Why You Need to Stop Trying to Lose Weight

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Many of my clients tell me they want to lose weight. In fact, it’s fairly common language today to say that your goal is to “lose weight”. 

We’re even told by doctors we should lose weight! But most of the time it doesn’t even work. 

Why?

Today I want to talk to you about some of the problems associated with the way we think about weight. Specifically, we’ll look at the research behind Weight-Inclusive vs. Weight-Normative approaches to health.

Admittedly, I’m not a medical doctor, psychologist or nutritionist. I am a certified life coach and weight coach through The Life Coach School and I earned my Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies. I understand the research, have seen it applied with my clients, and I want to share it with you in an accessible way.

As the conversation about health changes, health care professionals are trying to focus more on what works--and we know that simply shedding pounds isn’t enough. Things are shifting away from “weight-loss” and moving more toward “weight-inclusivity”. Toward what is important for health and well-being.

Makes sense, right? 

Let’s go over the weight-normative approach that society has been touting for far too long. I’m summarizing the research articles (see the below for references) to give you an overview: 

1. Our body mass index (BMI) is an outdated tool. A high BMI doesn’t mean we will develop diseases or poor health. Unlike smoking, which we know causes lung cancer because it is backed by empirical research, BMI and poor health have no established causality.

2. Body weight isn’t voluntary. Many factors are at play: genetics, access to healthy food, physical activity and other resources.

3. When people try to lose weight and can’t, learned helplessness can develop. Because they don’t lose weight on the first try, they may give up completely on their health.

4. No weight-loss intervention has worked long-term for the majority of participants. People who have maintained weight loss are the exception, not the rule. I’m an outlier myself as I’ve maintained my weight loss of 20-28 lbs for over a decade. But that’s unusual and most people gain back the weight they lose (sometimes more).

5. Weight cycling is when the weight goes up and down the scale. Weight cycling IS connected to poor health. This yo-yoing is connected to inflammation, cancer, and possibly even premature death. It also negatively influences psychological well-being because we simply don’t feel good about ourselves when we weight cycle.

6. Trying to maintain weight loss puts people at risk for eating disorders. All kinds of unhealthy behaviors can emerge from rigid dieting.

7. The weight-normative approach encourages us all to be thin and constantly striving for that. It encourages stigma against people of different sizes. These stigmas tend to show up across various settings in our lives, including health care professionals. Overweight people are viewed as lazy while thinner people are judged for being able to eat what they want. It’s a vicious cycle with a massive amount of bias. In fact, it is actually this weight stigma that is connected to poor health - not the pounds themselves. 

Wow, so did you know all of that? 

I certainly didn’t realize that this is where the research had taken us in 2020. It’s so easy to fall into the pattern of counting calories and thinking that the way we grew up was correct. We’ve learned a lot, however, and it’s time to re-train our brains. 

Regularly, I see how the weight-normative approach affects my coaching clients on a daily basis. Many of them are consumed with thoughts about tracking food as they think obsessively about losing weight. 

If only this mental energy could be freed up so they would have the time and space to think about other, more important things! To create the work they want to share with the world. Instead, they are focused on the guilt they feel from last night’s dessert. And it’s heart-breaking. 

In the weight-normative approach, my clients beat themselves up for not reaching their goals. They constantly feel shame for not doing the work they “should be doing.” And they over-complicate their lives, thinking there’s one magical answer out there.

All in all, the weight-normative approach that many of us have become accustomed to is a hazardous burden that is harmful to us in the long run. 

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Now, let me introduce you to the weight-inclusive approach.

Are you ready for some good news?

This approach focuses on health--on the positive instead of the negative. Health has many components and can be measured in a variety of ways. Attention is placed on daily actions rather than a targeted end-goal. The vision is for long-term change. 

These clinically significant improvements are associated with weight-inclusive approaches:

• Lower blood pressure

• Increased physical activity

• Decreased binge eating

• Increased self-esteem

• Decreased depression

• No adverse outcomes to this approach (unlike the weight normative approach)

• Higher body appreciation

• Lower habitual appearance monitoring

The weight-inclusive approach also calls for more empirical research about what works and what doesn’t. This approach recognizes it is important to increase access to healthy options.

Models for the Weight-Inclusive Approach:

• Health at Every Size

• Physical Activity at Every Size

• The Body Project

Rather than focusing on the negative, weight-inclusive language uses positive vocabulary, such as “body awareness”, “intuitive eating”, and “health”. 

One of my coaching clients is focused on her health--and that’s the language we use. Not “losing weight”. She recognized the need to drop the “shoulds” around losing weight and to start defining health for herself. Right now, that includes sleep and taking vitamins--not tracking her food or reading more books about weight loss.

Now that you understand a bit more, focusing on the weight inclusive approach is accessible for you. Check out my free training on how to stop overeating today.

References Used to Write this Post:

Thanks to Paula Brochu for directing me to these published articles.

Bacon & Aphramor, 2011 - https://nutritionj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1475-2891-10-9

Logel, Stinson, & Brochu, 2015 - https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/spc3.12223

Tylka et al., 2014 - https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jobe/2014/983495/

Hunger, Smith, & Tomiyama, 2020 - https://spssi.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/sipr.12062

How To Stop Overeating At The Office [A Quick Guide To Resist The Urge]

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From birthdays to a plethora of cafeteria lunch options, it’s no wonder that it’s hard to resist the urge to overeat at the office.

Are you struggling to keep sugar intake at a minimum? Does your office make things even harder? And did you know that even those with amazing office environments feel that it's hard to maintain a healthy routine while at work? 

Have a look at some tips and tricks that will help you out and even inspire others towards a healthy office lifestyle.

Office Food Tips

Now it may seem that the odds are not in your favor, but you can achieve your weight goals—and relatively easily. I know that it is easier to head to the cafeteria with the students and other professors, but you want to live the best life out there, so let’s talk strategies.

Pack a lunch the night before

Preparing lunch and snacks for the whole day is one of the best ways to eat properly while at work. Packing your meal at home allows you to plan your lunches, making sure they fit into your daily parameters.

This works for snacks too, so if you enjoy cake, rather than resisting it, swipe it for a healthier version, and give up the refined sugar for natural sweeteners. Prepare batches so you have a weekly amount to munch on with less effort. I meal prep on Sundays so that I can grab my lunches out of the fridge every morning and go.

Although it might not seem about health, home-cooked meals will save you a considerable amount of money. And we can all use the extra money in our pockets.

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Mastering the skill to say “No”

Office peer pressure can be consuming, even when it is unintended, because it is difficult to tell your coworkers that you don’t want to eat with them or that you would rather refuse the cake they brought from home.

However, you can find ways to politely explain that you’re trying to live a healthier life and therefore, are refusing their appetizing goodies and snacks. But this doesn’t imply that you have to become isolated from your work peers.

Instead of sharing fast food and cafeteria food with them, take your own. You can still hang out with them during lunch but enjoy the lunch you’ve prepped at home.

If you notice yourself continuously eating right after lunch, choose to go for a quick walk, even if that walk is simply around campus. Removing yourself from your desk will allow you to objectively measure your hunger level.

And by being fully aware of how you feel, you can adapt your habits accordingly. If you’re still conflicted, invest in a gadget to use at your desk to unwind, stretch or make yourself a cup of tea or coffee instead. Getting involved in a project that will have you engaged for a long period of time can support shifting your focus away from food and onto something better.

Stay Hydrated

Drinking water is vital to healthy living in general. But, did you know that drinking water can help fight those mid-afternoon snacking, flush toxins, and improve your clarity during the day? Water is underestimated and is one of the easiest and most hidden ways to bring healthy living to the workplace.

Once you start drinking proper amounts of water you will observe that you’re less inclined to choose junk food and sugary drinks. You will also probably see that it’s easy for you to control your weight and stay focused all day. I keep a water bottle at my desk that I love. It makes it so much easier to sip throughout the day.

And while office eating is a big part of getting and staying healthy, you can incorporate other healthy habits into your work life as well.

Office Exercise Tips

Exercise at the office!

If you are one of the happy few who enjoys a working place with a gym, you are one of the lucky ones who doesn’t have to understand the struggle to plan a workout session before or after work. However, even if you don't have an office gym at your disposal, you can still plan some quality motion while at the office.

Because academics have jobs that are pretty sedentary, we’re unlikely to get much exercise without any effort. But just like with the necessity to make changes to your office diet, a small alteration in your office routine will help increase movement and you'll start enjoying healthier living.

Exercise will also increase blood flow to your brain, making you more active, and enhancing your productivity. All of these advantages are an addition to burning extra calories and improving muscle tone.

So how will you do it?

To include some movement into your workday at the university, begin by turning your coffee break into a short walk. You can even invite your colleagues for some good conversation and inspire healthy work relationships.  

Choose the stairs over the elevator. Or, if you want to boost your confidence and adrenaline, you could even stop a few blocks before your workstation and walk the rest of the way.

You can also try out deskercise - exercising at your desk. Bring an exercise ball into the office and alternate between sitting on it, and sitting on your chair. Sitting on an exercise ball - the correct size for your height and desk - can improve posture. Try doing a few exercises in your breaks, and you’ll notice how you actually boost your strength, too. I love my standing desk for getting up from my chair.

Pre-plan gym days

Is there someone who opts for gym sessions after a long day at the office? Unless exercise is your hobby, probably not. And you are far from being alone in this situation.

If your intention is to add an extra gym day or two to your schedule, begin by pre-planning the right days for you to be able to attend the gym. If weekends are better suited for you, then plan to hit the gym at least once or twice Friday to Sunday. Commit to one work evening, and be consistent. Or, if you know that Wednesday evenings are the best for you to shine in the gym, be willing and choose a way to hold yourself accountable. 

I love my 5:30 AM CrossFit classes. It’s a great system for me. You have to find the system that works best for you.

Think about the future

You’ll probably always regret that afternoon snack - so try to prevent it. At 3 PM, when your brain tells you that you NEED the snack. Listen to the urge, but don’t give in. Pay attention to why your body wants the snack. I go over how to do this in my free stop overeating training video.

Make sure that your office lifestyle is adjusted to the healthy lifestyle you are trying to live outside the office.

The result? You’ll feel more active on a  daily basis, healthier, more coordinated and productive. 

Let me help you focus on your weight goals and discover how to be ready for the next challenges you'll face when it comes to weight loss and how to succeed. 

How To Stop The Urge To Eat Junk Food [6 Steps To Listen To Your Body]

Everyone has days when they feel off or way too busy, and the last thing on their minds is a healthy meal plan - especially around the holidays.  Not to mention the parties and social gatherings you need to attend that obviously include a buffet of delicious foods for you to indulge in.

So it's understandable that in certain situations it can become difficult not to overeat. You enjoy a healthy meal at home, thinking you’re doing great, and then you go out and are surrounded by junk food. Soon, you get hungry, and almost unconsciously you’re picking up dessert off the platter, and healthy food is forgotten.

Or maybe you really choose the “right” foods, but they’re just so delicious that you can’t have just one portion. We’ve all been there.

Have a look at six strategies that have changed the lives of many, helping them to live a healthy life, enjoy their meals more, and lower their appetite.

1. CONTROL YOUR BLOOD SUGAR LEVELS BY ADDING VINEGAR AND CINNAMON TO YOUR MEALS

Thinking to add some new flavors to your food and non-caloric drinks? Well, the good news is that there are many spices and flavors that can turn your food into both tastier and healthier. 

For instance, vinegar has recently been shown to lower your glycemic index, which means that you'll be able to metabolize the food more slowly. So, try and add acidic flavor to salad dressings, sauces, and roasted veggies.

For sweet-smelling and enjoyable warmth, add a pinch of cinnamon to everything from your daily coffee and morning smoothies to hearty chili. Just like vinegar, cinnamon slows the rate of your food transit from your stomach to your intestine so this will keep you full longer, and helps you prevent that post-meal crash.

2. LEARN THE ART OF EATING WHEN YOU’RE NOT HUNGRY

Often, when you get really hungry, you are inclined to overeat. In every episode of overeating, you will feel full, but then your insulin level spikes, making you feel tired, then really hungry again so you end up overeating again.

Trying to resist hunger is not a great idea, instead, try to nip it in the bud. Consider eating when you’re either not hungry or only slightly hungry, in order to eat less and allowing more time for your meals. When you are eating less during the day, you’ll have more energy which is certainly a nice bonus.

3. CHOOSE TO DRINK WATER, NOT LIQUIFIED CALORIES

In addition to feeling constantly tired and having your brain in a fog, mild dehydration can cause the sensation that’s usually mistaken for hunger. On the other hand, liquid calories like juices and sodas don’t feed your hunger, and their fast digestion causes insulin spikes. So try and give up the sweetened drinks and go for sparkling or still water.  To add some taste, you can also flavor it with lemon slices, strawberries or cucumber slices if you want, but don’t pack your drinks with calories.

Set a daily goal and aim to drink at least three-quarters of a gallon of water a day, using a reusable bottle. Also, make sure to drink a glass of water for about 20 minutes before every meal to reduce your appetite.

4. ENJOY EACH MEAL EATING SLOWLY

In the process of eating each meal, there’s a noticeable delay before you feel that you are full. This delay usually takes between 10–30 minutes. Due to this delay, we are inclined to ingest more food than we really need. And the faster we eat, the more food we are likely to consume at one sitting.

The solution? Try chewing each bite at least 10 times before swallowing. By following this simple rule you will end up adopting slow eating, thus allowing your brain to catch up with your stomach. On the plus side, you’ll also enjoy each meal more when you take your time to savor it.

5. LEARN THE HABIT OF HAVING A SMALL, FLAVORLESS SNACK BETWEEN MEALS

This secret was discovered by the late Seth Roberts. He used to consume a shot of olive oil or a glass of water with a tiny bit of sugar, this being an exception to the general rule on sweetened beverages between meals. Others may prefer a handful of unsalted almonds. Whatever your choice, try doing this once a day and you may see your appetite dramatically reduced. And this approach is especially important if your goal is weight loss.

While this may be one of the weirdest things you would ever try, it can also do wonders for you. The reason why this approach works is that it apparently adjusts the levels of ghrelin, the hunger hormone, by weakening flavor-calorie links. But in order for this to truly work, the snack must be really bland, and you must consume nothing else but water for at least an hour before and after the snack.

6. TRY THE “FRONT DOOR SNACK” METHOD

This will become one of your favorite hacks. Knowing upfront that your willpower is weakened when you’re hungry, and you can find more tempting junk food outside your home, you could choose to simply enjoy a snack of healthy food right before leaving home so you would feel less tempted out there. 

Make a habit of keeping a healthy snack (jerky, almonds, or vegetable chips) stored up at home and simply take a handful before you leave home. This will help you to “force out” the unhealthy food in your diet, and make it much easier for you to give up the unhealthy food.

WORST SCENARIO, BEST OUTCOME

What do you do after you’ve realized that you've indulged in just a little more than you would have expected? What is there to do or avoid doing right after overeating?

Far too many people fall into the same vicious cycle of overeating, restricting their diet, and punishing themselves after such an episode. Some of the worst things you can do after something like a weekend of overindulging is to blame yourself. 

And definitely don't fall into the trap of trying to compensate by skipping your next meals. Another thing you want to avoid is to force yourself to do tons of cardio as a way to 'balance' your episode of overeating.⠀

The best thing you could do is pay attention to your mind and the stories it is telling you. Become the watcher of your thoughts. The thoughts that tell you that “you’re not good enough, you’ll never accomplish this, and you’re a failure.” When you become the watcher of those thoughts, you get distance. You see that you don’t have to believe that voice in your head. Talking back to the voice and comforting it is the real battle.

I help my clients change their thoughts around eating. I go over the basics in my free stop overeating training (you can sign up with the form below). Check it out and see if you can start managing your urges to eat unhealthy food. I’ve done the work myself, so I understand.

Don't allow for one episode of overeating to hijack your meal plan and turn it into a whole week of overeating. You’ve got this!

10 Steps To Maintain Your Weight Loss [Why Overeating Is Not The Answer]

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The majority of people who succeed to lose weight, unfortunately, eventually end up gaining it back. In fact, a small percentage of dieters successfully lose weight and keep it off in the long term. However, don't let this intimidate you. There are some scientific methods that can help you maintain your weight - starting from exercising to controlling stress and accepting setbacks.

Why People Regain Weight

There are a few explanations why people gain back the weight they lose, and most of these are generally linked to unrealistic goals and feelings of deprivation.

Restrictive diet plans

Severe calorie restriction can slow your metabolism and change your appetite-controlling hormones, which are both factors that lead to weight regain.

Wrong mindset

If you consider your diet as a quick fix, rather than a durable solution to improve your health, you will be more inclined to give up and regain the weight you lost.

Inconsistency of sustainable habits

A great number of diets function on willpower rather than habits you can include on a daily basis. They are based on rules rather than lifestyle alterations, which may intimidate you and block weight maintenance.

However, have a look at a few steps that can be just what you need to bend the statistics in your favor and keep your hard-won weight loss. 👇

1. Exercise At Least Three Times A Week

Daily regular exercise, or at least three times a week, can significantly influence your weight maintenance. It can help you burn off the extra calories and boost your metabolism, which are two components needed to obtain energy balance. To achieve energy balance, you need to burn the same number of calories that you consume. This way, your weight can remain the same.

It's important to keep in mind that exercise can influence your weight maintenance when it's combined with other lifestyle adjustments, including opting for a healthy diet.

2. Stand By Your Plan All Week Long, Including Weekends

One practice that usually leads to weight regain is choosing to eat healthy on weekdays and “cheat" on weekends. This mentality often influences people to indulge in junk food, which can block weight maintenance efforts. If you allow it to become a regular habit, you risk to gain back more weight than you lost at first.

On the other hand, studies also show that those who keep a constant eating pattern all week are more inclined to maintain weight loss in the long term.

3. Stay Hydrated At All Times

Drinking water is critical for weight maintenance and there are a few reasons for this. First off, it provides fullness and can help you maintain your calorie intake in check if you drink a glass of water before meals.

In addition, drinking water has been shown to slightly boost the number of calories you burn during the day.

4. Get At Least 8 Hours Of Sleep Every Night

Getting enough sleep automatically influences your weight control. Actually, sleep deprivation seems to be a big risk factor for weight gain in adult life and may prevent weight maintenance.

This is partly caused by the fact that insufficient sleep leads to increased levels of ghrelin, which is known as the "hunger hormone" because it boosts appetite. Furthermore, bad sleepers seem to have lower levels of leptin, the hormone responsible for appetite control.

Additionally, those who sleep for just a few hours a night are simply exhausted and less motivated to exercise and make healthy food choices.

If at the moment you're not sleeping enough, make sure to figure out a way to change your sleeping habits. Sleeping for at least eight hours a night is best for weight control and general health.

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5. Keep Your Stress Levels At A Minimum

Handling daily stress is vital to controlling your weight. Actually, high-stress levels can negatively influence your weight by increasing levels of cortisol, a hormone released in response to stress. Also, elevated cortisol is connected to stubborn belly fat, as well as increased appetite and food intake. Not to mention that stress is a common trigger for overeating.
On the plus side, there are numerous things you can do to overcome stress, including exercise, yoga, and meditation.

6. Create A Support System

It may seem difficult to obtain your weight goals on your own. One efficient strategy to conquer this is to create a support system that will hold you responsible and eventually partner up with you in your lifestyle choices.

Studies have shown that having a companion to follow your goals may be beneficial for weight control, especially if that person is a partner with related healthy habits.

7. Strive for Consistency

Consistency is crucial to keeping unwanted weight off. Rather than on-and-off dieting (which clearly means returning to old habits), it is best to keep your new healthy diet and lifestyle for longer periods of time.

Opting for a new "way of life" may seem crushing initially, but making healthy choices will become your second nature when you become used to them. Your improved lifestyle will become effortless, so you'll maintain your weight much more easily.

8. Improve Your Mindful Eating

Mindful eating is the habit of knowing your internal appetite cues and paying attention during your eating process. It implies eating slower, without distractions, so you can enjoy the aroma and taste of your meal.

When you eat in this fashion, you are more inclined to stop eating before you are truly full. Eating while distracted can make it difficult to notice fullness and you end up overeating.

Research shows that mindful eating influences weight maintenance by identifying behaviors that are associated with weight gain, such as emotional eating. Besides, those who practice mindful eating are able to maintain their weight under control without even counting their calories.

9. Be Mentally Prepared for Setbacks

Setbacks are unfortunately quite certain thing in your weight maintenance journey. There will be times when you might give in to an unhealthy craving or skip a workout. But, these random relapses certainly doesn't mean you should give up your goals. Just move on and make better choices next time.

It's also beneficial to plan in advance for situations that you know will make healthy eating a challenge, such as an upcoming vacation or holiday for instance.

10. Make Realistic Changes to Your Lifestyle

The reason why many people fail at maintaining their weight is that they choose unrealistic diets that are not doable in the long term. And they eventually become overwhelmed and feel deprived, which unfortunately leads to gaining back even more weight than they lost initially.

Maintaining your weight loss means making realistic changes to your lifestyle. These changes may look different for everyone, but basically, it means not being too restrictive, staying consistent and making healthy choices on a daily basis.

The Bottom Line

There are plenty of simple alterations you can make to healthy habits that will prove to be easy to keep and will also help you maintain your weight loss long term.

During your journey, you will experience becoming aware of the fact that maintaining your weight means much more than what you eat. And always remember that exercise, sleep, and mental health also plays an important role in maintaining your weight loss and giving up overeating.

In order for weight maintenance to become effortless, you need to adopt a new lifestyle, rather than starting a new weight-loss diet. If you are ready to make a change in your lifestyle, get in touch with me and let me guide you through the journey of weight loss so you can enjoy an improved life. 

Reasons to Follow Your Meal Plan During The Day [How To Avoid Cheat Meals At Night]

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You can make your life easier by planning what you're eating ahead of time.

While meal planning can be considered another thing to add to your long “to-do list,” this is one task that should be a priority. 

Don’t be scared to plan meals for an entire week. 

Make your protocol, or meal plan, as flexible as you want because it’s for you. Take the negativity towards meal plans and turn it into adaptability. A meal plan doesn’t mean only eating salads for lunch every day. Meet yourself where you are in your eating.

Few people like eating the same thing every single day, therefore planning is important in order to help you save time, money, and make healthy choices. 

Don’t give up just because you’re out of ideas. Decide you can figure this out.

Here are 10 reasons why you should begin planning your meals a week in advance:

1. It will improve your nutrition

By planning ahead, your goal is to have nutritionally balanced meals during the week. In the process of planning it's important to make sure that each of your office lunches has a balance.

Also, by planning your daily meals, you'll be able to control your personal nutrition needs. So for instance, if you want to go for a lower sodium diet or to try to eat whole grains and veggies, you can plan ahead, too. 

2. It will help you make healthier choices

Each time you have to come up with something to eat last minute, you'll end up going to the cafeteria. That makes it easier to exceed your daily intake. Also, keep in mind that shopping when hungry will only make you end up with  junk food into your cart. 

3. It will encourage you to choose high-quality foods

Homemade lunches are almost always rich in nutrients and filled with fewer calories, salt, and fat than usual takeout or semi-prep options at your grocery store. Opting to cook your own recipes and use healthier ingredients for a whole week will allow you to make better food choices, such as opting for local meats and organic produce. 

4. You’ll save money in the long-run

Deciding upon a meal plan keeps your forgotten ingredients in the fridge from going bad. You can create your plans using whatever you have in your cupboards or in the freezer.

You can also begin by writing your grocery lists based on your meal plans. Thus, you’ll go to the grocery store with a set goal rather than on a whim. This habit will help you avoid coming out of the store with a bunch of various unhealthy food items, most of which you might not even eat. 

Additionally, a well-organized meal plan will save you money by keeping you from ordering pricey last-minute or cheap low-quality take out food.

5. It will save you valuable time

Set from the start, grocery lists will help you not to wander around the grocery store aimlessly, and weekly meal plans will save you from thinking about what to eat every day.

Being an academic keeps you quite busy during the workweek, so make sure you allocate some time during the weekend to prepare most of your meals. Consider oats and frozen berries with greek yogurt in mason jars as breakfasts for on-the-go. And, already prepared quinoa or pasta salads with green veggies and beans can become an office lunch for multiple days. 

Also, consider cooking one or two larger dinners during the weekend in order for you to have something homecooked for when you arrive home tired and don’t have the energy to cook. Portion and split proper servings for you or your family for quick dinners. Soups, chili, meatballs or marinated chicken breasts are great choices for freezing. You can simply defrost and reheat while you add a quick salad or veggie slices - and you’ll end up having a delicious homemade meal almost instantly. 

6. It will decrease daily stress

The daily “what will I eat for lunch or make for dinner” thought that occupies our minds adds to our stress but can be easily prevented by simply creating a clear meal plan. When in doubt, reuse old meal plans and grocery lists to help you organize things faster and reduce prep time. Within a two-week seasonal meal plan, there will surely be enough variety for your family.

7. Deciding upon menu planning helps you avoid unnecessary waste

When you’ve set your meal plan for dinner, any leftover food can be eaten the next day at work for lunch. It’s a pity to get something from the grocery store on impulse and have to throw it out just days later. Planning ahead is the secret to buying and preparing only what you can eat.

8. Menu planning helps you prepare better meals

When you gather dinner ideas at the beginning of the week or on the weekends, you have plenty of time to be creative and come up with delicious foods. Also, you have enough time to organize a complete menu that includes side dishes, salads, and desserts. Your precise menu plan will help you concentrate on improving cooking skills.

9. Meal planning encourages variety

Menu planning prevents you from serving the same meals again and again. You can research for meal ideas online, turn to your loved ones for family recipes, or try to diversify one of your favorite dishes with new ingredients.

10. A meal plan helps you to think in advance 

When you sit down and really think about the week’s meals, you can organize your time and household in advance and remember your favorite foods as well as the things you don’t like.

Planning ahead can turn your kitchen in a more organized place, and your healthy, home-cooked food will be available both at work and at home.

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Conclusion

Try to plan in advance, to organize your meals for several days at a time, including side dishes. Make research part of your meal planning as it will help you come up with new ideas. Also, try to always stick to your list when you go shopping at the grocery store. 

The whole point of this is to not start from zero every day and that's where my guidance comes in handy - I want to help you to follow your protocol. You deserve to overcome your self-sabotages so you can get back to your meaningful work.

How To Stop Overeating Due To Semester Stress [Tips To Unwind Without Giving In]

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Stress eating or rather emotional eating can alter your weight goals – the secret is to search for new ways to relieve semester stress without overeating.

So much truth lies behind the common phrase "stress eating." Daily or occasional stress, the unwanted hormones it releases, and the harmful effects of high-fat, sugary "comfort foods" drive people toward overeating.

Why do academics stress eat during the semester?

Women in academia make no exception from stress-coping actions. Stress during the semester also seems to affect food preferences. While during summer, the usual diet consists of fruits and vegetables, from September until the spring, the preference is towards carbohydrates. Also,  according to studies, physical or emotional distress (something academics generally need to deal with at a high level), increases the intake of high-fat foods as well as foods high in sugar, and sometimes both. 

However, we are aware that overeating at the office isn't the only stress-related action that can add unwanted pounds. Stress causes academics to lose sleep, exercise less, and over drink, all of which can lead to excess weight.

Why Is It So Important To Understand Emotional Eating?

Before starting to fight against your overeating habits and learning how to unwind without giving in, you need to comprehend what lies behind your comfort food coping mechanisms.

Many women experience emotional eating at one time or another during a stressful week. It could appear as eating a harmless bag of chips when bored or indulging in a chocolate bar after a difficult day at work.

Be aware of the stress eating factors 

Some of the stress eating factors are intricate and can involve some of the following situations:👇

• Childhood development

In some cases, emotional eating is a learned behavior from the early years of life. What happens is that in many cases during childhood, parents provide their children with sweet treats to help them cope with a difficult day or situation, or as a reward for something they did well.

And then, as this type of behavior turns into a habit, it is no wonder that a child who gets a cookie (to help them better cope with the difficult situation) after getting a bad grade on a test, for instance, can turn into an adult who reaches for a whole box of cookies after a rough day at work.

What this example shows is that the origin of emotional eating goes way back sometimes, in which case breaking the habit can feel extremely challenging.

• The struggle of coping with emotions

It is pretty common for women to struggle with uncomfortable feelings and emotions. This triggers an instinctual behavior or a need to fix or even annihilate these negative feelings as fast as possible - which can, in turn, contribute to unhealthy attitudes.

And keep in mind that emotional eating is not only connected to negative feelings. One can eat a handful of candy at a fun Christmas party, or eat excessively at a fancy New Year’s Eve dinner. So, it's important to be aware of overeating due to thoughts about the location of the food - such as dinner parties, the holiday season, etc.

• The physical effect of stress

According to studies there are also physical reasons why stress and powerful emotions can influence a person to overeat. Here are some of the most important ones you need to pay close attention to:

• High cortisol levels: In the initial phase, stress causes the appetite to decrease in order for your body to deal with the difficult situation. If the stress level does not decrease, another hormone, cortisol, is released. Cortisol is also responsible for increased appetite and can lead you to overeat.

• Cravings: A second phase is initiated as high cortisol levels from stress that can increase specific cravings for foods rich in sugar or fat. Stress is linked with high levels of hunger hormones as well, which may also add up to cravings for unhealthy foods.

Photo by Fabian Møller on Unsplash

How to relieve stress without overeating

The first action you need to take to free yourself from emotional eating is to know first hand the triggers and circumstances that apply in your life.

Try keeping a food diary or weekly journal to help to identify situations when you are more inclined to eat because of emotional instead of physical hunger.

Tracking your behavior is another way you can catch some insight into your eating habits.

The behavior you could keep track of may include the following: 👇

• Patterns of hunger levels, measuring them on a 1–10 scale

• What you are going through and if it is something difficult and unpleasant

• What  you are feeling, whether bored, angry or happy

Another option could be to choose professional help in order to get the guidance you need in your journey. It can also be helpful to talk to a life coach to discuss other ways to break the cycle of emotional eating and improve your way of living your life.

A weight coach may also be able to help you with discovering additional information on creating positive eating habits and a better relationship with food.

Next, you may want to consider brainstorming ideas for means to counterbalance the triggers you will identify during your self-inquiry.

Other suggestions that can help counter stress 👇

Meditation

Many studies demonstrate that meditation diminishes stress, even though a big part of the research was focused on high blood pressure and heart disease related to stress. Meditation can influence you to become more aware of you food choices. With constant practice, you will be able to hold back the impulse to instantly grab comfort food and start to inhibit this impulse.

If you are overeating because of your daily stress, you could try mindful yoga at home, meditating in your office, or taking a walk along campus to help yourself deal with your emotions.

Exercise 

While your cortisol levels may change depending on the intensity and length of your exercise, in general, physical exercise can counteract some of the adverse effects of stress. Some activities, like yoga and tai chi, blend components of both exercise and meditation.

If you tend to eat when bored, you may want to choose a new book that seems stimulating to start reading, or pick a new hobby, maybe one that includes the outdoors, that could provide a challenge.

Social support 

Surrounding yourself with friends, family, and other sources of social support may have a buffering effect on the levels of stress that you experience on a daily basis. 

Studies suggest that people working in a stressful environment, like hospital emergency departments, seem to have better mental health if they are provided with adequate social support. But even if you do not live or work in circumstances where the stakes are as high you still need support from time to time from your friends, close family, and/or professionals.

• If you start to eat excessively when you are sad, you may want to call a good friend, take your dog for a run, or plan a quick getaway to cope with your negative feelings.

However, when stress eating occurs on a daily basis at your job or it becomes the predominant course of action to handle your emotions when you face a stressful situation, then your life, physical health, overall happiness, and weight can be negatively influenced. 
Let me help you work through stress with the right approach in order for you to feel great today and every day.

The WHY Behind Dr. Caitlin Faas [Why I Do What I Do]

Setting the scene

I believe we can all agree that being stressed and exhausted can quite often lead to overeating and lack of exercise. 

What we may not all be aware of is that according to new studies women directly gain weight when facing heavy pressure at work. And things can get even more complicated for women in academia, where demands are high, deadlines are close, and time is not a friend.

Stress is the cause of many health issues, but weight gain is one of the obvious side effects. Stress at work, especially for women, can result in little time to eat healthily or exercise, which in turn causes extreme fatigue and a strong desire to indulge in comfort food.

Although studies haven't necessarily investigated the hidden causes of overeating in this situation, it may be about the combination of job tasks at work and the responsibility for the household that women often assume. This makes it rather difficult to find time to live a healthy life.  So how can you avoid overdrinking, overeating, and procrastinating?

The good news is that there are ways to fight stress efficiently, improve sleep, boost your mood consciously, lose weight in a healthy way and tackle unhealthy eating habits, watch your caffeine intake, and exercising more. 

And that's where I come in.

Let me tell you how it all began…

I’m Caitlin Faas, Ph.D., tenured psychology professor and certified life coach. All these struggles were very familiar to me. While climbing the academic ladder, without feeling personal fulfillment, I was eating junk food between meetings and enjoying one too many drinks. Taking care of my health, was not a priority. No wonder I felt exhausted and suffering from burn-out syndrome. 

That is why I have a special understanding of women in higher education who make sustainable, lifelong changes ripples across their lifespan.

They are willing to make healthy choices, ready to educate themselves on losing weight in a quality way, but get stuck in their semester routine with weight loss. The majority are doing so well in August, but are falling apart by December.

And then everything changed

However, I decided that enough was enough and I want my story to help, inspire and empower you. I managed to lose the weight and kept it off, breaking my vicious cycle of overeating and overdrinking for good. 

Reaching out to a life coach revolutionized everything for me, making me show up for myself,  investing in myself and committing to doing the work of real transformation. Because I believe in helping and teaching by example, I wanted to guide others to experience life to the fullest. 

• Once I did the work myself, I became a certified life and weight coach to offer guidance to others on their journey to their better selves.

Why I do what I do

Being the best version of myself shows others what is truly possible. I am an example of what is possible and taking care of my own physical and mental health has created the foundation for my life success.

I believe that when people stop bad habits, they unlock the ability to go after their dreams, setting things in motion. 

My top priority is now my physical and emotional health. It can take some time to make it work and I want to help other academics unleash their power to do the same. They have such amazing work to get out into the world and overeating doesn't have to hold them back.

Academics have great ideas to share with the world, trying to reach as many people as possible, but we cannot do that at the highest level unless we are taking excellent care of ourselves. 

Photo by Allie Smith on Unsplash

What I do

Everyone who enters the journey of self-discovery and self-empowerment realizes they had the power all along. I just provide the help they need to get out on their own. I can also show them how to refocus those intelligent brains to work in their favor.

In order for you to get the results that you want, I am a strong believer in 1:1 coaching sessions where we can create together an outline naming all your obstacles, plus strategies and tips to overcome them. 

With my help, you will be able to go introspective on understanding why your circumstances are neutral and how to run an analysis of the reasons why you don’t take action. All of these can lead to the discovery of existing beliefs that sabotage your productivity.

After assessing where you stand, I can guide you on learning how to allow urges and unlearn desire, give advice on how to plan for difficult situations. Then we'll also create a plan on how to handle the discomfort, with a clear focus on defining the tangible results you want to achieve in our six weeks together.

All these will help you unleash your inner strength, helping you create the feeling that fuels action, leading to the implementation of pro-activation instead of procrastination.

My work is to teach you how to believe something you don’t yet believe while coming up with proactive plans for you without judging. 

How my work can benefit you

Decisions that will benefit your life in order for you to feel and look great aren’t that easy to make because you will need to discover the cause of your overeating and how it relates to your life, learn how to allow for food urges, but unlearn desire and determine what to do when you have upsetting life events.

Under my guidance, you will enjoy your own individualized food protocol in order for you to get the results you actually want. Teaching you how to allow discomfort throughout the process of weight loss and learning how to plan ahead for difficult situations will end up developing exception plans and embrace the joy of eating. 

All these steps will create a new mindset where you will discover what desire is and where it comes from and help you change self-depreciation to curiosity. One can obtain lasting change only by getting to the root of the issue and I can guarantee you that you will see a difference in your actions and lifestyle.

How I do it

As a life and weight coach, my work consists of showing you your beautiful brain. I don’t believe in the authoritarian approach in which I end up telling you what to do. You will realize through our process that you actually have all the answers inside of you. My job is to help you see that for yourself, so you can make true progress and feel good inside and out. This is how you can actually lose weight for good, stop overdrinking, and end procrastination.

I have designed a six-week program where I will guide you through making decisions and help you to follow through several steps along the way, steps tailored specifically to your needs.  We’ll cover the result you actually want, obstacles and strategies, what desire is and where it comes from and how to change your judgment of yourself to curiosity and to explore your mind.

I know it can feel overwhelming like there’s no way breaking the vicious cycle. But I believe you can do it and I want to help you learn how.

In the end, it is about true change. And true, lasting change comes from getting to the root of the issue that keeps you stuck in the cycle of procrastination. Changing your thoughts and mindset can and will result in a difference in your actions and lifestyle.

What is the next step

What I mean by 'leading by example' is that I believe my success can become your success.  I want to help you become your best self. 
So, let's work together and overcome the need to overeat or drink too much and become unstoppable in what you can accomplish. Once you do that you will realize that you can really enjoy life to the fullest.

How to kick an unhealthy eating habit to the curb

Are you overeating and regretting it afterwards? Eating too many snacks after dinner? Skipping breakfast because you're out of time in the morning? Do you constantly Google- Do I eat too much?

You're not alone. There are many unhealthy eating habits and patterns that we get into over time. They usually don't start overnight, but they can be hard to shake.

The first thing to recognize is that shaming and blaming yourself isn't going to get rid of that habit.

How do you feel when you think these thoughts?

• I should be able to stop eating after dinner.

• I should be able to feed myself breakfast in the morning before I leave for work.

• I should stop eating these unhealthy snacks.

Feeling guilty? Or some other negative emotion?

Feeling guilty doesn't make us want to take the actions we want to take. It usually makes us want to run away from the problem or hide it.

Too often my coaching clients think they can "should" their way out of a habit or into a new one. It doesn't work.

What does work is generating inspiration and determination.

Those feelings come from different thoughts, like:

• I know I can change this eating habit.

• I can do anything I set my mind to.

• I can figure this process out, step by step.

• Many other people have done this before me.

• I'm looking forward to figuring out a healthy eating habit.

The key is to find the thoughts that work best for you. They have to ring true and generate positive feelings for you.

Then you'll be able to take the actions you want to take.

You'll look back at your food tracking diaries to see what patterns are emerging.

Maybe you notice that every work day at 3:00 PM you wander over to the vending machine. Seeing that pattern allows you make a shift.

Then you can say, "Instead of going to the vending machine, I'm going to pack a healthy snack the night before." Try it. See if it works for you. If it doesn't, readjust. Small tweaks can make all the difference. They add up very quickly.

You might also notice a pattern of eating more at night. A lot of people trying to lose weight can stick to their breakfast and lunch plans, but struggle in the evenings. Recognizing that's a normal human pattern is important. It's called ego depletion.

As the day goes on, our decision making abilities get fatigued. It isn't something to beat yourself up about. It's something to recognize and adapt to (see how to conquer self-control).

You'll also be able to question the thoughts you believe to be true.

If you say something like, "I need dessert after dinner," you can question that. Is it true that you need dessert? Or has it become such a habit, that you aren't even sure if you need to do it? Try a night without it. See what happens. How do you feel afterwards?

Another common thought is, "Eating this cookie will help relieve my stress." We think eating makes us feel better. Eating as a reaction to a feeling isn't a strategy that works for us long-term. It's a way to buffer away our true feelings.

If you're feeling stressed, the key is to allow the feeling of stress. It won't last very long when you actually allow the feeling. You can even start to shift with statements like, "I'm feeling stressed, which does not mean I need a cookie." Try it, see if it works for you. Write down what you notice.

As you do start to change your eating habits, build in rewards.

If you've figured out a habit you want to change and make a plan to change it, what reward will you get? We all thrive on a reward system. If you avoid the vending machine for an entire week, is there something else you want to spend that money on? Is there an experience you can gift yourself (e.g., pedicure)? Create a system for yourself to succeed and something to look forward to in the future.

And don't try to change all the habits at once.

Many of us dive head first into 5-10 new habits all at once. We also have a knack for doing it right when everything else is stressful. The semester is ending, there's a work deadline looming. So we take on "healthy eating habits" like it isn't going to be too much at once. Habit building takes time. Give yourself grace and compassion in the process. Write yourself a permission slip to work on one healthy eating habit at a time.

Extra inspiration:

• Remind yourself of your reasons for losing weight

• Recommit to your weight loss goals

• Follow the CDC recommendations to reflect, replace, and reinforce your eating habits

Want to work on your eating habits through life coaching?

Leave your details below to sign up for my free stop overeating program!

How to find the right food tracking method for your life

We all know there are many ways to track your food.

It can feel overwhelming though because of our thoughts about it:

• There are too many options to choose from.

• I don't know where to start.

• I tried tracking once and it was too much.

• I'm not sure tracking my food intake actually helps me.

• I don't know why I should bother tracking my food.

• I should find the best way to track how much I eat somehow.

Those thoughts don't lead to productive action.

They leave us feeling stuck and without the result we want.

If our desired result is to lose 50 pounds and eat health foods, what actions do we need to take to get there?

One of the first actions is to track our food.

We need to feel inspired and motivated to make that actually happen.

That means we need to think helpful thoughts like:

• This post can help guide me in the right direction.

• I want to lose 10 pounds and eat healthier.

• I can take steps to lose weight and eat healthier.

• I know this isn't complicated.

• I want to do the work.

• I'm going to find the right food tracking method for me.

See how those thoughts lead to a positive feeling with true action?

The best news is that you get to choose your thoughts.

You have to find thoughts that motivate and inspire you.

Take a second to write down the thoughts that guided you to open this post. What comes up for you?

The secret to tracking your food isn't in the method itself.

It's actually doing the work of tracking.

You can track your food on paper if it works for you.

You can track your food on your phone if it works for you.

Looking for some helpful top food tracking apps to keep track of the food you eat?

• Lifesum

• Lark

• My Fitness Pal

Let’s be clear - an app or a piece of paper won't actually do the work for you.

You have to do the work and want to do that work.

Once you have a positive cycle of thoughts leading to results, you'll gain momentum.

Here's an intentional example -

Circumstance - Downloaded My Fitness Pal on phone.

Thought - This app is going to be really helpful for tracking my food and activity.

Feeling - Motivated

Actions - Tracking the food, getting mini rewards with the app

Results - The app is really helpful for tracking.

It's easy to have an unintentional model too -

Circumstance - Downloaded My Fitness Pal on phone.

Thought - I don't know how to use this app.

Feeling - Frustrated

Actions - Not tracking food, ignoring the app

Results - Not using the app to work towards ultimate goal of losing weight and eating healthy foods.

See how two people could both download the app, but get completely different results?

It's all in their thoughts. Not the tracking method itself.

Thinking thoughts that food tracking can be helpful is crucial.

I love this article about the 7 biggest benefits of a food diary by Runtastic. Those are the kinds of reasons that lead me to think, "Yeah! I want to track my food! I can do this!"

Don't view tracking your food as something you have to do the rest of your life.

You can commit to a week of tracking at first. See what you learn. See if you have any "aha" moments.

Talk about your food diary with a life coach. See what insights you uncover.

Check in with your reasons for losing weight and how to commit to losing that weight.

How to commit yourself to your weight loss goals

Photo courtesy of Gesina Kunkel https://happyveganfit.de/

You know you want to lose weight and you have your list of "real" reasons that resonate with you. Now it's time to commit. But that feels scary. How do you actually stick to these reasons?

Commitment to losing weight takes planning and using the prefrontal cortex in our brain.

Our prefrontal cortex is the part of our brain in charge of decision making. It's the most advanced part of our brain and the part that takes the most time to develop. Researchers think full development of this part takes until we're about 25 years old.

Remember all those great decisions you made when you were fifteen?

Yeah, me too.

When I was 15 years old, I thought eating a sleeve of Ritz crackers everyday for lunch was a great idea. It saved my lunch money for better purchases - like Diet Coke and cookies. Not a healthy choice, looking back. But at least now I know my prefrontal cortex was still growing.

As adults, we can harness the power of our prefrontal cortex.

We can plan and make decisions in advance. We can say, "Tomorrow, this is what I will eat."

That's what commitment is all about. Making a protocol at least 24 hours in advance and sticking with it.

You know you're using your prefrontal cortex when you make a plan 24 hours in advance. You know you're using the more primitive parts of your brain when you're making a plan 5 minutes in advance. That's not a plan, that's responding to an urge.

How can you tell the difference between your prefrontal cortex and primitive brain?

The primitive brain yells a lot. It's like a toddler, trying to be in charge of all your decisions. It tries to override your prefrontal cortex most of the time.

It says things like, "Hey, let's eat this cookie in a few minutes. It's a great idea."

But what do we do with toddlers? We tell them no.

We have to tell our primitive brains the same thing when it wants that cookie. We have to say, "I hear you. I know you want a cookie. But it's not part of our protocol. It's not on the plan for eating today."

It can become harder as the day goes on not to give into the primitive brain. It tries to wear us down and we get ego depleted. We've all been there. We say, "FINE! I'm tired! Let's eat the cookie!"

And the primitive brain rejoices. It say, "Great, I know exactly what to do next time to get what I want. I'll throw a fit and then I'll get what I want."

Just like a toddler, remember?

The goal in sticking with our commitments isn't to "shut the primitive brain up" or ignore it.

We speak calmly and quietly to it. We say, "It's not in the plan. Not today."

We allow our urges to exist, we allow the voice to scream.

But we don't give in. We let our prefrontal cortex stay in charge, the adult in the room.

We stick to our protocol that we created. We remind ourselves of our bigger commitment and reasons why.

And when we're ready, we take notes and watch the primitive brain talking. We notice when it wants to talk the most. We stay curious about that voice and when it gets upset.

We remove temptations and help it stay calm and collected.

Just like a toddler. We give it rest and restoration time.

We don't try to manipulate it by screaming or crying back. We allow it to be. We recognize it. And then we move on.

Your commitment to losing weight is about managing your thoughts and allowing urges. It isn't about a new fangled technology or special workout clothes. It's about sticking to what you said you were going to do. Following through. And getting in the pattern.

If you're doubting this process, there are thoughts to manage!

You are amazing and you can do this.

Let's talk about it! In the meantime, use the form below to get access to my tips for reclaiming your time!

What are your reasons for losing weight?

Losing weight is the most common New Year's Resolution in the United States. We know we have an obesity epidemic in our country. Many of us have an overabundance of food, especially delicious desserts. And to top it off, we're coming off the holiday season. We couldn't turn around the last few weeks without someone offering us a cookie.

With the new year, many of us set goals to lose weight or to try a new diet.

Year after year, we set the same goal. And many of us abandon these goals by the time February rolls around. It's cold and dark for many of us in these months. All the inspiration seems to have evaporated. Part of why that happens is our thought process behind losing weight.

We think we should lose weight for the following reasons:

• Our doctor told us to lose weight

• All those fitspo women on Instagram are thin

• Our mom told us we're looking heavy

• We think we'll be happier when we're thinner

• We used to weigh that much in our twenties

The list goes on. Shoulds are everywhere. But shoulds are rarely motivation to actually do the work and lose the weight. They just hang around, making us feel guilty and down on ourselves.

What if this year, you wanted to lose weight for the right reasons?

What if you kept those reasons in the forefront, instead of all the "should" reasons?

Defining a "right reason" is an individual process. Inside, you know what works best for you. It's really easy to listen to all of the outside noise instead of your inner voice.

The good news is that inner voices have a lot in common. They speak a common truth for all of us. That's how we end up with common "right" reasons to accomplish our goals, like losing weight.

So ask yourself and spend some time journaling or talking it through with a life coach.

Why do you want to lose weight?

1. Make an unfiltered list. Get it all down.

2. When you think you're out of reasons, write five more.

3. Separate out the reasons into shoulds and reasons that feel like truth.

How do you tell the difference between shoulds and true reasons?

Should reasons feel heavy and down.

Example of a "should" reason to lose weight:

Circumstance - Goal to lose 20 pounds.

Thought - My doctor said I should do this, but I don't know if I can.

Feeling - Anxious

Action - Reading all of the weight loss plan books, but not really doing anything about it. Not really taking action, just worrying.

Result - Not losing any weight

See how that unintentional model holds us back from our goals? It started with a "should" reason rather than a real reason.

Reasons that feel like truth inspire and motivate you.

You feel connected and excited about the right reasons. Maybe you're smiling when you think about the right reasons.

Your right reasons will connect you to your end goal. You'll have thoughts that work in your favor. Those thoughts will generate positive feelings. Positive feelings generate forward moving action, which then lead to results.

For example, here’s an intentional model with a "right" reason thought:

Circumstance - Goal to lose weight.

Thought - I want to do this for my future health.

Feeling - Motivated

Action - Sticking to a protocol

Result - Losing weight, helping future health.

Other examples of positive thoughts to lose weight (if they resonate with you):

• I am becoming a better version of myself everyday.

• I want to be a role model for my children.

• I am enjoying the journey of weight loss.

• I like treating my body with respect.

• I know I like eating healthy food in the long-term.

Take your reasons and put them somewhere you can see them every single day.

Maybe that's on your phone as a reminder. Or a piece of paper near your bed. A note on your bathroom mirror. A list in your car. Wherever you spend time every day.

These are the reasons that will keep you going. Not because I said so. Not because Jillian Michaels or your favorite fitspo person on Instagram said so. Because you said so. Because these reasons are your truth.

Need extra help generating your reasons for losing weight? Let’s talk.

How to Stay Healthy with the Holidays Quickly Approaching

It's easy to give up on the rest of the year right now. The semester is busy, final projects are due, and everyone seems to be exhausted.

• "Oh we only have a few months to go, might as well give in."

• "The holidays will be here before we know it."

• "It's gotten cold and all I want to do is hibernate."

• "I'll start a new diet in the new year."

Are you saying any of those thoughts to yourself right now?

You're not alone. It's common to do. But those thoughts can change.

Unintentional Model

Circumstance - The holiday season is approaching on the calendar.

Thought - Time is slipping away and I might as well give in.

Feeling - Dissatisfied

Actions - Eating extra cookies, avoiding getting on the scale, avoiding exercise, overdrinking

Result - Overindulging and giving in

The result of overindulging feeds right back into the thought of "Time is slipping away and I might as well continue to give in." It continues on until it's the new year and you're still feeling dissatisfied.

I used to be in this unintentional model too, especially with the stress of the academic semester. I thought I couldn't help it. I was giving in with everyone else. I could just keep repeating the same cycle.

But nine years ago, around this time, I reached Lifetime Status in Weight Watchers (WW). That means I was starting the journey of maintaining my weight (within 4 lbs of my obtained goal). It would have been easy to eat the holiday cookies and zone out. I could have patted myself on the back and said I'd get back to work in the new year. But I was on a mission to maintain my weight.

So I worked on my thoughts and created a different model.

Intentional Model

Circumstance - The holiday season is approaching on the calendar.

Thought - I am still going to maintain my weight and stick with my plan.

Feeling - Motivated

Actions - Looking up ways to eat healthy at parties, sticking to just one cookie, staying active in my workout plan.

Results - Maintaining my weight and sticking with my plan.

See how the very same circumstances existed in both models?

It was the thoughts that changed. Changing the thoughts then led to different feelings, different actions, and results that fed back into the thoughts. If you’re new to models, they were created by Brooke Castillo of the Life Coach School.

The hard part about the end of the school year isn't that it simply exists.

We've told ourselves a story that it must be difficult and overwhelming. We encourage each other with this negative story. But it's just a story. We don't have to believe it.

You must know that's true because you're reading this post.

You're looking for ways to stay healthy this holiday season. Remember, it isn't just the action that leads to staying healthy. It's the thoughts you get to choose, that lead to feelings, and then the actions. If you don't believe something will work for you, you probably won't do it.

Positive Affirmations for this Holiday Season:

- I am a healthy person.

- I make healthy decisions.

- I feel clean and light when I stick to my plan.

- I enjoy finding healthy alternatives at holiday parties.

- I am choosing great options for myself.

- I want to feel good in both December and January.

- I can enjoy myself without eating everything at the party.

- I am enjoying the process of staying healthy.

- I enjoy taking care of my body.

- Every month out of the year counts, including the holidays.

Other Ways You Can Stay Healthy this Holiday Season:

• Spend time around other people who are choosing positive thoughts about the holiday season.

• Ask for others to join you in making healthy decisions.

• Remind yourself of the bigger picture. Why do you want to stay healthy in general?

Resources for Healthy Eating:

• Dr. Katrina Ubell's Free Resources

• CDC's 5 Healthy Eating Tips for the Holidays

• Real Simple's 9 Healthy Holiday-Eating Strategies