"Back on Track" Mondays and Debunking Diet Myths

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It was only a few years ago where Sundays equaled anxiety and triggered that good ol’ all or nothing mentality. The weekend was almost over so let me get every last treat and “bad” habit into my body because come Monday I’m losing 15 pounds, never eating carbs again and living off tubs of sugar free jello. I’ll cut my calories down to 500 and as long as I do that I’ll lose weight, fall in love, land my dream job and skip into the sunset…

Sound familiar!? 

Well it’s not your fault if this is how you’re operating. Let’s face it we’re a black and white society. We wait for big events like birthdays and high school reunions to get healthy, a breakup to score a revenge body and the new year to break our bad habits.

We seek finish lines, compliments and a unmaintainable results. 

When I finally learned that the diet industry operated from a dogmatic, outdated and ineffective foundation- I started to change my mindset around weight loss, getting healthy and living my best life. This took nutrition school and the shift to real food, self-care and a long hard look in the mirror at myself and how I was going through life. 

I learned and accepted that each day was a chance to treat my body with love and respect and that I didn’t need to wait until Monday. That I didn’t need to do "all or nothing," be on the wagon or off- just to do my best ever single day.

And if I fell off- whatever that means…I pick right back up where I was and ditch those icky guilt and shame feelings (because those thoughts are simply not productive and perpetuate the cycle). 

Now I want to share all I’ve learned with YOU! I’m taking one or two more 1:1 clients this month. What sets me apart? I’ve been right where you are. 

book a free 30 min call to chat about working with me as your 1:1 nutrition coach

Here are a few diet myths I want to debunk with you…

Myth #1 - count calories

I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, all calories are not created equal! Think about it this way- do you really think your body would metabolize, process and use 500 calories of broccoli the same way as 500 calories of Sprite? Or 500 calories of ice cream? Or Frosted Flakes?

It comes down to quality, fiber, sugar and the macro and micronutrients your body breaks those things into. 

Our bodies are not bank accounts. It’s not a simple math equation of calories in calories out.

We want to be mindful of our hormones who run back and forth between our cells sharing messages and insight! A diet made of quality, nourishing our bodies when they need it most, and taking care of our guts pleases our hormones and that is where true shifts, permanent change and maintainable results are able to occur. 


Myth #2 - drink water during your meals to get fuller, faster

I used to read this one a lot in diet mags! One of the first things I learned in nutrition school was debunking this in it’s relation to stomach acid, a crucial element in digesting our food and assimilating nutrients. 

Drinking water during (right before and right after) dilutes your stomach acid. We want our stomachs to be an acidic environment- and water, well- waters it down! 

If you ever feel bloated or super full during or after a meal, check your water intake. And this can be a shift for us since we’ve probably been drinking water with our meals for quite some time so take it slow. Start with room temperate water instead of ice water. Then stop 30 mins before you eat and wait 30 minutes after. And when you’re ready nix the liquids while you eat (and chew the heck out of each bite!) 

Moral of the story it’s not about using technique to trick yourself into getting full- it’s eating real whole foods with protein, fat, fiber and nutrients so you can literally turn off your hunger hormones and allow yourself to tune-in!

Myth #3 - go fat-free

Ok if you’ve been with me for a while, you know that this is a big one and I’ve talked about it a lot. But it bares repeating. Because including more fat in my diet, not being fearful of fat and eliminating fat free milks, yogurts and snacks from my kitchen was truly life-changing.

Let me remind you of some of the goodness of healthy fat :

  • Fat (and specifically cholesterol, yes you read that right!) is the precursor to hormones.Hello regular cycles, fertility and a GOOD MOOD.
  • Fat feeds your brain which is made up of at least 60% fat.
  • It keeps you FULL. Stop tapping into willpower and eat butter :)
  • Fat gives you energy. Our bodies love being in a fat-burning state, instead of a sugar-burning fat.
  • Fat helps to lower systemic stress and we ALL need that. 

What diet myths are you still holding onto? If you have any you’d like further elaboration on, send them my way. I’m right here behind this email and you can reach me at anytime!

Have an AWESOME week and I’ll catch you over on Instagram where I’m posting daily and living my real food life. 


And remember, book your free 30 min discovery call and let's chat about you becoming one of my private clients!