Happy National Dare Day!!!
Time to get real about your eating habits and weight goals! In recognition of #DareDay I'm thrilled to announce the 2021 release of my first coaching book, Eat Cake for Breakfast. After 20 years of teaching holistic health life skills and providing life coaching services, I'm taking the plunge and writing a coaching book!!!
Eat Cake for Breakfast is a practical, anti-diet, intuitive eating program designed for teen girls and women struggling with unwanted belly fat, body shaming, stress and emotional eating, and disconnection to their bodies. Focusing on guidelines, not rules, Eat Cake for Breakfast lets you keep eating foods your tummy loves, and teaches you to trust yourself to make healthy food decisions. Each chapter includes a signature poem and focuses on an aspect of healthy eating habits and weight loss, including gut health, sleep hygiene, stress management, and several others.
Why Diets Don't Work
Because I like to include tips and value in each blog post, I've also included information on top reasons why diets don't work.
#1: No One Likes to Be Denied the Foods They Love
First off, I'm a foodie. A serious foodie. I don't like to deny myself foods or things I really want. I also don't feel the need to overindulge on a daily basis. Diets are restrictive. Diets tell us we must eat less calories, avoid foods they consider "bad" or "unhealthy, and devote little attention to the emotional impact of eliminating/taking away foods we love. Sounds like an awful
way to lose a few pounds! Or even a lot of pounds because restricting things we want permanently NEVER EVER WORKS. Sure, you could do it for a few weeks... and maybe even a few months or a year, but not much longer than that.
I love gelato... and pasta... and pizza... But I would stop wanting them if I had them every single day. They would no longer possess the same allure or taste if they became commonplace. On the other hand, I would likely begin to salivate, much like Pavlov's dog, at the mere thought of them if they were forbidden forever.
College Ice Cream Experiment
Back in 1997, I was a junior at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, majoring in psychology, Still living on campus, most of my dinners on campus were spent with my best friend Tonya. Raised Catholic, though not very religious at that point, I decided to choose something to give up for Lent. Call it Catholic guilt, or wanting to experience a deeper gratitude for life, and be more healthy, I gave up ice cream, my favorite dessert of all time. Dessert was reserved for once a week at most, so... I thought it would be super easy to say goodbye to ice cream. Things didn't quite go according to plan.
Tonya's efforts to test my resolve were awe-inspiring... Suddenly, she was very interested in picking up ice cream at the convenience store, located on the first floor of our dorm. She also seemed to derive pleasure in reminding me of my sacrifice for Lent, while tearing open the caramel drumstick packaging.
#2: Humans like pleasurable sensory experiences.
Humans don't just like pleasurable, sensory experiences... they love them! We want food with novel, interesting textures and the unique blending of flavors and spices. Years later, we can still remember our favorite meal at our favorite restaurant, down to the label on our favorite bottle of wine. Diets take all of the fun out of eating!
#3: Dieting Makes Us Feel Bad.
Diets are all about following rules, and don't allow for exceptions. Diet books include introductory chapters about why all of the other types of diets are bad for you, and how this diet will be the best thing for you, and help you achieve the results you crave, either without doing the hard work, or having comply 100% of the time to the meal program and supplements they are proposing.
#4: Diets throw your hormones, metabolism and body hunger cues out of whack.
These negative outcomes often continue long after you stop dieting, making you feel even worse about yourself. In fact, your prior dieting may result on emotion or stress eating to deal with these feelings.
Cross posting: Weight Loss Tips (Original Post "3 Tips to Lose Weight and Eat Everything You Want)
Gut health is the foundational building block of a sustainable health and wellness program. 90% of the "feel good" neurochemicals in our body are created in our gut. Too often, we overload our gut with foods and additives it doesn't like. Eventually, our guts start to rebel. Here are 3 tips for losing weight while eating the foods you love:
1. Invest in a calorie AND step tracker!
Humans are "not good" with accurately assessing how many hours of restful sleep they get each night, and if they are eating healthy foods without some sort of way to record or track this information.
Three years ago I invested in a FitBit, and am so grateful I did! My Fitbit tracks how many hours I of sleep, number of steps, reminds me if I haven't moved each hour, celebrates when I achieve my daily step goal, and lets me know if I have a text message or email waiting.
I also love the MyFitnessPal app on my phone. One of the best apps I've seen, MyFitnessPal, lets you record your food and drink for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack time. I love the pie chart showing the nutritional value of each meal, overall nutritional value and my goals for each based on my ideal weight. I can also record overall steps and calories burned info from my FitBit.
2. Keep a Food Journal
Food journals are a great tool for assessing how your body responds to the foods you eat. Do you have more energy, feel bloated, or find yourself still hungry after eating certain foods? Are you eating certain foods because people keep telling you they are good for you? Or are you eating foods you enjoy?
3. Write Morning Pages
Morning pages is a writing activity created by Julie Cameron, a recovering alcoholic, artist and author of The Artist's Way. Basically, write 3 pages about anything first thing in the morning, or whenever you are the most productive. For some, this is 6am; for others, it may be 2:00pm.
I love helping others feel happy and live joyful lives! If you have questions about intuitive eating, gut health, or experiencing true happiness, subscribe to my newsletter, call 913-244-8786, or send an email to sara@saraminges.com.
I'm a writer, global speaker, spoken word performance poet, and holistic health and wellness coach. I encourage, collaborate with, and coach clients on ways to experience holistic happiness find holistic happiness. I'm also the author of 3 books of poetry and Founder of Playful Awareness and Wonder Woman Rising.
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