not an email about resolutions, loolol ("progress pics" tho)

Published: Tue, 01/03/17

Heyyy ,

Happy New Year! If you are on social media, literally everywhere you look people are talking about resolutions—these people over here want you to implement an entire lifestyle overhaul, and these people over here are telling you to eff resolutions and just be normal.

Well, you know I am in the camp of, “be normal” about eating. But can you get results and also be normal around food?

This is where I think we get scared: is it possible to have a good relationship with food while also achieving fat loss or muscle gain or any goal? Do you need to be somewhat obsessed with food to see results?

In my experience, you do not.

But I do think you have to objectively look at your effort-to-outcomes ratio.

Here’s what I mean. I recently shared this photo on Instagram and I thought I’d share it here too, as an example of a 180-degree difference in level of obsession and effort, for not all that much (in my opinion) better outcomes, below:

The left was 5 years ago. I was at 148 lbs, doing 2 hours of moderate intensity cardio per day, trying to white-knuckle my way through a restrictive meal plan, battling hunger and cravings hourly and thinking about food constantly. I was following random programs and plans, not understanding my body or taking into consideration my own wants and desires. I was trying to control everything all the time, and didn’t trust myself around food at all. It was a mental prison.

On the right, last week, 155 lbs, doing 30 minutes of weight-training centric exercise per day (intense AF tho), making moderate choices at every meal and managing hunger and cravings not with deprivation or binging, but with mindfulness all day long. I trust myself 100% in any situation to make healthy choices (not “perfect,” but good enough), and I hardly think about food anymore.

The BIGGEST difference was a mindset shift.
Image
Please read the caption because it’s important to know that this transition doesn’t happen overnight.

To be clear, I like both of these “looks”—one is not better than the other—it’s just a completely different way of going about eating and training. And the actual outcomes are not all that different.

What’s 7 lbs (or 10 lbs or even 20 lbs?) to not be chained to a meal plan 24/7? To not be obsessed with food? Sure, there are health implications when it comes to be being overweight or obese, but if you are obsessing over a few extra pounds, I’d ask yourself:

“How willing am I to engage in the obsession it would take to get off these 10 lbs?”

And even then, there’s no guarantee that it would be a forever solution. Because if you don’t love the means, you’ll never sustain the ends. I would argue that obsession can't ever be the solution.

You don’t crash diet your way to sustainable fat loss.

Instead, could you take the long view? And do the courageous work now—like practicing mindfulness, trusting yourself enough to learn #moderation365 and have the patience and resiliency it would take to make a sustainable lifestyle change?

Here’s the deal though: I am not going to tell you not to do a diet or cleanse or jump start or detox if you really want to. I am a fan of everyone getting a chance to have the full experience—whatever that looks like for them—and I won’t ever deny you the opportunity to grow and learn some lessons.

That’s exactly what I did, and that’s exactly what thousands of women who have worked with me in the past have done. Have all the messed up and crazy experiences so that at some point, you’ve earned the right to be discerning, and you've also left no stone unturned in terms of where the results can be found:

And that is … with you.

So this is not an email about resolutions, or what I think you should do (or not do). It’s an invitation. It’s an alternative viewpoint. It’s permission to double-down on you in 2017.

I don’t know what will work best for you. Because … I’m not you. And any coach claiming they have the secret formula to instantaneous results for millions of people is a con artist. But what I do know is that there is another way. A way that begins with you.

The only person you can trust with your results is yourself. But understanding your body, your mind and your lifestyle takes time. And it also takes trust in yourself.

Do you have the courage to try a more trusting way? A way that puts you in the driver’s seat? The old way of fighting tooth and nail to try to control everything all the time will always be there if you need it😂 So why not try something else??

I’m with you. Let me know what you need.

And happy 2017—wishing you and your loved ones an incredible year.

Xo,
Jill


P.S. Also want to send a huge THANK YOU your way. I was completely and utterly overwhelmed with the responses I received after sending out last week’s email about my relationship. I did not respond to any—just felt too heavy and I apologize for that—but I want you to know that I read every single response and simultaneously cried off and on all day long. Not out of sadness, but out of sheer gratitude for the immense support, love and empathy you all sent my way. I was truly overwhelmed, you made my 2016. Thank you.

P.P.S. My 4-Week Food Obsession Boot Camp opens for enrollment on Tuesday January 24th. If you’d like to learn more about the actual tools and strategies is takes to go from all-or-nothing dieter to someone who eats #moderation365 with zero food obsession, add your name to the wait list HERE, and I’ll make sure you get all the early details about the course.