For this blog, I am going to add on to a Body and Mind Strong podcast I did way back when. Actually, it’s episode 18 “No Perfect Diet, No Bad Foods” where I briefly discussed why there isn’t a perfect diet, relationship with foods, and flexibility vs. structure. Today, I want to discuss finding the right diet that works for you.
Now, to start off, and this will probably not go over well with some of you, but keep in mind, you more than likely will not be able to pick a diet right off the bat that gives you both immediate and long-term success with it. Keep in mind, I said immediate and long-term success.
There are two reasons for this
First, your mind is a powerful thing when it comes to weight loss, but your body has just as much say in it as your mind and some diets, well your body may not like for various reasons. The other reason, our bodies and lives change with time, so what worked for you in the beginning may not work for you later in life.
Another keep in mind statement is all those popular diet plans out there work, yet none of them work. Crazy right, I know, hear me out. So let me keep this simple. The best diet plan that will work for you, is not going to be one of those popular diet plans, it’s going to be one you create that will fit you best. Yes, the best diet that will help you successfully lose fat, is the one you create yourself. Which of course, you may need to tweak as life happens.
So how do you go about creating your own diet, you say?
First and foremost, there will be a lot of trial and error. I bring this up first because I have work with people in the past who got frustrated and wanted to give up because every diet they tried which worked for someone they knew, wasn’t working for them and they didn’t want to waste time trying another diet.
Secondly, remember that all diet plans revolve around different degrees of macros, ie proteins, fats and carbs. So, as you go through this process of picking the right diet for you, one area of focus for you will be on your macros.
In working with my clients, there are two ways we can go about this. The specific way depends on the conversation I have with my client, their preferences and what we think may be the easiest way for them to start.
1: The first way is, we set the macros at a specific ratio and the client picks foods that will fit those macro ratios. Now, this takes time to learn, even for myself, when I get back on a health plan or try out new foods for the week, I have to learn what works, what doesn’t, and how the foods fit together.
Once the client gets a good feel for macro ratios, I have them monitor how the foods are making them feel. Are there anything that makes them feel bloated or sluggish, or what foods makes them feel more energized. Once the client starts to notices these things, we have them shift towards eating more of the foods that makes them feel better and of course, less of the foods that don’t.
2: The other way is I have the client pick a specific diet that fits their personality, taste buds and lifestyle best. Then try it out for a couple of weeks and see how they did in regards to adherence, were they able to keep up with that life style or what parts if it did not work; and how did their body respond to the foods, did they start to feel physically better or could they tell some of the foods didn’t jive well. We then take the answers to these questions and utilize them to tweak the diet so it fits them. Again, this is all trial and error.
At the end of the day…
The goal is for you to find a diet that will help you achieve your fat loss goals, not make it harder for you to live your life. I know I have used the word “diet” a lot, but let’s not give that word too much power and impact our mental state. A diet is just the way we eat and we want to design that way to match our health and wellness goals. And like I mentioned in the beginning, that way we eat will always be changing to match our lifestyle, goals, preferences and our bodies.
If you are struggling with finding your healthy diet, having another set of eyes on your journey is very useful as sometimes it is very hard to solve your issues when you are looking at the problem from within. Having someone on the outside will see things you do not. So, if you struggle with creating a diet that your body jives with, then connect with me and let’s work together to find the best health and wellness path for you.
Wrapping up!
If you have any other questions for me, life, health & fitness topics you would like to request, or are interested in working with me on your life, health and fitness journey to a healthier, happier, stronger you, please feel free to contact me at renee@bodyandmindstrong.com. I hope you found this information to be useful and if so, please subscribe to my newsletter you so you can receive updates on new blogs and new podcast episodes!
Stay tuned for more blogs on helping you create a healthier, happier, stronger life for yourself and make sure you are doing at least one thing today that will get you one step closer to one of your goals.
About the Author:
Renee Thomas is the founder of Body and Mind Strong who brings extensive experience, education and passion to help others achieve their goals and improve their lives. Her mission with Body and Mind Strong is to help you achieve your life, health and fitness goals and maintain long-term success by giving you the proper tools through online health, wellness, fitness training and behavioral coaching.
She has over 18 years of experience helping others achieve their goals in both healthcare, fitness and education environments. Renee is an ISSA Certified Fitness Trainer and Health Care Life coach, and recently obtained her Master's in Business Administration/Finance. In addition, she has helped others with behavior modification since 2008 as a master level Behavioral Health Counselor.