The Ugly Truth About Health and Fitness

Feeling guilty about “sneaking” some “forbidden” foods…

Exercising as a way to “make up for” all those calories you ate (or as punishment)…

Binge eating because “I’ve already messed up so much today, what’s a little more?”…

This is what happens when you look at food not as food but as either a friend or a foe.

Too often, food becomes the villain in a bad B-movie. It tempts you. It controls you. It even laughs at you.

So you run to the nearest stationary bike, begging it to save you from the evil food villain. And you pedal like mad… or you do extra step classes all week… or you starve yourself for a day…

And next week the vicious cycle starts all over again. And you go to bed miserable, thinking, “I really messed up on my diet today. I’ll try again tomorrow.”

The problem is, “there’s always something…”

Because then you have this conversation in your head:

“No… I can’t try tomorrow because of that big lunch event at the office. I won’t eat any breakfast or dinner to make up for all the food I know I’ll eat at the party, and I’ll get back on the bandwagon again the day after.

“But wait, the day after is Friday and we’re going out with the Smiths to dinner. I’ll have to get back on the bandwagon on Saturday.

“Oh, wait. Even if I eat well on Saturday, there’s a soccer family potluck on Sunday afternoon. I promised to bring dessert and everyone is expecting me to bring the pistachio cake recipe they all love. And I hate to make it and not eat some of it… I’ll just have to get back on the bandwagon on Monday…”

See? There’s always something. And the way you get down on yourself because of it is “the ugly truth” about health and fitness.

So what can you do? How can you achieve your goal of shedding some pounds and feeling fit, without all the guilt, excuses, sneaking food behind people’s backs, and resulting poor self-esteem?

Now this isn’t a quick fix, but it IS the answer: It all depends on changing your perspective, your mindset.

Start by not telling yourself that some food is “good” and some is “bad”. That leads to guilt when you choose to eat the “bad” food.

Food is just food. Period. Its purpose is to nourish you… body, mind, and soul. Don’t let it nourish just your body and steal your soul.

The key is to recognize that you have choices, every day, about which foods to eat and how much, and which foods to avoid.

If you approach food with the desire to nourish yourself as best you can – body, mind, and soul – the choice becomes clear. You know which foods nourish your body. They are the single-ingredient foods. Like “raspberries”, “carrots”, “kale”, “eggs”, “onions”, etc.

Eat mostly plants, and you will nourish your body. You’ll also nourish your mind and soul, because you can feel great knowing you are taking care of yourself.

And once in a while, you get to choose a food that may not be as healthy for your body; indulging occasionally keeps you from feeling deprived. Enjoy those moments! Don’t feel guilty about them.

Let’s face it, losing weight and getting fit is hardly about the physical stuff at all. It’s not really about how many times you lift weights or how much tofu you eat.

It’s about what’s going on in your head. What you think and believe about what you’re eating and the exercise you’re doing.

Think the thought, “I love giving my body nourishing foods because it makes me feel great” over and over, and eventually it becomes a belief.

Then that belief leads to an action, where you make a choice that is good for you.

I know this isn’t easy, and maybe you need some help sorting out how to make this type of mindset a reality in your daily life. I’d love to help you!

Shoot me a message and we can set up a call to talk.

Enough with the guilt and punishment. Let’s make eating food fun again!