Don’t Diet and Exercise

The sheer thought of diet and exercise makes most people cringe. When you hear “diet and exercise” you think “deprive and punish.” At least that’s what those of us that have always been on a weight loss roller coaster think. A diet is a temporary means to weight loss. Exercise is what you do when you feel guilty.

Diet and exercise. They go together like fuck it and extra fries. It’s setting yourself up for failure and disappointment. And when you’re bummed out about cheating on your diet or ashamed of not wanting to exercise, it can snowball into an avalanche of self-loathing and binge eating that buries you into quitting.

Stop it with diet and exercise. I no longer diet and exercise. Instead, I eat and train.

I didn’t have that perspective until I read one of the oh-so inspirational @lella.fit ‘s IG posts not long ago. Eat. And. Train. So simple and perfect, yet mind blowing.

Eat to nourish, train to strengthen. It’s a refreshing mindset after dieting and exercising to lose weight. Shift the focus from “I can’t have this or I’ll have to do that” to “I will eat this so I can do that.”

I train to sweat, clear my head, feel accomplished, boost energy, and get stronger. I eat to fuel my body, give it the nutrients it needs, and to satisfy my tastebuds, of course.

Sometimes that last bit means “unhealthy” foods because I love me some pizza and chocolate. I just don’t beat myself up over it because when I do indulge it’s [usually] in moderation and the other 80% of the time I’m eating healthy stuff.

So much of fitness is mindset and attitude. Change the way you look at things and the things you look at change. Nix the diet and exercise roller coaster and embrace the eat and train lifestyle. It’s so much easier and more satisfying to sustain. 💜