Anything that gets someone motivated to get moving and get healthy, I am all for it! I am an advocate for anyone to do something that brings awareness to your health and finding motivation to get moving but a lot of times what happens is you lose a certain amount of weight or tighten up, only to gain all of the weight or more back because the diet is not sustainable. This happens time and time again with so many people. It is true, we live in a world of instant gratification, and social media seems to make this feeling even more intense. Getting healthy or fit should be more of a marathon, not a sprint.
The word “diet” alone comes with a lot of negative feelings and comments. Think about it a moment. When someone says, “oh, I am on a diet”, “I can’t have that, I can’t do this”, there are so many negative energies attached to that statement. What also can be triggering is if you are using a point system with your food. So higher calorie foods have higher points. Makes sense if all you focus on are calories but healthy fats have higher calories. So if you look at almonds, it has high points, naturally, some people will start associating negatively with that and not want to eat it because you don’t want to get to your max points too soon. But our bodies need healthy fat and those calories are good for you, you shouldn’t have to worry about which healthy foods you should be eating. Our competitive human nature can take over a bit with programs like this. Not everyone is affected negatively by these programs but a lot of people are and this is why.
We grew up being taught that we have to restrict ourselves and be miserable to be able to be fit or lose weight, but that just isn’t true. Yes, technically we have to have a caloric deficit to lose weight but there are so many ways to get the most out of that. The foods we consume and the timing of which we consume them should be something we focus on the most rather than focus on exactly how many calories we are consuming. Because if you are consuming healthy food macros at the most beneficial times your body will function at its highest giving you more room to be “around” a certain calorie intake instead of worrying about being at an “exact” calorie intake. With your body working at its maximum potential, it also gives you more room for when life happens, you splurge on a meal, you miss a meal, you go on vacation, etc. This takes the anxiety out of a dieting mentality and makes it a lifestyle, something you know you can maintain your whole life.
Getting fit, feeling balanced and healthy should be exciting and a positive mindset. You should be able to look forward to the future knowing you are bettering yourself and on your way to your goals. That is why I created Balancebuilding. Feeling good from the inside out should be a priority in our lives but it should never make you feel like you are failing, lonely, lost, negative, or shameful. You will always have a certain amount of accountability that goes along with staying healthy but eventually that becomes second nature out of creating habit. Balancebuilding is a progressive program with a positive outlook on achieving your goals without realizing you are “dieting”. Take “diet” out of it and get rid of the negative associations that the world has instilled into us. Balancebuilding retrains your mind to a more self-loving mentality. Every day is new and different, we don’t know what will be thrown at us a lot of times, so Balancebuilding is something that is just a part of you, ebbing and flowing along the way. Building your own balance in your own time.
Make sure to be honest with yourself and if your current program is making you feel any sort of adverse feelings, reevaluate what is making you feel that way and take action in a new way. Life is too short to live it anything less than blissful.
