back to basics ~ be positive ~ thursday things
by Katie Webster
January 1, 2015 (updated 3/17/20)
Thursday Things ~ a New Year means we’re getting back to basics. Today I want to talk a bit about focusing on the positive when it comes to healthy eating.
During the month of January at Body Resolution ( that’s the health club where I teach BodyPump and BodyAttack) we’re focusing on Back to Basics in all of our group fitness classes. That means we’ll make sure we are getting back to all of the very basics of fitness, from talking about levers in the weight lifting classes, to reviewing keeping a neutral stance to initiate a move. I’m really looking forward to it, and it really got me thinking about the next month ahead of us here on Healthy Seasonal Recipes.
Specifically I have been thinking about the very basic ideas of about getting dinner on the table, cooking from scratch, cooking one meal for the whole family, strategies for healthy eating all day and all sorts of nutrition basics. I hope you will enjoy this and chime in with thoughts and/other ideas for topics as we visit these basics over the next month, and we start our year off with a great foundation!
For the very first post of the year I wanted to talk about one of my favorite topics of intuitive eating and being positive about our diets.
If you’ve been around here for a while you’ve heard some of this no diet kind of stuff from me before. If not, make sure to catch this post from 2011 about eating everything in moderation and this one about how to find satisfaction and this one about a lifetime of healthy eating.
Today though, I want to talk about being positive about eating healthfully. Having a good attitude about eating healthfully is like so many things in life– it’s half the battle! Specifically what I want to say today, is about avoiding the lure of the New Years Resolution diet. Here’s my opinion on the matter put simply: Promising yourself a diet is like a drug. Just say no to it.
During this time of headlines that promise the New Year New You or drop 5 pounds in two days, a lot of us want to make a list of rules to live by to get ourselves out of the deep cookie filled hole. It gives us hope. Just making the promise almost causes the endorphins to start churning. But like a druggie getting a fix, there is always a down.
I know, I know, we probably all want to shed a few elbees. (BTW, I’m totally raising my hand right now too.) And it seems like having a black and white list of what we can and can’t eat would surely make it easier to drop weight.
Wouldn’t it be easy to go paleo for a month? Or do the no carb thing. Or swear off sugar for the next 21 days or whatever? 
Probably. And you would probably loose weight by doing so.
But it wouldn’t solve anything in a sustaining way. Then comes the creep, and before you hit May, you’re promising yourself another bikini ready diet. Another diet drug fix.
Should we eat less gluten and sugar? Heck yes. I am all about that. And I get that some of you may already be on a restrictive diet for reasons other than weight loss and I totally get that too.
But on the weight loss and balanced healthy eating spectrum, there is a basic that I want to get back to. This is it: I want to avoid thinking about those foods I want to eat LESS of. Instead I want to focus positive energy on the healthy foods I want to eat MORE of. Know what I mean? Instead of thinking about restricting your diet, think more about trying to get in more greens or switching your grains to whole ones, cooking from scratch. And many more.
I think making a gradual shift back to a healthy and balanced diet where we all give ourselves permission to eat intuitively will be our path to success. Trust yourself. It took me a lot of failed diets to take the risk to finally do that, and I am so glad I did. The next step to getting back on track is then to think about what we want more of, not restriction.
Some of you would be trying intuitive eating first time, and if so you should look into this book, because it sounds scary and like it wouldn’t work. If you were already there before the holidays, then it is just a matter of reminding ourselves about all those basics we already know.
Trust me, I have the button on my jeans unbuttoned as I sit here, and I would love to have an easy way out and a clear black and white solution. As a long time dieter who is now reformed, I know the pull of the diet drug. But the truth of the matter is that, if you want to get to a place where you’re not obsessing about food and you want peace, you have to give yourself permission to eat even the black the white and the gray.
Make no mistake, it will probably take a bit longer to drop the pounds, but I promise they will stay off longer if you take your time and implement positive thinking that will help bring healthy lifetime changes.
You are awesome. I am right here with you. Trust yourself. We can do this.
QUESTIONS:
Have you tried intuitive eating?
What are some of the positives you want to focus on?
Do you have some ideas for the basics we should talk about this month?
Did you ever feel like you got a rush from starting a diet?
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Katie Webster
Katie Webster studied art and photography at Skidmore College and is a graduate of the New England Culinary Institute. She has been a professional recipe developer since 2001 when she first started working in the test kitchen at EatingWell magazine. Her recipes have been featured in numerous magazines including Shape, Fitness, Parents and several Edible Communities publications among others. Her cookbook, Maple {Quirk Books} was published in 2015. She launched Healthy Seasonal Recipes in 2009. She lives in Vermont with her husband, two teenage daughters and two yellow labs. In her free time, you can find her at the gym, cooking, stacking firewood, making maple syrup, and tending to her overgrown perennial garden.
Abstaining from excessive food intake ought not be a word. The best way to be “sound” is to make eating REAL entire sustenances that nurish your body a way of life. When I found what worked for me (which still changes on occasion), my energy for sustenance and cooking as just developed to an ever increasing extent!
Ohhh yes. Dieting as a drug. The damn past can stay in the past!
I love the concept of intuitive eating- I look at my sister who replicates it to a ‘T’- However, I’ve never been able to do it and one of my goals is to gain some muscle so will be actually eating more than usual in the coming months!
Such a refreshing post! You’re going to have an epic year.
Arman, thanks for your comment. I am sure you have a pretty great balance. Focusing on the “more of this” kind of thing is perfect. Happy new year
Love Love Love this post, Katie! Learning and practicing mindful/intuitive eating is what got me out of my disordered eating, which no diet or pills could’ve done. It is so liberating not to become obsessed about not eating a particular food because really, no food should be off limits. Thanks for the reminder, my sweet friend! Happy New Year!
I totally agree that no food should be off limit too. I think back on all the time I wasted my energy obsessing and counting calories, when all along I could have trusted my own body to do the work for me. It is liberating. That is the perfect word for it.
I’ve never really thought of dieting as a drug, but you’re totally right! The expectations and anticipation are irresistible aren’t they?
I think so for sure. Thanks so much for coming by Rebecca.
Dieting should not even be a word. The only way to be “healthy” is to make eating REAL whole foods that nurish your body a lifestyle. Once I found what worked for me (which still changes at times), my passion for food and cooking as only grown more and more!
Yes the shift to a lifestyle, something that is not temporary, is exactly the key to maintaining a healthy balance. Eating real foods is a big part of it too. Those are the foods that truly satisfy.Thank you so much for your comment Rebecca. I am glad you agree.
I feel like I’d be rather horrible at intuitive eating. 😡 I already eat pretty healthily (this past month’s holiday treats explosion being the exception), but I have a tendency to eat way too much, haha. If it’s in front of me, it will likely disappear, so I’m working on moderation at the moment. :]
I definitely agree with you on making gradual changes though! :] That’s what I’ve been telling my [preceptor’s] patients at work when they say they want to be healthier!
There is a whole section in Intuitive Eating about how to know when youre satisfied so you don’t eat too much. It is a skill. One that has to be learned and practiced. We’re born with it, but unfortunately a lot of loose the ability to access it over time. You have it in you Farrah. I am sure of it, and you are well on your way if the foods you are eating are healthy. I am so glad you stopped by for this post, and left a comment. Happy new year.
Beautiful winter clicks, Katie. The first photo looks particularly great.
I don’t make any resolution any more..nor do I start a new diet this year..I think I have been eating quite healthy..but I haven’t found the right exercise..
Happy New Year to you, Katie!
Angie
Thank you Angie. And assuming your recipes are indicative of what you eat, no need for any diets or resolutions:) It looks so healthy and yummy. The exercise thing is tough. I worked out on my own for years and years before discovering group fitness. It was so hard to try it the first time, but I quickly fell in love with it. You’ll find the exercise that works for you. I have no doubt.