finding the true balance

I want to start this off by saying that every single person and every body is different. With that, each person has their own preferences and styles and certain things that work for them. I do not believe that there is any one perfect way to lose weight and keep it off as long as it's a program that is focused on foods that nourish, forming good relationships with food and good habits to sustain you through life. And when you add in all of those qualifications, your list of "programs" becomes very slim. You know my mantra on things like shots, shakes, pills,drops and restrictive food lists and now after three years of being in the dieting world, battling obesity and being able to keep the weight off, I am changing up the game, per say.

I am no longer a macro-tracking advocate.  There. I said it. It's not because tracking macros is bad. It's not because it doesn't work or that it's unhealthy or any of the above. If you are cutting and trying to lean out for something like a body competition, a weight lifting competition, to have six pack abs or be "cut", then I do indeed believe that macros is the best plan you can follow! You can also add in people who have an OCD personality and/or mentally need to meticulous about every aspect of their diet to that list. But for people who are not going for the "cut" look, or trying to bulk up or have no desire to have that bikini competition figure- we do not need to be that detailed and controlling over our diets. 

What do we need? True freedom in our food choices. It's too easy to get caught up in the numbers and rules, obsessing over the weight of a food and forget to trust the instincts God gave us to know what our body needs and when it needs it. Not to mention, I was tired of my face always being in my phone trying to figure out my numbers for the day!  I don't know about you, but in the past two years tracking macros I have encountered many different unhealthy relationships with food and the way we think about it. I have eaten much too many weird combinations of food because it was all that "fit" my numbers that day. I have been so tired of protein, so tired of it. But I couldn't swap meats out for healthier things like beans because I didn't have enough carbs for beans. Did you ever turn anyone down for lunch out or a slice of a friends homemade bread because you couldn't track it correctly or you just didn't have room for it? (raises hand). Totally not ok. Not only is it not ok, but even the Lord thought it was important enough to write about:

“When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is provided for you.”

— Luke 10:8

When you are going to enjoy food with someone, you do not want the conversation to be about your diet. You also do not want your host or friend or family to worry about offering something that you "can" or "cannot" eat.  Let's not make it all about us and our diet- enjoy the time and eat what is provided. That doesn't mean that you cannot make wise choices- moderation and portions are key to being able to live in balance. They offer you a slice of pie, that doesn't mean that you need to eat 3 and 4 slices, it doesn't even mean you have to eat one entire slice. It's totally appropriate that you could have a few bites and leave some on your plate. Listen to your body.  No whipping out your phone or asking for recipes to track your macros. No worrying about how much that pie weighed. Eat and move on. 

Tracking macros can be a very slippery slope into obsession, especially if you do it for a long period of time. If you cannot imagine your day without tracking your food, something needs to change. 

So what do I do now? 

Eat intuitively. Eat what you want. Bare with me here, I know most of my readers are actively trying to lose weight, bare.with.me. 

There are different types of "intuitive eaters". Ones who chug soda and binge on cake all day and do gain weight, and ones who eat healthy but allow themselves the freedom to have really whatever they feel like having. If you tune into your body and really ask yourself every day what you truly feel that your body needs that day, rarely ever will you end up eating 2 rows of Oreos because you know how icky that is going to make you feel afterwards. However, if you fill your body with foods that nourish you and make you feel good all day and then a friend ask's you to get ice cream- you have the freedom to grab a small ice cream completely guilt free/track free/macro free. If you want a banana before a long run, you do not need to think twice about your carb allotment that day, eat the banana. Now- there is a little more to it than this which I will cover in other posts like "binging", fear of not being able to trust yourself, and how will I know if I'm eating too much? 

Really, this is how everyone should be living. There shouldn't be a term that names balanced eating because it should be natural to us like walking and talking (and actually, it IS natural to us but we've strayed so far from that). I am excited to begin helping women get back to eating. To get back to health. To get away from the numbers and tracking mentality and get back to having a healthy relationship with food. The Lord gave us food for nourishment and also for enjoyment, open up your bible and you will find that it is full of eating and sharing in meals together. Food was never meant to be bondage, it was never meant to be obsessed over and tracked meticulously. Let's get back to eating the way we were intended to eat- let's get back to the JOY of eating and how you can do this and still meet your weight loss goals because weight does play a role in your health and wellness! 

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