So let's start with a truth bomb...
It doesn't exist! There is no perfect way to eat, or at least not a one size fits all approach and anyone who tells you there is is LYING!!!
The truth is that if there was then there wouldn't be constant bombardment from the press about the new 'diet' (I bloody hate that word by the way) that will promise you instant health or a magic bullet that will incinerate all your fat, cellulite, wrinkles and gold plate your arse and costs the price of a small country, but don't worry... it's ok because your one aim in life is to look like you were pushed out of the Barbie factory!
Ok, enough sarcasm.
But if you have come here expecting me to gift to you the single and only way you will get to where you want to be, quite honestly, I can't!
What I can tell you however is that you will get there and there is a way for you to reach your goals and be happy, but it is going to depend on you.
SO... here is my list of things to consider when you are entering into a health journey and what may or may not work for you.
1. Gluten free/Dairy free is not necessarily the way to go.
What I mean by that is don't automatically jump on the fad train or the most fashionable thing to buy into in the moment. The buzz words 'GF' and 'DF' are plastered everywhere at the moment and for our increasingly health conscious and yet obesity challenged society this is both a positive and a negative.
To cut gluten and dairy unnecessarily is not going to do you any favours and to be brutally honest, it is probably going to cause an unneeded barrier to you getting to your goal. The more variety you can have and the more inclusive you can feel is only going to be of benefit to you. Trust me... I'm gluten and dairy free and the bread struggle is real!!
Not only that. By cutting these two food groups you are dramatically reducing your ability to get certain nutrients in your diet and you have to become a lot more savvy about B vitamins and calcium in particular in order to reach your recommended daily allowance. That's not to say that there aren't rich sources of these nutrients in other foods, but in our bread and milk culture, you need to be actively aware of where these places are or you risk deficiency, and B vitamin and calcium deficiency, as two major nutrients in mental health and bone density, is definitely to be avoided!
If you are unsure of whether you have a problem with either gluten or dairy then it is quite straight forward to test the theory with elimination. However, if you have sufficient reason to suspect that they are causing you an issue then I would suggest you did this investigation with the support of an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
2. Drop the diet!!!
Now I am sure you have heard this a million times, but STOP YO YO DIETING!!! There is a reason people end up fatter after going on a so called 'diet'. They are unsustainable, often deplete you of necessary nutrients because they are normally pretty restrictive and your body will probably ping back in rebellion against the HORRIBLE regime you have put it under for 2 weeks with no clue as to why.
This is probably going to sound boring, but you will not reach your goals by following a quick fix diet.
Lifestyle change, honesty and finding what works for you is the only real way to achieve a place of peace and balance with who you are and to be truly comfortable in your own skin, which leads me to my final point...
3. Get comfortable with who you are and what you need.
What do I mean by that... I know that I could never, and I do mean never, sustain a low carb diet. I just couldn't do it. I am active. I love training. I am bringing up two tiny people and building a house while running a business and my body needs that fuel. If someone asked me to do a low carb diet I know it would make me so unhappy, likely depressed because of my personality, interfere with my sleep and to that end it is an unsustainable and pointless option for me.
If I'm being frank I hate any exact label put on how anyone eats. To me, it acts as set of rules that make foods 'good' and 'bad', elicits black and white thinking and a sense of negativity around food that is so unhelpful in a probably already stressed body because lets face it, we are all dealing trying to keep far too many balls in the air these days.
Finding a way to eat that works for your day, your hunger and your needs is what you need to figure out. For someone that might be 3 meals and 2 snacks. For someone else that might be skipping breakfast, a light lunch and the bulk or their food at dinner time. Are there challenges and pit falls with both...yes! But there are also positives to both. At the end of the day there is just you and how your body behaves, and we are ALL DIFFERENT.
So please, don't try to follow a plan that worked for someone else, especially if it has been put together for them by a professional because the chances are you are looking at their results, their energy, their reported success and wondering why you aren't achieving the same. And no, it's not because you are destined to be a certain weight or that you can't have the energy they have because of your age or that you just aren't athletic like they are. It is because you are not them.
Be yourself. Know yourself. Have faith in your choices. But most of all be kind to yourself. If you need help reach out to a professional. There is a reason people train in this field because it is vast and complex and forever changing, but simple steps make a huge difference.
Love Bec x
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