Its that time of year again when you and all your peers seemed to be talking about what diet their on. Two months from now these diets will likely be abandoned and a new one adopted once we shed our winter clothes and spring and summer come around. This on again off again cycle is not healthy. It makes us feel like failures when the diet was probably unrealistic in the first place and it also may cause unhealthy shifts in body mass. In other words dieting causes loss of your calorie burning furnace-muscle mass. You will likely end up with a higher percentage of fat.

Instead, focus on adopting healthier patterns: better food choices, less mindless eating, identify ways to become more active and manage stress, and develop better sleep patterns. These are the keys to a healthy lifestyle and they are sustainable if you go about it in a systematic way allowing for some imperfection from time to time. After all we are human, we like to eat and food can and should be allowed to be pleasurable. Labeling foods good or bad and feeling guilty about eating something you’ve labeled bad is counter-productive. Forget about what happened over the holidays and focus on taking one day at a time.

Some people can figure this out on their own but most of us would do well with some support from a registered dietitian/nutritionist with a background in motivational interviewing and behavior change coaching or a highly trained health coach.

If you need help, I am just a phone call or video-chat away. I have been helping people for over 30 years get a handle of their habits and helped them improve their weight, nutrition, fitness overall health and quality of life. You can reach me through the contact tab on this website. Contact Me