If you had your car repaired and it worked temporarily, you wouldn’t say, “It worked, but then I blew it.” Yet with most diet and lifestyle programs, people may see short term results, but blame themselves when they find it’s hard to follow their rules indefinitely. In fact, most people we work with have a long list of programs that didn’t work long-term because diets aren’t sustainable.

Attainable is not the same as sustainableI was on the phone with a smart professional who’s really good at what he does. As often happens when people find out what kind of work I do, he shared what he’s tried in the past to control his eating, including some of the advice he’d been given by various people.

(You know the list: Intermittent fasting, low carb, counting points, rigorous workouts, cleanses, and so on…)

And despite success in other areas of his life, this is an area he continued to struggle with.

He explained that everything seems to work—for a while—then ended his story with this phrase that reminded me why I do what I do:

“…so I’m just hoping I can find something I can sustain.”

If it’s not sustainable, then it doesn’t “work”!It’s so frustrating to me that diet-culture has trained people to think that short-term changes mean their diets or lifestyle plans “work”—but when they stop working, it’s your fault. So, you’re right back to searching for something else to put your hope in (and waste your time and money on).

I’m all for lifestyle changes, but if a diet’s not sustainable, then it didn’t work!

Show the world how hard we tried!In the Comments section below, we compiled a list of the programs we tried that “worked” but didn’t last. (I went first!) By making a list of all the diets, plans, and programs we’ve been on, we start to break down diet-culture’s lies by showing that we DID try. We didn’t fail. The diets, programs, and plans failed us!

Hear me! If you’ve been on the diet roller coaster, it’s not because you failed. Diet culture failed you by convincing you their outside-in, when-then approach could actually change things:

When you follow these rules, then you’ll feel good.

Aren’t you done postponing your life until you can finally stick to some magical formula?

Aren’t you sick of all the ridiculous and unsustainable rules? Aren’t you tired of the restriction that leaves you feeling left out and helpless? Aren’t you exhausted from spending so much of your energy trying to stick to a plan that you can’t wait to get off?

How about trying something truly different?Some may still want to try another diet or extreme workout program. I get it; the allure of a quick fix is powerful and makes it easy to forget all the other times it didn’t last because diets aren’t sustainable.

But the person I’m talking to now is the one who is tired of the “latest and greatest” fad and is craving a lasting approach to crafting a vibrant life.

Is that you?

A when-then that actually makes senseWhen all the fads have failed you, when all the outside-in work you’ve done just leads right back to where you started, then it’s time to try an inside-out approach.

If you say, “Michelle, I’ve tried everything,” I can only say, “You haven’t tried this.”

But where do you start?

With Mindful Eating!

Our mission is to help you restore your relationship with food and put you in charge, listening to (and trusting!) your body, and feeling fully equipped to meet your needs.

It’s a huge shift from all the crap (sorry, but that’s the way I feel) out there that promise that eating on a certain schedule, practically eliminating a certain food group, or even that their old plan “reimagined” is fundamentally different from everything else you’ve tried!

Instead, I want to offer you an inside-out approach that will change the way you think about food… if you’re ready and willing!

Click here to learn about our Level 1 Mindful Eating Support Community. It includes live Zoom Workshops and individual coaching with me (Michelle May MD) and too many other benefits to list here!

I’d love the opportunity to show you that although diets aren’t sustainable, freedom and peace with food is possible!

The post Do you have a list of programs that “worked” —temporarily? appeared first on Am I Hungry?.