It's NOT About Deprivation

When you reach the place you want to be, it should not be about constantly feeling deprived. If you are starting today and looking at what you eat now versus what you will eat on a consistent basis when you get where you want, you might get a little sick at the thought. If you take your time and make changes over time, you will learn to love foods you may not love or even like now. You will have greater awareness of how your body reacts to food and how foods make you feel. You will appreciate in ways you never thought possible how eating wholesome food gives you more sustained energy, better appearance and vitality. The benefits are endless. So if you ever see someone who is about the body composition you want to be, and you look at what they eat on a daily basis and think to yourself you could never do that ... in a way I agree with you. It is really hard to jump from one extreme to another. The process is layered. Start with some simple changes, listen to your body ... become aware of how you react to food and you will not only be smarter about food, you will obtain all sorts of benefits you never imagined. You will feel great. You will have developed great habits. And it will trickle into other areas of your life. If you need a place to start, start by taking control of your health and watch where it can take you.

For me, I can state several examples. I used to not get much enjoyment out of salad. Now I crave them. I used to be afraid of dietary fat, but now I understand the different types and what types work well for body composition, skin complexion, etc. I used to eat a lot of bread. Even though it was whole wheat bread, I started realizing my body didn't respond well to it. When I substituted vegetables for bread, I found great energy improvements. I found all sorts of varieties of fish that I really enjoy but used to never eat. I used to be a cereal junkie, but I found that oatmeal worked really well for me. I used to eat a lot of sweet, sugary snacks. My threshold of what was really "Sweet" has changed. Whereas all-natural unsweetened applesauce used to taste like water to me, it now tasted deliciously sweet and adds great flavor to my regular oatmeal.

Changes like this come over time. Like I stated before, cutting out sweets is a perfect place to start, but your body will fight you. It will still want to eat them but if you are patient and a little tough at first, those pangs will go away and you will appreciate healthier foods that much more.

When you are in "that place", healthy foods will be what you crave. It will be easy. A 90% compliance rule is a good one. You can see fantastic results by eating great 90% of the time and saving those 10% for special events if needed.