eating standpoint and find ways to make cooking an enjoyable part of your life.

 

Your turn to take action:  Ask yourself what you really want to eat for dinner tonight.  Take the time to prepare and enjoy it.  Let me know how this experience was for you.

 

Eating for Wellness, Not Weight Loss

When you are a child, there are so many exciting things to experience every day, and meals and snacks are just a part of the routine.  Life is not driven by your meals and snacks and whether or not you will eat the “right” or “wrong” food.  There is pleasure in the friends you are with and the joys each day brings.
When you focus too much on eating and dieting, food begins to control your life rather than being a part of your day.  You find yourself cancelling your lunch date with your friends because you are afraid there will be nothing on the menu that you “can” eat.  You find you are lacking energy to do daily tasks because you are eating very little calories because your plan “told you too.”  These are all food rules that you are following to hopefully lose weight and they are removing the pleasurable experiences from your life.

 

Instead of focusing on your food as a tool for weight loss, focus on it as a tool for wellness.  Food is fuel.  It should not prevent you from living your life, but rather it should help you live your life.  For example, do not skip breakfast because you are worried you will overeat the rest of the day.  Have a hearty nutritious breakfast such as oatmeal with fruit and nuts or scrambled egg whites in a whole grain tortilla.  You will see how much energy you have to start your day and will find you are not “starving” by lunchtime.

 

Promise yourself you will not miss plans with friends because of the venue they are eating at.  Be mindful of your hunger, order something that you are going to enjoy, but honor your fullness and know when it’s time to stop.

 

By making food a positive force in your life, you will end that unhappy relationship and be on your road to wellness AND weight loss.  Your decisions will no longer be controlled by food, but what you want to do and what you want to eat.  As long as you keep the principles of intuitive eating in mind, you are good to go!

 

What is one food rule you live by that does not coincide with eating for wellness, and how will you change it?