,
I don’t know if you have ever gotten this feeling, when you are so effing excited about something that is happening … uh, not right now. And aaaaaah, you just want it to BE HERE ALREADY!
Know what I’m saying?
Over the last 6 months at JillFit, I have been flexing my mindset and business muscles, with #SuccessSessions, the
#RadicalResponsibility program, and numerous posts about personal development, success, online marketing, branding, business and how to not be a huge victim in your life.
Love that stuff. But what I also love, and what I am dyyyyying to get down to brass tacks about is NUTRITION. I cannot wait to drop a huge nutrition content bomb over the next 6 weeks! Yeah, babyyyy! January is going to be chock full of nutrition, food obsession strategies, eating tools and insights and
plenty of real-life steps you can take in real time to level up your relationship with food.
I’m not kidding, I literally have Word documents full of stuff I can’t wait to share! So, lots coming up and in this email, I want to give you a little primer, plus some options for you to start learning, growing and adopting the #moderation365 approach right meow.
I have two amazing things for you at the bottom of this
message!
But first …
The question I get the most is, “Jill, I love that you can eat moderately, and I WANT TO SO BAD. But how??! How do I get started? I don’t know what to do, I feel stuck and paralyzed. HALP!”
Yep, I feel you. And I got you.
I address this query two ways:
- I share a shitload of my own experiences in excruciating detail so that you can see how a
#moderation365 approach evolves over time (remember it took me 3 years to get!) and know that when you think, “Gee Jill, must be nice for you, but I could never…” you see that I was a classic all-or-nothing dieter for years. I could never not finish everything in front of me. I was hungry constantly. And I vacillated between periods of intense deprivation and times when I ate everything in sight with zero mindfulness. I lost and gained 20 lbs every year. I want you to know that you are
not alone and that though it can feel absolutely impossible, it’s not.
- I share my best tools and actual strategies. Insights and stories are great, and though they make us feel understood, they miss the mark in terms of supplying to-do’s. OKAY JILL, BUT WHAT THE HECK DO I DO??? I hear you, and I have provided a great way for you to get started on your journey at the bottom of this email.
So, in the interest of #1 above, and wanting to
sharing my process, I thought I’d send you one of my recent posts so you understand the mindset of moderation and how it works in real time.
I posted this photo with the text/caption below:
Over the last week, I’ve eaten chips and salsa, frozen yogurt with Reeses on top, chocolate peanut butter malt balls, wine, vodka soda, sushi rolls, bread, buffalo wings and pancakes.
These foods are fine, but they are also things that when I
was "dieting" all the time, I'd never even *consider* as options. If I was on plan, they were off limits (along with a million other things).
But over the last 4 years, I have adopted a #moderation365 approach that allows for
nothing to ever be forbidden, and allows for me to literally take bites of any food any time and not only be just fine with it mentally, but maintain my physique.
Here are some of my personal key guidelines:
- I eat way more veggies, protein and healthy fats than anything else. So intermixed with all of the above is a ton of delicious healthy food that helps me stay satiated and gives me the sustained energy to train hard and feel
good.
- I don't really ever polish things off anymore. I used to never be able to leave a bite on a plate or share a dessert (“Uh, sorry, I’m getting my own!”) or take a couple of bites of something to taste it. I would have to finish it all until it was completely gone so it would just be off my mental radar. I would vacillate between times like that and then other times when I would take zero bites of anything I deemed "bad."
- Now, anything is game, but I taste and
move on. And no, it doesn’t feel restrictive at all, in fact, it feels completely liberating, and doesn't feel hard (though it used to be super hard!). Practice makes progress. I call this Intermittent Sampling (google "JillFit Intermittent Sampling" for how to do it).
Last week, I ordered pancakes with 3 friends I was at breakfast with, and each one of us ate a half of one. Yes, with butter and syrup. But just to taste, enjoy, stay mindful and move on. It’s not about depriving
yourself--I think a lot of people think if you choose to stop at a few bites that you are white-knuckling through it, when in my experience, it’s actually the opposite. I feel completely at ease and in abundance when I don’t feel like things are off-limits. So instead of feeling deprived that I “can only have half,” I feel completely liberated that I have set up an eating strategy where I *choose* to have half of anything anytime.
- I exercise regularly doing things that I enjoy.
I am never in the gym for longer than 30 minutes because I can’t stand long workouts, but because they are short, I am able to train intensely. I prioritize weight training, and do it 5-6 days a week, 20-30 minutes and will do intervals on the treadmill or stepmill a couple times a week for 10-20 minutes. Sometimes I’ll CrossFit 1-2x/week instead of the above.
- I leisure walk daily. It calms my brain (I also listen to podcasts so it simultaneously energizes me mentally), and calms
my physiology. It offsets the intense gym sessions, and helps me lower my stress. I know some people don’t have the time to walk, but it’s crucial to your long-term success (physical and mental) to find some way to manage your stress.
- The #SatisfactionFactor of the meals needs to be on point. In other words, I need to like how I eat. So I am always asking myself, how can I make this meal more satisfying so that I won’t want to eat more and worse crap later. I preempt huge binges by doing my best to feel satisfied right this second with what I’m eating. For me, that means I will often add dietary fats to my meals and other foods that increase my enjoyment (remember, satisfied is not the same as stuffed!
This takes practice!).
As I get older, I'm less and less comfortable showing my body in photos, just feels a little off-brand. But every once in a while, I think it's warranted to show that #moderation365 is a viable option, yes, even if your goals are physique-related. I actually wish someone showed me what it looked like earlier.
To me back then, starting to eat moderately felt really scary. It felt like failure. Not hardcore enough, not good
enough. And for such a long time I refused to try it, even in the face of the fact that what I was doing (yo-yo'ing up and down 20 lbs year after year) wasn't working. But I want to remind you: the old way will always be there.
The restrictive meal plans and marathon workouts aren't going anywhere. So why not have the courage to *try* something else? Something that could potentially completely overhaul your relationship with and stress around
food?
Does it take time? Yes.
Does it take patience? Absolutely.
Does it take getting to know yourself and putting in the introspection work? You bet.
But why not just start?
Took me 3 years, but every day I'm grateful that I simply began the process when I did, with zero expectations and a whole lot of mental permission to never have to eat "perfectly." And
guess what? Since then, I never have! And THAT is what has made all the difference.
Obviously everyone is different, and you need to take the time to figure out how to create an eating strategy that actually satisfies you and fits YOU. Because you have to like how you eat. 'Cause you're going to be doing it for the rest of your life! ;)
If you are thinking, okay, okay Jill, BUT HOW DO I START?? I totally understand because I used to feel
anything besides all-or-nothing was impossible. So, I am offering a few ways for you to get involved and learn more about #moderation365 and the actual steps to start.
TWO THINGS FOR YOU: - I'm teaching all my best stuff in the new FREE 15-day training series #AntiFragile2016, starting January 5th. Get the details and register for free right here. And if you have a friend who you think could use it, I'd be honored if you'd forward this email to them.
- Many of you
have been asking, and I am (finally!) ready to announce that The Radiance Retreat for 2016 is now open for enrollment! The in-person fitness, nutrition and business event that I host with incredible fit pros (and bad betches) Jen Sinkler and Neghar Fonooni is going to be May 13-15th in Los Angeles! We are only taking 30 women and 10 spots have already been snatched up, so be sure to grab yours before the Early Bird rate goes away January 31st! Details and registration here.
So, two things: get into the #AntiFragile2016 free training, and check out the Radiance Retreat in-person event for May 2016. Hope to see you there! Cool? Cool.
Let me know if you have any questions!
Wishing you and your loved ones a beautiful holiday season! Let me know what's good!
Xo, Jill
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