Ditch the diet this New Year, try un-dieting

Written by Jema Lee of Wellsome
Womens health and hormone coach

Dread the post festive season dieting guilt? For many women, going on a diet seems like the best logical answer to feeling their best within their bodies and achieving health goals fast. Let’s kick off this new decade with a completely new approach; un-dieting.

Diet’s don’t work, why ‘diet’ when you can ‘live-it’! When you go on a diet you create changes that simply have an expiry date and in most cases those changes are far from sustainable long term. It gets to boiling point, where you can’t restrict any longer and before you know it, you’re binging on chocolate, chips, or it could even be your favourite health food snack. It’s unsustainable and you deserve better.

Why is it that for men they generally can discover what foods and movements work for their body and do it day in, day out for years and feel their best? While for women doing the same thing everyday for months (or years) on end can feel like an uphill struggle without much long-term reward?

You see, your body isn’t a clock, it’s cyclical. As women we’re not designed to eat the same foods or require the same nutrients day in day out. Women’s bodies are forever changing. You may have noticed this about yourself already in the changes of how you feel in your digestion, your moods, how much you like to move your body, even the different food cravings from week to week. This all comes back to our endocrine systems (the hormone and gland system within our bodies).

As women this system within our bodies runs in sync with our menstrual cycle, which runs roughly 26-29 days in length. Throughout this monthly cycle our body experiences numerous hormonal shifts, causing a ripple effect on how we feel emotionally, energy levels, what nutrients we desire and even how social we’re drawn to be.

As much as diets sound promising and fruitful, they don’t support the ever-changing hormone levels as a woman.

Here’s my 7 Simple Steps to Unrestrictive Eating:

• Start listening to your body. She’s always talking to you!
• Begin tracking your month long menstrual cycle (whether you menstruate or not this is possible). Ideally use a written track, something you can download free on my website http://www.wellsome.com
• Acknowledge the daily shifts and changes in your moods, energy, digestion, food cravings and physical desires.
• Keep it simple. Don’t make food or any health goal complicated, simple is always best.
• Breathe before each mouthful.
• Be realistic. Set daily small achievable goals.
• Reach out and ask for support and accountability

What can you do this New Year to bring yourself back to food balance and harmony, without the diets?