Ways to improve health without directly pursuing weight loss
No food rules is really #0 on this list. These ideas are listed in no particular order as some ways to improve your health.
Let’s focus on healthy behaviors instead of *just* pursuing weight loss!
1. Improve sleep habits. Are you getting 7-8 hours of quality sleep per night? If not, what do you need to do to change that? Of course if you’re in the newborn or baby (or heck even young child) stage, this is likely not something you can change at the moment. But if there are not limitations like this on your sleep what can we do to help your sleep hygiene. You can look into developing better sleep habits like leaving your phone out of your room, going to bed earlier (which likely means winding down earlier), and starting a calming bedtime routine.
2. Drink more water and less alcohol. Note I am not telling you to give up alcohol. We all know there are pros and cons to drinking, and being an adult you can make that decision for yourself. If you choose to imbibe, try to make every other drink a straight up water on the rocks :)
3. Don’t skip meals. This can mess with your blood glucose levels, lead to being hangry and possibly overeating or bingeing, and affect sleep habits (see #!). If you know you have a busy day ahead, try to plan for this with larger snacks or a bigger breakfast before you set off. Having a set afternoon snack can also be helpful to avoid any tendency to overeat in the evening.
4. Find fruits and vegetables you actually like. This is key in that if you don’t like a food, you’re less likely to eat it and make it a habit. So find what you do like and if the answer is nothing, then try a different preparation method. I hated brussel sprouts until I had them roasted with olive oil and sprinkled with cheese and herbs. Mmmhmm! Remember to add foods in, not take them out.
5. Move your body (in a way that feels good to YOU). Maybe this is a daily stretching routine, three times a week weight lifting or Peloton rides, doing barre with your besties on a weekend, or walking your dog after work. Maybe you are not used to enjoying movement and feel that you can only do cardio to feel the burn or it’s not worth it. I’d encourage you to work with your dietitian and therapist on this mindset.
6. Seek authentic connection. And surprise, this may be with yourself! Finding joy in life makes it more worthwhile, you have to seek it to have it. And it takes work to maintain it. I am no expert in this so I’ll leave that to you to do your own reading, research, and therapy.
7. Manage stress and anxiety levels. If you have increased stress levels, it makes it harder to eat, enjoy meals, and maintain your body’s happy weight (thanks to an increased cortisol level). Reach out to your dietitian and therapist on helping you create a more peaceful environment around mealtimes.
This is now the third point in a row where I recommend therapy so you are probably seeing a pattern here. If therapy is not in your budget, seek out other low-cost or free ways to manage your stress:
I have another post on mindful eating and another here on binge eating with includes recommendations on deep breathing.
You can also look into mindfulness meditations on Insight Timer, a free mindfulness app
Journal or color
Practice yoga
Get outside and into some sunshine
As a gentle reminder, I and other non-diet practitioners are not anti-dieters! I am here today simply to say that you can have a history with dieting and know you can have a future without it.