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Six Simple Steps to Stop Restricting and Start Thriving

By Jen

Are you ready to ditch the binge and restrict cycle?

Let’s bust some myths, and drop some truth bombs about what really works to ditch that torturous diet cycle (that doesn’t work anyway!). Instead, live a life of sustainable habits that actually help you thrive.

I get it. I’ve been there. I used to make ALL of the classic mistakes. Undereat to lose weight, then wonder why I had such intense cravings. Worry about how many calories my workout had burned. Laser focus on diet and exercise, and TOTALLY miss how my terrible sleep habits and poorly mananged stress was sabotaging me every step of the way.

And I now know that I was making everything more complicated than it needed to be. I honestly didn’t know just how straightforward the solution could be.

  • No, you don’t need to atone for what you think you did “wrong” or “bad” over the weekend regarding food. Depriving and restricting yourself today in the form of undereating or overexercising, or completely restricting entire food groups will just perpetuate the binge and restrict cycle!
  • Getting yourself to a place where you feel good, you feel energized, and in your optimal health zone DOESN’T require pain and suffering.
  • It doesn’t require a hyper-detailed meal plan or elaborate fitness routine. (Unless you’re an elite performance athlete. In that case you do you!).
This week, challenge yourself to simply do your best to meet your body (and mind’s!) needs, in ways that fit your bandwidth right now.

And it’s not all about food and fitness! (Repeat that to self as needed.)

It’s all about working with your biology instead of against it.

1. 😴 Prioritize sleep. For real. #sleepisthenewcaffeine

2. 🌞 Start your day with a few minutes of natural light before you reach for a screen. Minimize screen use at night (a hard truth, I know πŸ€·β€β™€οΈ). Right there, you’re book-ending your day in a way that actually supports your biology, helping every cell in your body feel and function its best. This helps you feel more energized, mentally sharper, and makes hitting your health and body composition goals happen more easily! #circadianrhythm

3. 🍲 Build your plate with real, whole or minimally refined foods, and include protein, slow-acting carbs (a.k.a. unprocessed or mininally processed), veggies & fruits, and some fat at each meal. But don’t get all rigid about it either. Save the fine tuning for later (or maybe never?). Check out my recipes and meal prep tips for inspiration. Not sure what a slow carb is? Check out this explanation, and why it’s important to priortize slow carbs over fast-acting carbs.

4. πŸ˜‹ At mealtime, let yourself eat the amount your body truly needs to help you make it through to the next meal. If you really need a snack to tide you over before the next meal, no big deal. Just be honest and check in with yourself when you feel like having a snack. Ask yourself whether it’s truly hunger (typically a hollow sort of feeling in your stomach), or if it’s something else you need that isn’t food. Maybe you simply didn’t eat enough food at that last meal. Or maybe you’re bored, anxious, or stressed (hello, 2020!) and your habit has been to reach for food to ease those feelings. (Hey, that’s completely normal! Welcome to the club.)

If you’ve been out of tune with your hunger and satiety cues for a long time (dieting will do that), be patient. It takes time to “hear” those signals in there again, reliably. It will probably be messy at first. Persevere, and maintain an overall focus on nourishing your needs in mind, body, and spirit. In doing so, you will help restablish your connection to those cues. And this is how you will finally eliminate your need for external cues like calorie counting to best determine how much you need at a given meal. *Accept that this skill is a work in progress, always.*

5. πŸšΆπŸ½β€β™€οΈπŸ’ͺ Get some movement into your day, in whatever way it will fit. If you can break up long stretches of sedentary time, even better. Create opportunities to maintain your strength and build some muscle mass. It’s life-saving. Literally. Research is showing that muscle mass is the new vital sign! You don’t need to work yourself to the point of utter exhaustion to see benefits (in fact, killin’ it to the extreme day-in and day-out is counterproductive to seeing results).

6. πŸ’‘ Connect with your people! Do what you can to build in time to connect with the people in your life that lift you up, get you laughing, and have your back.

Start where you are, use what you have, do what you can. Grow from there.

Like me, you might just discover that it is a lot simpler than you thought to break that binge and restrict cycle. You got this.

You in? Drop a comment . . . what are you doing this week to work with your biology instead of against it?

Peace,

Jen

Filed Under: Featured, Getting Started, Real Food, Real Health, The Other 3: Sleep, Stress Relief, & Movement, Why Real Food works Tagged With: behavior change, healthy habits

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About Me:

Hi, I’m Jen, and welcome to Nourished Not Famished. Here you’ll find recipes, meal ideas, and wellness tips to get lean and healthy without deprivation, restriction, or calorie counting. Nourish yourself and your loved ones with the pleasures of eating real, whole foods, using familiar, easy-to-find ingredients and without spending endless hours in the kitchen. Healthy, made easy!Β Find out about more about me here.

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Meal Prep Sunday 🌞 . . . Don't think of it in t Meal Prep Sunday 🌞 . . . Don't think of it in terms of #mealprep and #mealplan . . . what you're really doing is *powering your life*!

 How can you budget a lil' bit of time today to:
πŸ‘‰Make a loose plan for the week, or even just for the next 2-3 days. Or simply make a list of a few ideas for the week. For inspiration, look at what you already have on hand in your kitchen.
πŸ‘‰ Batchcook one or two things. It's like stocking your own personal healthy convenience store, right there in your kitchen.

🌟It's all about making "healthy" the easier, more delicious choice throughout the week. This is how you set yourself up to feel and function your best all week long (plus, it's delicious!). #winning 🌟

Nourishing yourself with real, whole foods allows your health to serve your life and all you want to do rather than get in the way of it. πŸ‘ŠπŸ’ͺ .

What are you planning and prepping today? 😊
#poweryourlife
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#realfood #everythingisconnected  #deepthoughts #nourishednotfamished #thatnourishedlife #ditchthediet #sunday #mealprepsunday #health #wellness #selfcaresunday #simplenutrition 
#nourished #batchcooking

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ReminderπŸ“£. . . it's these un-sexy, SIMPLE basi ReminderπŸ“£. . .  it's these un-sexy, SIMPLE basics that get the job done! Not just during the holidays, but *all year long*. And simple is just what you need right now, isn't it?

Resist the tempation to overthink things, and instead, just do your best to dial into these basic habits. No bells and whistles necessary - just the Big Rocks that actually work! 

Why do they work? 
πŸ‘‰ Because all of these habits focus on *giving yourself what you need to thrive*. 🌱

You might be thinking . . . 

"It can't really be that simple."

"Don't I need to count and weigh everything I put in my mouth?"

"Don't I need to take six different supplements?"

"Don't I need to hit the gym at least 6 times a week?"

I invite you to try this instead:
Spend a few months TRULY aiming to practice all of these simple habits most of the time. (Start small, and add as you feel ready.)

As you practice these habits, pause and observe:
πŸ€”How do I feel? 
πŸ€”How am I performing, physically and mentally? 
πŸ€”How do my clothes fit?
πŸ€”How have my longer-term health indicators like blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and blood glucose levels changed?

If you truly desire healthy changes that
βœ”οΈfeel sustainable
βœ”οΈ yield results
βœ”οΈ and STICK,
stop relying on willpower!

🌟Focus your efforts on *meeting your needs*, rather than restricting and depriving.🌟
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Stay in a groove with these habits this month, and you might just discover come January 1st that you feel ready to tackle the new year, no over-the-top diet and intense workout plans necessary! 

πŸ‘‰By then, you'll have already established the habits you need that let your biology work for you for optimal wellness, instead of relying so heavily on willpower.πŸ‘ˆ

Who's with me?! Will you be KISS-ing your way through the holiday season?? 

#mistletoe #healthyhabits #nourishednotfamished #tinyhabits #atomichabits #wellness #healthy #realfood #sleep #stressrelief #circadianrhythm #movement #moveyourDNA #everythingisconnected #holidays #december #protein #veggies #christmas #nourished #honoryourhunger #ditchthediet
I've got Beef Barley Lentil Soup simmering on the I've got Beef Barley Lentil Soup simmering on the stove for the perfect bowl of feel-good comfort food to wrap up the weekend (recipe details coming this week!). And thanks to Melissa over at @thehale4life for the amazing bone broth that is simply perfect with this recipe.πŸ˜‹ #shoplocal

I'm rolling with my favorite meal prep strategy - Make It a Double.
πŸ‘‡
Tonight's soup is a double batch, which will cover us for another dinner this week. 

Yeah, I know, it doesn't really even sound like official meal prep. . . *but that's the point*!πŸ˜€ 
🌟Double or triple batching what you're already making is truly one of the easiest ways to make your mealtimes easier later in the week.🌟

Meal prep mythbusting: Healthy eating doesn't have to be hard!

What do you have planned for this week that you could double or triple batch to make healthy eating easier?
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#realfoodmadesimple #healthymadeeasier #healthymadeeasy #ditchthediet #honoryourhunger #poweryourlife #ilovefood #veggies #plantforward #plantslant #protein #fat #slowcarbs #feedingmyfamily #healthyhabits #mealprep #mealplan #tinyhabits 
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While dreams of our usual Thanksgiving celebration While dreams of our usual Thanksgiving celebrations have been squashed πŸ˜‰ this year, we're grateful to savor the essence of Thanksgiving in the ways we can . . .

🌟 a delicious meal, enjoyed leisurely around the table (just the famπŸ’—)
🌟 connecting with loved ones, even if it's via Zoom and heartfelt texts
🌟 pie! (homemade apple pie πŸ˜‹)

❓How are you savoring this 2020 Thanksgiving?

Squash platter deets:
πŸ‘‰ roasted maple, brown butter, and aleppo chile Kabocha squash
πŸ‘‰ Tuscan kale (massaged to wilt it a bit)
πŸ‘‰ toasted walnuts
πŸ‘‰ drizzle of pomegranate molasses
πŸ‘‰ tangy yogurt dressing (Greek yogurt, lemon juice, pinch of cumin, salt & pepper)

#justoneyear #wecandothis #strongertogether #thanksgiving #grateful #connected #realfood #ilovefood #honoryourhunger #family #friends #health #squash #plants #veggies #omnivore 
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