Give Yourself Permission to NOT Eat Perfectly Earlier in the Week

Years ago, when I was always chasing fat loss, this is how my week would pan out. This approach to eating and nutrition made me feel obsessive around food and like a complete failure.

Sunday: Last Super Mentality, aka, finish everything that I bought over the weekend (cookies, desserts, chips, etc) in order to "start fresh" on Monday.
Monday: "Keep it tight, keep it right." Egg whites, spinach, chicken breast, avocado, and way too much exercise-- rinse and repeat until Thursday or Friday rolled around, depending on how deprived I felt.
Friday: Start stocking piling all of my "off-limit" foods for Saturday and Sunday.
Saturday/Sunday: Gorge myself until I'd feel uncomfortable, stressed, and defeated.

I spent a long time in this cycle, not even realizing I was stuck here until one day I said F*ck it.

I didn't care if I gained 50lbs, all I knew is that I couldn't keep eating and living this way.

My hormones and digestion were the worst they'd ever been and I was consumed by so many food rules. I was spending way too much time and energy thinking and obsessing about food, exercise, and my body.

And for what? I wasn't seeing the results I wanted to and I didn't feel healthy.

Was this rigid plan of "start clean on Monday" really working?

Nope.

When I started loosening the reigns during the week and started taking the pressure off of myself to eat "perfect" on Monday, I finally started to notice things like:

My hunger cues (before this I would only eat when I was starving).
I was able to leave some food on my plate when I felt satisfied.
I wasn't planning my weekends around my "cheat binges"
I had more time and energy for my social life.
My workouts improved.
My body composition eventually got to a place where I felt healthy and happy with how I looked.
My life wasn't dictated by 30 food rules!

Remember, All-or-Nothing will always result in Nothing.

Trying to stick to 20 food rules perfectly will almost always end with you breaking 20 food rules.

When you learn to eat according to your personal preferences, patterns, rhythms, and unique psychology, you'll have a better understanding of your own body, and you'll get to experience how effortless and stressless eating actually CAN be.

Pick and choose your nutrition battles.
Don't strive for perfection, and don't get caught up in the trivial details of nutrition.

Implement a few non-negotiables. One of mine is eating protein at every meal. I don't weigh or measure, I just make sure I eat protein at every meal and I feel way better when I do. If I don’t do anything else, I make sure I get my non-negotiable in because they help me stay on track, and as for the rest? I do my best navigating the middle.

The middle isn't extreme.

The middle is for the long haul, because we have to eat everyday, for the rest of our lives. So why not work towards breaking food obsession and chronic dieting and reclaim your relationship with food?

If this resonated with you and you want to end your food and exercise obsession, and learn how to do a handful of things consistently--not perfectly, and finally have a plan in place that'll help you build your physique without sacrificing your mental, emotional, or physical health, I'd love to work with you!

You can head over to my “Work with Me” page and fill out the application.

Alicia