For me, this year is the year of the anti-diet. I tried so many different diets last year and while I learned a lot, I also found my head spinning constantly. There were many times over the last year where I found myself sitting, completely unsure of what I could or should eat. At one point, I was afraid to eat anything but raw fruits and vegetables. I was miserable. I’ve started the re-building process and as you may know, this year is about small, meaningful changes.
I’ve followed the ladies of Tone It Up for quite some time now. I like the movement and I like the inspiration they are giving to so many women. Recently, something called out to me and I decided to jump on their website. By the end, I was ordering their nutrition plan kit and I was ready to go all in. There are many things I like about them, including the fitness portion, but I want to focus on the nutrition aspect today. The reason I hit that order button was because I was purchasing guidelines. How to eat to fuel my body with no major restrictions. I started with the Love Your Body Series because it includes meal plans to follow and I wasn’t at a place where I wanted to try to put together my own meals yet.
Yesterday was day one. The biggest thing I learned yesterday was that along the way, I forgot how to read hunger cues. I was eating when I wasn’t really hungry half the time and waiting far too long at other times. (You know, that shaky, desperate, I’ll eat anything that comes near me, type of feeling.) The layout and timing of the meals suits me perfectly and when I was bored throughout the day, I realized that I would normally grab something to eat even though I wasn’t hungry.
Knowing what to eat had become a big struggle as well. I was desperately scanning Pinterest and buying new cookbooks to try to put together meal plans. It was time consuming, expensive and still wasn’t working. I needed the guesswork taken out. If someday I decide to move toward Paleo or Vegetarianism, they have plans to support those diets plus more. For now, I’m on the regular plan with no major restrictions other than added sugar and fried foods.
One of my goals this year was to also eliminate the processed foods from my diet and my family’s as well as reduce waste. I can see this plan helping with both of these efforts. With the meal plan to follow and shopping lists provided for each week, I’m buying exactly what I need and I’m using it as long as I continue to follow the meal plan, which I will. 🙂
A big bonus that really had me excited last night was that it won’t be a huge adjustment for my husband. He went through the roller coaster with me last year which meant a lot of “weird” recipes and despite my best efforts to accommodate everyone, he ended up having those diets forced upon him come dinner time as well. Last night, I made the Chicken Cacciatore and he LOVED it. Tone It Up ladies, you have my attention. 🙂
GlowLoveThrive 