Well, we’re just over the halfway point in January and I’ve noticed something interesting: There are basically 3 camps in the ‘post-New Year resolution’ arena – especially when it comes to “eating related” goals:
- Those who are still gun-ho (or is it “gung”?) and “crushing” their plan
- Those who fell off the wagon and feel defeated or are back pedaling/justifying themselves
- Those who didn’t even go there – Maybe they thought about it, but didn’t do anything about it (yet)
I’ve been all three for sure…
SO, I’d like to introduce a not so new eating approach that we could call the WHOLE30000.
(not to be picking on the famous Whole30 which is GREAT btw)
Basically it’s about finding your own food flow, creating your own Clean Eating Plan and executing on it – all day – everyday – instead of just a month.
I’ve hosted a bunch of challenges and Cleanses in my nutrition career and theyare great and can be very eye opening for many people. Particularly people eating a lot of processed foods, those with hidden inflammation, situations where the food is controlling them (where they literally can’t stop – like with sugar/carbs) or for folks that are not cued into their body’s reaction to certain foods and really want to test things out in a structured way.
For those individuals, food challenges like the Clean Gut, the Whole30, Beyonce’s 22 Day Vegan Challenge (jk – all hail Queen B!) and of course, my14 day PaleoCleanse are great ways to heal the gut, give the system a break and reset eating patterns. Plus, done as a group, they offer a great support system too.
What I’ve found with myself and my clients though, is that AFTER the challenge – MOST people eventually backslide unless there’s a transition plan. This happens because:
Temporary restriction leads to compensation UNLESS our mindset is aligned and in agreement with the restriction long-term.
This is one reason why I’m not ‘all-in’ with the most of these restrictive food challenges and why half the folks at my gym have passed on our Clean and Lean Challenge. Arbitrary rules are set that have some scientific basis (maybe), but they don’t account for ME (or YOU) as an individual.
As a Questioner with Rebel tendencies (referring back to Gretchen Rubin’s book, Better than Before), that just doesn’t fly with me. If I’m being told to do something or NOT to do something, I have to know and accept why – especially when it comes to food.
A good personal example of this is how the some programs don’t ‘allow’ stevia, but allow fruit juice and dates as a sweetener. Based on current research – I know that stevia is a very benign and even healthful herbal sweetener that, for me, doesn’t impact my blood sugar (I’ve even tested it with a glucometer) NOR does it increase sugar cravings, but dates and fruit juice sweetened foods sure do. So that challenge isn’t 100% aligned with me, because it missed that important physiological variant for people like me with blood sugar/fructose sensitivities.
This is what inspired me to create an easy system and workbook – called the 5Ps – to help you either transition after your chosen January (or whenever) Eating Challenge (if you did one) OR to just start working on now. It’s actually kinda fun and very effective from a neural learning standpoint to write these things down. Just try and see.
This is all about creating your own Clean Eating Plan with some basic guidelines (FYI – it’s not really open to eating Big Macs and Twinkies – we have to draw the line somewhere!).
It includes worksheets and templates including my own food plan where you’ll see everything I eat and avoid based on what currently works for my body and lifestyle – not yours.
Then we get into practical application so that you actually follow and enjoy your plan – habitually.
I’m just finishing up the 14 Day PaleoCleanse (my liver begged for it – plus I lost that bloaty 7 pounds I acquired over the holidays and all my travels last year), so you’ll even see how I’ve factored in post-Cleanse moderate wine drinking into my plan. 🙂
In the coming weeks, I’ll break down each of the Ps in more depth and I’d love to have a dialogue with you on your process and plan. Just ask questions or reply to the posts or comment on social media.
OK – Let’s do this! All you have to do is download your free guide here. If you need more help with figuring out your plan, book a session with me here (for a limited time, new clients get free 15 minute sessions!) and let’s resolve to finding our own healthy food flow this year – and forever!
Lastly, if someone in your life struggles with yo-yo dieting, ‘restrict-binge’ eating patterns, please pass on this email to them so that they can join us here too. There’s strength in numbers!
