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No Diets in the New Year: Week 1

Hi 🙂

Are you ready?

 

Twelve weeks of “No Diets in the New Year” starts today!!!

12 weeks of No Diets is about making more mindful choices… Listening to our body, responding to it’s natural hunger cues, and eating what our body needs.

Throughout the holiday season I definitely did some mindless snacking/drinking… a little too much 😉 But I never beat myself up over it. I just tried to make more mindful choices the rest of the day(s). With dieting season officially in full swing (hello Taco Bell diet), I say ignore it all and work towards making small changes towards a healthier lifestyle.

Starting today, every Monday I will be posting a new non-diet tip, a nutrition goal, and a killer workout from the fabulous Jessica from How Sweet It Is! By the way… I can’t tell you how excited I am about these workouts!!! This is exactly what I’ve been looking for!!

There a couple of points I want to touch on before we get started.

  1. Don’t view “Not Dieting” as another diet. The main premise behind “Not Dieting” is to eat when we’re hungry and get in tune with our body. If this is viewed as a diet, then cheating would be eating when we’re not hungry, or for emotional reasons. The body is very forgiving. We’re human and there will be times we eat when we’re not hungry. We should just accept it for what it is and wait until we’re hungry again to eat.
  2. This can be started anytime. If you’re not ready to start today, start whenever you’re ready. The info will be here 🙂

 

Mindful Tip #1

Eat When You’re Hungry, Stop When Satisfied…

Reaching and maintaing a healthy weight is all about WHY we eat and HOW much we eat. When we consistently eat for reasons other then hunger, we will gain weight. The key word CONSISTENTLY. We all have our moments… but it’s what we do consistently over time that matters the most. Our body is very smart. It tells us when it needs food and it tells us when it’s had enough food. It’s important to NEVER let our body get overly hungry… this can set us up to overeat.

Here’s how to tell if you’re hungry (ranging from gentle to ravenous):

  • Mild gurgling or gnawing the the stomach
  • Growling noises
  • Feeling lightheaded
  • Difficulty concentration
  • Uncomfortable stomach pain
  • Irritability
  • Feeling faint
  • Headaches
  • Any combination of the above

Are we really hungry or just bored?

Before we eat, let’s ask ourselves these questions:

  • Are we hungry or thirsty? Often times we can mistake hunger for thirst. We may actually be dehydrated. Try drinking some water before eating.
  • Are we eating because of emotion? This is a big one!! Eating for emotion can mean a number of things… eating because we’re sad, happy, lonely, depressed, bored, anxious, stressed, hormonal, etc… Emotional eating is such a big deal. When we stop eating for emotion, we have to find a way to deal with those emotions in ways other than food.
  • Did we get enough sleep? Sometimes I feel so physically tired I think I need to eat…. WRONG! Getting enough zzzz’s at night is so important. We need to make sure our sleep schedule is allowing for enough rest.


NUTRITION TIP #1

Make water your beverage of choice.

This is something I seriously struggle with! I don’t drink enough water! This can be a big player in the “Are we hungry or thirsty” factor. I’m not big on juices or any calorie containing beverage… I just don’t drink enough period. I’m going to make it point to always carry a bottle of water with me.

Water goal for the week: Drink at least 12oz of water with breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and drink 8-12 oz of water between each meal.


WORKOUT OF THE WEEK

Click here for Jessica’s No More Resolutions Workout!

No More Resolutions will run for 12 weeks along with No Diets in the New Year

There are beginner, intermediate, and advanced workouts for everyone! My favorite thing about these workouts is that they can be done at home! I did Jessica’s Functional Workout this morning and LOVED it!! It was an awesome workout!!!

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Do you have any questions?

I’m happy to answer any questions you may have. I started a “12 Weeks No Diets” page. Every Mondays post/tip will be on that page.

If you have any workout specific questions, go to Jessica’s Blog at How Sweet It Is. 🙂


 

25 Responses

  1. Jessica said on January 4, 2010 at 9:26 am

    So glad you liked the functional workout!!

  2. Joanna Sutter (Fitness & Spice) said on January 4, 2010 at 9:44 am

    We are on the same page, sweetheart! I am guilty of the mindless holiday munching. I am back on track as of a week ago…I’m sucking back the water and feeding my body for fuel and not out of stress/entertainment/boredom. Focus, focus, focus!

  3. Anna@ Newlywed, Newly Veg said on January 4, 2010 at 10:08 am

    Great tips!! I’m bad about eating when I’m bored, as well as not stopping when I’m comfortably full. Too often I STUFF myself because I feel the need to finish everything on my plate. I’d love to be able to overcome this unhealthy habit.

  4. katie said on January 4, 2010 at 11:15 am

    GREAT tips girl!!! water is sooo important

  5. Heather @ The Joyful Kitchen said on January 4, 2010 at 11:16 am

    I love yours and Jessica’s blogs! I started the “no diet” diet (?) a couple months ago, but it’s so nice to have the encouragement from you!

  6. Diana @ frontyardfoodie said on January 4, 2010 at 11:16 am

    This is great! I suppose this should just be how we live so I’m totally going to do this….just forever. haha

    Thanks for the motivation!

  7. The Candid RD said on January 4, 2010 at 11:19 am

    I am working really hard at “mindful eating” this year. I do a really great job of it during the day, but not at night (which is where most people have problems). I need to learn how to not have food, just because my bf is eating something. So far (day 4, haha) I’m doing great! We’ll see if I can stay on top of this. I should be able to practice what I preach!

  8. Carolyn said on January 4, 2010 at 11:24 am

    Thanks for the tips…Happy New Year Weekly Bite!

  9. Tracey @ I'm Not Superhuman said on January 4, 2010 at 11:27 am

    Great blog! I’m guilty of mindlessly eating, too. Usually boredom is culprit, so I should know better. I just got back from a week at my parents and since there are so many food options just hanging around I had a hard time stopping. Hopefully I’ll have more success this week!

  10. Mommy RD said on January 4, 2010 at 11:33 am

    This is a great idea, as one or two simple goals are a great focus to do each week. I too, should work on water. I just don’t like it. I like Crystal Light, low cal juices, and teas, but not big on water.
    I’m always up for checking out new workout moves.

    Thanks!

  11. Marisa (Loser for Life) said on January 4, 2010 at 11:54 am

    READY!!!!!! Thank you so much for doing this! This is exactly the way of living that I am working toward this coming year. I already have reminders (flashcards!) to ask myself the hunger questions and am really going to focus on tuning in to my body!

  12. Emily (A Nutritionist Eats) said on January 4, 2010 at 12:54 pm

    I love your point about eating consistently – sometimes I get down on myself when I feel like I’m eating ALL day…but I need to realize that MOST days aren’t like that. And that my hunger will vary day to day! Going to head over for the workout!

  13. Casey @ SpicyandSweet said on January 4, 2010 at 1:59 pm

    Thanks for posting this!! Great advice, and very encouraging :)!

  14. Total Fit Girl said on January 4, 2010 at 2:15 pm

    Great tips! Happy new year!

  15. Total Fit Girl said on January 4, 2010 at 2:26 pm

    Great tips, thanks!

  16. Light Delight with TouTou said on January 4, 2010 at 3:12 pm

    Yah! finally you post it! I love to read them – very useful tips, especially that why we are hungry part. Yeah, sometimes waters cures 😀 but I reach out for some sweets. need to make a change of that habit!

  17. Kristen said on January 4, 2010 at 4:20 pm

    Great tips! I think we often eat just cause we are bored, I know I am guilty of it from time to time.

  18. Kristi Rimkus said on January 4, 2010 at 11:37 pm

    Great post. I hate the word “diet” and love the idea of mindful eating. Most of us know when we are eating out of boredom. The tips on knowing when you are truly hungry are a great reminder to help decide if you’re bored or really hungry.

  19. eatingRD said on January 5, 2010 at 1:59 am

    Love this! I actually was able to get in tune with my hunger/satiety more over break. I need to check out Jessica’s workouts! Happy New Year 🙂

  20. Averie (LoveVeggiesAndYoga) said on January 5, 2010 at 5:19 pm

    Jessica just linked over here and you guys both have great info and content, love it!!!

  21. Danielle (Coffee Run) said on January 5, 2010 at 5:42 pm

    I love this! Those are some great tips. I can def. relate to the “Are you hungry or thirsty?” confusion (I need to drink more water)

  22. LC @ Let Them Eat Lentils said on January 6, 2010 at 4:32 pm

    SUCH a fun idea! Excellent thought about “don’t make this just another diet because that defeats the point”

  23. Lu said on January 6, 2010 at 10:20 pm

    Yay! I love it. I’m all over this. I love your tips.

  24. multivitamins said on January 7, 2010 at 1:40 am

    Hello
    You have give nice tips and specially I like that nutrition tip.I think I should really follow this tip as I drink less water.Thank you very much for giving such useful diet tips to us.I will try to follow it.

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    My girlfriends an myself have been getting a great new dieting supplement at this site, Has anybody tried it so I can add some feedback. It’s at Buy Acai Berry. Let us know what you think. thx!

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