I love helping women get healthy. I’ve spent the last decade spending much of my time and energy doing just that. It’s incredibly rewarding and fun to help ladies find their stride and embrace real changes.
Sometimes before we figure out the solution, it’s important to understand what holds us back.
I’ve learned a lot in that time and would love to share a bit of my personal growth journey in “figuring out what works” along the way. You might not like all that I have to say, but here are my top 10 observations and recommendations for women trying to change their eating habits for long term success.
1. Women are constantly looking for the next diet.We will fall for nearly ANYTHING that promises results. It’s what I call “shiny object” syndrome, we tend to expect the new thing to work better than everything else we’ve tried and to finally find fulfillment. Don’t do it!
2. If we are constantly making excuses, then it’s really better to NOT try something new. In other words, until we’re ready to commit fully we’re just setting ourselves up for failure. Trying to force yourself to make changes that you’re not committed to just doesn’t work.
3. The most successful long-term changes are produced from WHATEVER you can do consistently. When evaluating a program, it’s so very important to consider it’s long term feasibility for YOU. What I mean is if you HATE lots of details then a program that requires you to punch everything you eat into an app is probably not ideal for you.
4. Mindset is everything. Until we get over the idea that food is “good” or “bad” and realize that we’re making choices not abiding by obligations then we will ALWAYS be on “diets”.
5. Embracing moderation really works. We hear this and we know this and we convince ourselves that we’re doing it, but often times we “forget” or justify real moderation OR we simply can’t get beyond the “all or nothing” mentality.
6. We love insanity. So many women do the same thing over and over again while banging their heads against the wall when it doesn’t work or it doesn’t work like it used to or like it worked for our friends.
7. EVERY BODY is different. Low Carb, low fat, high protein, keto, intermittent fasting, Atkins….. you name it. These God-created bodies are complex beings and the truth is not everything is going to work well for your body AND when you do find something that works it’s unlikely to work FOREVER.
8. We really have no idea how our bodies feel. One of my favorite things to do is teach women how to actually LISTEN to their bodies and how they feel when eating certain foods, avoiding certain foods, adding supplements, getting enough or too little rest and so forth. Most women are NOT doing this on the regular.
9. Big Rocks> Small Rocks. We love to focus on little things like salad dressing and dark meat vs. white meat. We think we should only ever eat chicken and NEVER red meat etc. Sure we shouldn’t drink ladles of ranch dressing, but those little things matter so much less than the satisfaction factor of food. A salad with bland chicken and vinegar is NOT going to keep your body as satisfied as a salad with ground beef or steak and a small amount of your favorite dressing. What happens hours after you eat the salad? Are you able to continue to eat healthy or do you end up raiding your pantry at night for carbs?
10. Better>Perfect. If we’re looking for lasting results, then making better choices is good enough. We don’t need to (nor should we) try to be “perfect”. Perfect eating almost always leads to giving up, bingeing and other destructive behaviors. The best thing you can do is focus on one small goal at a time. I love to recommend drinking more water as a place to start.
If you find yourself stuck in any of these cycles and mindsets, I first encourage you to pray. Yes, really. God cares about your inner and outward struggles with food. Lay your struggles at His feet and ask Him to work in your heart and your mind to be released from the power and control that food has over your life. I promise He cares and He hears you and He will absolutely guide you to the freedom that is found only in Him.
At Momsanity, we are here for you and want to cheer you on in finding this freedom! Please let us know how we can help you!
- Blessings
Coach Emily