But first, let’s get one thing clear: this isn’t self-help. Self-help just…sounds bad, ya know? Self-help feels like that book your Dad gave you in middle school after some dumb kid didn’t invite you to their party, so you read it and were like, “I guess I didn’t get invited because I don’t have a firm handshake or squawk at myself in the mirror each morning about how ‘worthy of love’ I am…? I’m confused. I’m just gonna go back to watching Friends and eating Lays Baked Potato Chips because they’re low fat, which makes them healthy. Yay - I love the 90s!”
Yeah, no. This is a “personal development” blog, which is sort of like the cool, grown-ass version of…whatever all that was. Here, at Health on the Rocks, I aim to offer practical, not-cringey life and health advice that doesn’t expect you to be perfect or to sacrifice a well deserved cocktail every now and then.
So if you’re looking to cultivate a better mindset, more self-awareness, and to become healthier - both physically and mentally - stick with me, and I’ll be your accountabilibuddy.
Diets don’t work. (Sorry.) 80% of people who go on a diet will gain the weight back in less than a year, and, in all but 15% of those cases, will end up even heavier.
What’s goin’ on here?
When all is said and done, healthy living is as much a psychological process as it is a physical one (I’d argue even more so), and to neglect the emotional elephants in the room is to kiss your healthy goals goodbye…
I say it’s high time we rethink our approach.
A quick google search on anything even mildly health-related will most likely produce a stream of “fat-blasting secrets,” “miracle” supplements, and the newest, hottest wellness “experience."
As you may have figured out by now, when it comes to wellness, there are no miracles and there are no secrets. (Sorry.)
Wellness, unfortunately, is not a thing that can be sold, and I pride myself on being the type of coach who refuses to feed into the machine of beautifully packaged snake oil.
As it turns out, the “secret” to sustained wellness, if there is one, lies less in the body and more in the brain because, at the end of the day, the trick to healthy living is not the doing it but the sticking with it.
Health isn’t something you can purchase or a program you can sign up for, it’s a lifestyle, which has little to do with green powders in shiny packaging and everything to do with — you guessed it — habits.
Ah, yes, habits. Those sneaky practices that dictate 40% of everything we do throughout the day. They’re incredibly hard to form and even harder to break. However, they’re utterly essential when it comes to creating lasting behavior change (since we as humans are oftentimes hardwired against change).
We’re instant gratification creatures by nature, with needy, aggressive reward centers, and we’d be stupid to pretend that we can fight against our natural instincts every damn day for the rest of our lives through sheer willpower and motivation alone. When it comes to changing our exercise routine, or going to bed an hour earlier, or eating more slowly, if it doesn’t become a habit, it won’t stick. It’s as simple as that.
So how do we make and break these elusive habits? The answer lies in the understanding that all habits exist in a “habit loop,” consisting of three components:
The “CUE” : Something that triggers your brain to switch into ‘autopilot.’
The “ROUTINE” : The physical, mental, or emotional “autopilot” response.
The “REWARD” : The prize at the end for responding to the cue and acting on it.
These habit loops emerge because the brain is constantly looking for ways to conserve effort. Think about it; if you had to give full focus to every tiny detail throughout the day, you’d barely make it out of the house after waking up, showering, getting dressed, making coffee, brushing your teeth, etc. Because we do these routines every morning, our brains have latched onto the routine, and we don’t have to actively focus on any of these tasks, leaving us the brain space to focus on other things, like designing irrigation systems, or building cities, or trying to figure out why you never see baby pigeons. (But, like, seriously, why have I never seen a baby pigeon?!) This is all to say that habits give us a huge evolutionary advantage, which is why they’re so pervasive.
When left to their own devices, our brains will try to make a habit out of anything and everything it can find continued repetition in. When a habit is created, the brain stops participating in any active decision-making and simply rides the wave.
This is where things can get dangerous in terms of health. If you indulge in an unhealthy action with enough consistency, it’ll eventually become a habit, often without you ever even noticing it. Suddenly, you’ve gained weight, you’ve neglected to work out in months, and you’re left wondering, “Why can’t I get just back on track? How is this so hard?”
The good news is that by learning to recognize your unhealthy habit cues, you can hack into your “routines” and replace your bad habit loops with better ones. It all comes down to shifting your “autopilot” settings. And, in order to do that, you’re gonna have to spend some time identifying your habit loops.
Let me give you an example.
I used to work part-time in an office in midtown Manhattan where they would provide a pantry full of snacks that lived behind the water cooler.
One day I was filling up my water bottle around midday and I caught sight of a shiny bag of Stacy’s Pita Chips. Though I knew they weren’t particularly healthy (don’t be fooled by the healthy-looking packaging), I figured, “Whatever, it’s just for today.” I grabbed a bag and brought it back to my desk.
The next day I was in the office, I went to fill up my water bottle around midday and spotted the chips again. “Ooh. I could totally go for some Stacy’s!” Fast forward a few weeks and, without doubt, every day I was there, I’d get a midday Stacy’s craving.
I had, unknowingly, created a habit loop:
The “CUE” : Visiting the water cooler to refill my water bottle.
The “ROUTINE” : Grabbing the chips.
The “REWARD” : Delicious, carby sodium-packed goodness.
And there it was: a pita loop, if you will.
So how was I to break this bad habit? Should I stop visiting the water cooler? Should I try to flex my willpower muscles harder? I would try both, and neither would work.
Why? Because willpower is unreliable, and removing the “cue” was not an option (as it rarely is).
Instead of attempting to force these types of dead-end solutions, it’s always going to be infinitely easier to simply replace a bad habit with a better one, which, eventually, I did. After a little creativity, a new habit loop was born:
The “CUE” : Visiting the water cooler to refill my water bottle.
The “ROUTINE” : Instead of grabbing the chips, I stocked the office fridge with carrots sticks and hummus, which I would put on a small plate and eat at the table next to the water cooler.
The “REWARD” : Delicious, savory goodness, and the knowledge I was putting something wholesome in my body.
Boom. A bad habit swapped for a good one.
And here’s the thing: when it comes to wellness practices, it can actually be quite easy to latch onto healthy routines. Why? Because they’re inherently rewarding. They make you feel good, and thus they become quickly addictive.
Think about the first time you tried coffee or wine. If you don’t remember, ask any kid who’s tried it once and they’ll assure you: it’s disgusting and gross and adults are weird. Both are bitter and sharp and acidic. However, once you’ve been drinking either for a period of time, you quickly come to crave that bitter acidity because of their associations with states slightly better than sobriety.
In that same way, you can train your brain to crave working out, eating well, meditating, or participating in any other pursuit that makes your body feel amazing. And exercise will undeniably make you feel good. It just will. As will eating better, getting more sleep, managing your stress, and the rest of it.
So here’s the big secret: if you stick with a healthy lifestyle long enough, you’ll never revert back to your old ways because you won’t want to. You won’t be able to. You’ll have one bad weekend, feel like crap, and hop right back on the wagon, because this particular wagon is blatantly better than the one in which you feel sluggish, heavy, and stressed.
Sure, kale doesn’t taste great the first time you try it. But if you force yourself to eat it with enough frequency, you’ll find your body will subconsciously start to crave it because it always makes you feel good; and your body, for better or worse, is all about feeling good. Give yourself some time and an open mind, and you’ll be amazed at all the healthy stuff you’ll start to crave.
Here’s some more good news: because healthy living is inherently rewarding, you don’t really have to have an understanding of habit loops in order to change your habits for the healthier. You just have to be able to identify a bad habit and commit to replacing it with a better one, be it going to bed earlier (swapping out a late night Insta-scroll for turning the lights out?), meditating every day (trading your morning news for a guided meditation?), or working out (substituting your commute home for a trip to the gym?).
When it comes to creating a healthy habit, if you believe in it and commit to it, there’s not a proverbial chip bag you can’t outsmart.
Sit down, honey. We need to have a talk. It's about... *breathes deeply* ...carbs.
If you’ve spent any time in nutritional circles recently, you might’ve noticed there’s a bit of a “war on bread” happening right now.
Fall down a low-carb-loving Reddit rabbit hole and you’ll hear lifestyle advice to the tune of:
“Look at me, I'm eating pork rinds for breakfast and I'm healthier and happier than you’ll ever be!”
(This is a real comment by the way.)
Or: “Bread kills..”
(Also real).
Or this picture, accentuated by the caption: ”I gave up carbs and sugar, so this is how my family celebrated my birthday. I love them.”
(The realest.)
Then, on the opposite side of this argument, you have the whole #CarbsAreGood movement, filled with sourdough-obsessed biohackers and jacked-up bagel-eating Instagram influencers.
Who to trust?
Let’s get to the bottom of this by taking a brief walk through history…
Rewind the clock to the mid-1800s with the invention of the roller mill. Before this, grains were ground in whole form, including the germ and the bran. Since the 1800s, however, we’ve found progressively ingenious ways to extract certain parts of the grain, primarily the starchy endosperm, to create fluffy-soft white grain with an exceptionally long shelf life.
As you might’ve guessed, this process of extraction diminishes the grains’ nutritional content, and the pillowy, white product that results is, at its core, what we’ve come to know as “white bread.”
Funnily enough, “white bread” is also what my neighbors used to call me when I lived in Washington Heights. It’s cause I’m so pillowy soft!
…Right?
Moving on.
Jump ahead to the 1960s, when Norman Borlaug, who would one day go on to win the Nobel Peace Prize, invented a type of hybrid wheat that, when grown with fertilizers, produced three times the yield of normal wheat and, subsequently, helped nourish a famished India and Pakistan. “Go Norman,” right? Unfortunately, this came with some unintended consequences, as it sent an inspired agribusiness industry down a mass-monoculture-production-path of no return. (Mono-cultured crops, by the way, equal less nutritious crops.)
All of that brings us to today, where mass-produced, nutrient-depleted, refined grains have become utterly ubiquitous.
But wait a second!
What about “whole grain” bread? That’s better, right?
Mostly, yes.
But let’s first start by acknowledging that many breads claiming to be “healthy” or “whole grain” are actually not that at all.
Make sure, when bread shopping, that the first word in the ingredients list is “whole” — you’d be shocked how many “healthy” bread products are actually just variations on refined white bread. Any labels claiming “Made with Whole Grains” or “Multigrain” most likely mean “Various Refined Flours with a Sad Pinch of Whole Grains.”
What’s more, depending on how much of a conspiracy theorist you’re willing to be, suspicions might arise once you start to explore the controversy surrounding whether these 100% whole wheat products are actually healthy at all, as many are simply roller-milled flour with the germ and bran added back in after the fact. And, in case you were wondering, no, the FDA does not currently verify these products’ compositions before they land on your supermarket’s shelves, where they miraculously still retain their long shelf lives.
But just to be clear, none of this means that I don’t want you to eat bread.
My goal is for you to make better carb choices in general, and when you do consume bread, to remember the first-word-in-the-ingredients-list-should-be-“whole” principle. Or, ideally, opt for breads that are sprouted or fermented, two preparation processes that unlock the bread’s nutritional properties.
Cause here’s the bottom line: not all carbs are equal. Despite what many Reddit threads may have you believe, carbs themselves are not bad for you, nor do they make you gain weight. Processed carbs do, but healthy, whole carbs? No way.
Fruits, starchy veggies, legumes, and tubers are all nutritional powerhouses.
Steer clear of refined and processed carbs such as chips, baked goods, and all non-natural sugars.
(And, yes, sugar is indeed a carb. Sorry.)
That said, this day and age it’s nearly impossible to avoid refined sugar altogether, so just do your best to reduce consumption as much as possible. Also, keep in mind that sugar goes by many names and is in nearly everything. Here are some of the disguises sugar wears on packaging and food labels:
Dextrose
Fructose
Corn Syrup
High Fructose Corn Syrup
Evaporated Cane Juice
…And many others. (If you’re unsure what a certain ingredient is, Google it.)
Here’re some of my favorite healthier carb swaps:
Baked Goods —> Fresh Fruit
Candy —> No Sugar Added Dried Fruit
Processed Bread —> Sprouted Grain or (Real) Whole Grain Bread
Pasta —> Black Bean, Brown Rice, or Banza Pasta
White Rice —> Brown Rice, Quinoa, Farrow, and Other Whole Grains
Potatoes —> Potatoes (See what I did there? Potatoes, as it turns out, are a vegetable, and vegetables, as it turns out, are good for you.)
In conclusion, a calorie is not a calorie is not a calorie, which is to say that not all carbs (or calories) are created equal. Carbs themselves won’t make you overweight, lethargic, or sick, only certain types of carbs will do that. So eat more whole foods, less processed ones, and please, whatever you do, do NOT pretend that a steak could ever take the place of a birthday cake.
It's been a rough week for wellness enthusiasts.
Actress Gwyneth Paltrow's $250 million lifestyle-and-wellness business, Goop, has agreed to pay $145,000 in civil penalties for promoting false and unscientific claims regarding— wait for it— jade vagina eggs and depression-curing "flower essence" sprays.
But who's surprised? Wellness scandals feel as ubiquitous as oat milk lattes these days.
Whether it's Activia Yogurt's scientifically unfounded "clinically proven probiotic bacteria", the hasty deletion of Kim Kardashian's weight-loss-lollipop post, or the stepping down of Lululemon's CEO for certain #MeToo shortcomings, the self-care movement is feeling more and more on the verge of collapse, like a house of Intuitive Healing Tarot Cards.
When I tell people I'm a Wellness Coach, I can sometimes sense I'm being perceived as just another entitled millennial snowflake, parading a passion for afternoon naps and aromatherapy salt scrubs as a job worthy of income and respect.
First off, I'd like to shake the hand of anyone that assumes I'm a millennial. (I'm 30. But yoga keeps me young!)
Second of all, before anyone goes throwing avocado toast in my face, I'd like to respectfully state my case in defense of wellness.
So pour yourself a tall glass of matcha and saddle up my friend, cause I'm about to blow up everything you thought you knew about wellness junkies. (Before I start though, I'd like to invite you to soften your belly and take three deep inhales and three deep exhales. Mmm. You feel better now, right?)
Here goes.
Let me ask you something: what do you want most in life?
Love? Success? Power? Happiness?
These aren’t destinations, they’re states of being— fleeting ones, no less. And no job title, income bracket, or loved one can give it to you unless you’re willing to give it to yourself. If you've ever had the experience of succeeding at something big but still feeling exactly the same afterward, you'll know exactly what I mean.
You already have within you everything you want and need, hiding between the hastily pinging synapsis inside your own skull, it’s just a matter of recognizing and feeling it.
You’re already “whole,” as they say in the wellness community.
“Oh, ok, cool, I guess I’m ‘whole’ then; problem solved, I’ll see you later!”
…Said no one ever.
Listen, deep down we all know this concept of internal plentitude to be one of the Big Capitol T “Truth”s (and money can’t buy you happiness, power won’t give you purpose, yeah, yeah, yeah, we get it), but knowing it and feeling it are two deeply separate things. So the question then becomes: how do we feel happiness, love, success, and all the other things we hustle so hard for in life?
I'd argue that it’s a practice, which, like any other practice, takes time, repetition, and an annoying amount of unwavering persistence. You can't just decide you're "whole," you have to practice feeling it.
So: what if, throughout the course of each day, you embedded within your life little rituals and habits that gently reminded you that everything you want and need can be found within? That you have the extraordinary capacity to gift yourself respect, love, happiness, and success on a daily basis, like a delightful little door prize awarded simply for surviving the day. That you can stop worrying about pleasing and pretending and instead sit back and enjoy this fleeting roller coaster life. To me, that’s what wellness is. It’s not a kale smoothie or an $80 bottle of cucumber lotion or even the Kardashian-status beach body you know deep down is a genetic impossibility for you. It's the daily practice of wholeness and self respect.
With every stair climbed and vegetable chopped you’re sending a signal to your brain— whether conscious or not— that you’re worth the things, you do for yourself. Taking care of yourself physically means taking care of yourself physiologically. But it’s tangible, it's achievable, and, in my opinion, it's the world's best catalyst towards self-actualization and self love.
And, with that, I rest my case.
Namaste.
Let’s set the scene: it’s the early 1980s and the “war on fat” has just begun. The government, citing now-debunked research, decides that in order to be healthy, people need to reduce their fat consumption and focus on eating lower-fat foods.
The snack industry, of course, sees an opportunity here.
They take their higher fat products, reduce the fat content (in many cases just replacing it with more sugar), and market these products as “low-fat foods”.
Consumers stroll through the snack aisle and think,
“Man, I really want some cookies, but I know I shouldn’t be eating them. Maybe I’ll just forgo the Oreos and get these healthy, Low-Fat Snackwell Cookies instead. Win-win! Damn, I’m good at grocery shopping!”
And that is how the "The Snackwell Effect" came to be.
Our shopper, sitting down that night for an episode of Married with Children, grabs the box of cookies.
But, instead of eating her usual 5 Oreos, she chomps away at the “healthy” Low Fat Snackwells and ends up eating a full 15 cookies.
"The Snackwell Effect" is a psychological phenomenon wherein people defeat the purpose of eating a lower calorie food by eating way more of it than they would its higher calorie counterpart, consuming more calories overall.
In short, by buying a food they deem “healthier,” they end up being worse off than if they had just gone for the unhealthy food they wanted in the first place.
So next time you accidentally polish off that big bag of Skinny Pop or finish your second bowl of Go Lean Crunch Cereal, remember that, despite your best efforts, from a caloric standpoint, you were probably better off with the Jiffy Pop and the Lucky Charms.
Th is one of the many reasons why intelligent dieting is so important.
Nutrition is an incredibly complex and largely mystifying science to us, even in this day and age. We actually know astonishingly little about why certain foods do or do not work well for the human body.
But that sucks, right? To think that a practice you engage in three times a day is barely understood?
It’s the 21st century, damnit!
This is why you’ll see so many people (and industries) treating nutrition like a religion, like a set of beliefs based primarily on theory and faith. (If you’ve ever met a particularly fiery vegan or awkwardly aggressive Paleo-enthusiast, you know exactly what I mean.)
Michael Pollan, one of the most esteemed nutrition writers of our time, refers to this phenomenon as “Nutritionism."
What Nutritionism aims to do is reduce all nutrition to its requisite parts, meaning that instead of looking at a banana and concluding that it’s healthy because many cultures have subsisted and thrived on bananas for centuries, it decides that bananas are healthy because they’re comprised of vitamin B6, manganese, vitamin C, potassium, biotin, copper, and are a good source of dietary fiber.
Sounds fair, right? None of this is untrue.
However, it’s undeniably reductionist and speaks nothing about why, when these particular vitamins and minerals are extracted and administered to a person outside of the food, that person doesn’t receive the same health benefits as the person who simply eats the banana.
This is all to say that a banana, or for that matter any food on this planet, is not the sum of its nutrient parts, but rather a food that, for some scientifically inexplicable reason, is healthy for us, and makes us feel good and live longer.
So while, like with any religion, we must respect other eaters’ beliefs, I also invite you to keep an open mind and a clear head when it comes to nutrition.
When people ask me what particular nutritional “camp” I fall into, I have no answer, since I believe that all sorts of diets work well for all different types of people, and to say otherwise would not be particularly humble.
Who am I, God?
So what CAN we say conclusively about nutrition, if anything?
The only thing that nearly every Nutritionism cult in the world can agree on is that fruits and vegetables are good, and processed food is bad. No matter who you are, if you follow these principles, you will be healthier, thinner, and, most likely, happier.
It’s important to keep perspective and remember that the nitty-gritty is less important than these basic, overarching principles.
Have you ever heard a pregnant woman make the classic pregnant-woman-joke that she’s “eating for two”?
“Oh, Carol, you’re a hoot! Twelve tacos isn’t too many tacos!”
But what if I told you that Carol is actually eating for trillions? And you are too?
It’s true. Inside your gut microbiome, there’s a whole alien world of trillions of bacteria swimming around your midsection that live in you and on you. The foods you eat directly affect the diversity and health of this microbiome and in many ways determine whether this microscopic society will blossom or bust.
And some people are even going as far as eating freeze-dried poop pills to heal it. (No joke.)
But why?
Because so much of your general health, well-being, and ability to lose weight is directly dependent on the health of your gut. It affects your immune system, inflammation, and your propensity for obesity or slenderness.
What’s more, it even affects your emotions, mood, and, subsequently, your choices.
Yep, the brain isn’t the only organ doing the heavy lifting in this department.
Your gut, and the trillions of bacteria that live inside it, are indeed some of the key players in your general well-being and emotional health.
Gut feelings, it turns out, are a very real thing. This is why you might find yourself running to the bathroom in times of high anxiety, getting stopped up in times of depression, or experiencing that dramatic Shakespearean pang in your stomach when you confront a powerfully heightened emotion.
Who would’ve thought that your intestines had so much to do with your personality!
In my opinion, gut health is the most underestimated and unknown element of health out there.
So what should you eat to support the health of your gut?
While clean eating will take care of most of your concerns in this department, you’re still going to want to consume PRObiotic foods, which contain the good bacteria, and PREbiotic foods, which provide nourishment for the probiotics.
Fermented and cultured foods all contain different types of gut-supporting PRObiotic bacteria. These foods include:
kefir
yogurt
sauerkraut
kimchi
pickled veggies
miso
kombucha
tempeh
(real) sourdough bread (my favorite brand is "Bread Alone")
PREbiotics are a type of indigestible plant fiber that ensure the PRObiotic foods do their job. These include:
beans
legumes
apples
cocoa
flax seeds
oats
Jerusalem artichokes
garlic
leeks
bananas
PROBIOTIC PRO TIP: When shopping for your probiotic foods, make sure they’re housed in the refrigerated section of the market, do not contain vinegar, and are “cultured” and “unpasteurized” if possible.
While it’s true that we as a scientific society still have a long way to go with gut research, for many people, the proof’s in the pudding, and eating to support your gut has such immediate and visceral effects that, like all food, you don’t need a scientist to explain exactly why it makes you feel better to know that it’s good for your body.
Now tell me: what're YOUR favorite gut-healthy foods?
Intermittent Fasting is one of the biggest budding trends in the health and fitness world right now.
And for good reason.
More and more research is being done every year, and so far all signs point towards improved cognitive function, increased fat loss, and enhanced immunity.
In other words, it'll make you healthier, sharper, and thinner.
And I can tell you firsthand, it’s changed my life for the better.
What exactly does it do, you ask?
reduces inflammation
increases your metabolic rate (making it a great accelerant for weight loss!)
drops your insulin levels
aids with cellular waste removal
enhances hormone function
improves cognitive function and productivity
helps avoid Alzheimer’s and Parkinson
In short, fasting gives your body the time it needs to repair itself in many ways, without the added stresses of digestion.
So what is Intermittent Fasting?
Now, there're a couple of ways to do it, but, if you ask me, the easiest way to intermittently fast is to basically just skip breakfast and wait 'til the afternoon to eat.
And that's it!
Easy.
"But wait, wait, wait! Isn't breakfast the most important meal of the day?!"
If you look to the government, WebMD, or most people's mothers, you'll probably get an emphatic "Yes!"
And that's fair.
There's a lot of science out there to back them up, maintaining that this beloved daily routine improves focus, helps manage weight, and increases overall energy, making you healthier, sharper, and thinner.
Sound familiar?
Yep, that's because there's a lot of science (and pseudoscience) on both sides arguing for very similar health benefits, and, of course, everyone's got their proverbial panties in a twist over it.
Who to believe?
Well, first of all, everyone's body is different and, as is the rule with all things wellness, no single approach works for everyone.
However...
It's worth mentioning that a lot of the funding for these "pro-breakfast" studies have been conducted by the same people who sell you sugar-coated, hyper-processed cereal, promising healthy, happy mornings packed with "whole grain goodness," Vitamin D, and Calcium.
Thanks for that, Trix Fruitalicous Swirls cereal.
(By the way, that whole grain ingredient they're bragging about is corn.)
So take all arguments on all sides with a grain of salt, and find what works best for YOUR unique body.
That said, I'd strongly encourage you to just try Intermittent Fasting.
You'll have to push through the first 2-3 weeks, but if you can make it past the hump, you'll know 100% if it it's for you cause you'll just feel so much better overall.
So you wanna try it?
It's really not hard, it just takes some extra planning.
Here're some tips for getting started:
Make sure your dinner includes a good amount of healthy fat and protein (which will keep you satiated for longer)
Keep drinking coffee (coffee, tea, and any other beverage under 50 calories won't break your fast, plus the caffeine will help suppress hunger)
Keep yourself busy (mental distraction is key when getting started)
Try to avoid smelling food in the morning (smells can subconsciously trigger digestion and make you hungry...so mouth breath as you walk past that Panara on your way to work)
Again, these first few weeks may not be easy. You’ve been eating one way for probably the majority of your life, and breaking from that may send your body into confusion, panic, or “hanger.”
You may experience temporary dips in energy or grouchiness— just know that that’s totally normal, and it only gets easier with each passing week, as your body adapts and resets its physiological habit responses.
Also know that a lot of the initial resistance you may feel is mental, so try your best to keep an open mind and a strong sense of willpower.
And even if you decide that this is not in fact the path for you, it's still wise to allow 12 hours between dinner and breakfast regardless, as your body still needs a daily break from digestion, which is a rather demanding process.
But try it out and let me know how it goes in the comments section below!
Here's a link to additional resources if you wanna dig a little deeper into this.
Wherever you are, take a deep breath, cause I got a big dose of reality coming your way and it’s gonna sting like a shot of dive bar tequila.
Diets.
Don’t.
Work.
Sounds nuts coming from a Wellness and Accountability Coach, right? But hear me out.
Diets don’t work because 80% of people will gain the weight back in less than a year (and, in all but 15% of those cases, will end up even heavier).
Yep, it’s been statistically proven that only a lucky 20% will actually keep the weight off.
“Wait, wait, wait. 20%?! That’s it?”
It’s alarming and totally unfair, yes, but before you go throwing your hands in the air and crying into a pint of Ben & Jerry’s, let’s take a moment to examine how and why this happens, and how we can overcome the odds with a little thing I like to call the *secret sauce.*
Let’s start with why 80% of people fail at trying to lose weight and improve their health in significant ways.
The first has to do with metabolism.
Your body is, essentially, too smart for its own good, and it adapts to whatever you throw at it, for better or worse.
Think about it in cave man terms. If you restrict your diet harshly and only give it a certain amount of calories or certain types of foods, it assumes that that’s what your primal human body needs to survive. It says,
“Oh no! Not much food to be had in these woods right now, I suppose I should ration out this body fat and learn to survive on less.”
And then when you’ve slimmed down and gone off your diet, resuming your usual calorie intake or lifestyle, your body says,
“Finally— we’re not gonna die— that’s awesome! Better continue to store this body fat in a safe place in case there’s another dry spell.”
And guess where your genius-of-a-body stores that extra fat? Your thighs, your love handles, your chin…you get the idea.
In short, any diet that has a start and an end date won’t work the way you want it to because it just doesn’t work that way biologically.
However, there’s a bigger reason people “fail” at dieting. It’s not because they’re lazy or lacking in willpower (that’s just a sad stereotype perpetuated by a society with a proclivity towards “fat shaming”), it's because they’re using temporary or misguided fixes to solve a bigger, more long-term problem. Which brings me to the key point here:
The reason these 20% of people succeed in dieting is because they understand something fundamental about health, which is that only way to really lose weight, tone up, and get healthy for good is to change your lifestyle.
Now that means a lot of things— some big, some tiny— and it means something different for every person.
It could mean less carbs and more sleep.
Or more fat and less cardio.
These changes could be as small as drinking a tall glass of water in the morning, or as big as getting rid of toxic people in your life.
Everyone has their own special *secret sauce,” their own combination of things that’ll keep them in optimal health.
And you know what the biggest and most important ingredient of that sauce is?
Loving your lifestyle. If you don’t love it, you’re not gonna stick to it, it’s as simple as that.
And that, my friend, is the difference between those who fail and those who succeed.
The weight loss champions love their new lifestyle— they’re addicted to it.
But those healthy addictions don’t happen overnight. They take time, consistent exercise, habits work, and lots of accountability.
But where to start?
It’s starts with the little things.
It starts with moderation. It starts by changing one small thing at a time so that, over time, you come to crave better foods and a better lifestyle. I call these sustainable changes “microshifts” and they’re surprisingly powerful.
You don’t have to go on the Whole 30, you don’t have to join a crossfit gym, and you certainly don’t have to give up a well deserved cocktail every now and then.
You just have to find a balance that works for you and get accountable to it.
