How to get healthy in 2023

The diet and exercise industry is bananas this time of the year. They capitalize on everyone’s desire to get healthy in the new year. They tell you that this diet or exercise plan is the right way. Here’s the thing. It is not the diet or exercise plan that will get you to your healthy body weight. How you think and feel about your body, food, and yourself will create your results. Here is a different approach to getting healthy in 2023.

Focus on how you want to feel.

Most of us focus on what we want to weigh. The only reason you want to weigh a certain amount is because of how you think you will feel when you get there. If how you want to feel is really your ultimate goal, then focus on that instead of what the scale says. What would this look like? Instead of picking foods that will help you lose weight, choose foods that make your body feel good. For example, I know that if I eat a carb-rich meal without protein and fat, I will be hungry much sooner. This doesn’t mean I don’t eat carbs. It means I know how I feel when eating them and plan accordingly.  Focusing on how you want your body to feel allows you to look at food in terms of what your body needs instead of what you need to deprive yourself of. Secondly, when you focus on how you feel, you won’t be as bothered if the scale goes up a bit or doesn’t drop for a week or two. If you are in tune with your body and the foods you are eating, you will have the confidence and patience to wait for the scale to catch up. 

Make the habits your goal instead of your weight.

As I alluded to above, during weight loss, there are weeks that you won’t lose weight, and there are weeks that the scale might go up. This can happen even when you are eating according to your “plan.” When you focus on the scale, you make that mean that the diet isn’t working or that you are incapable of losing weight. Then you stop with your current program and go back to your old eating habits. What if you focused on the habits you want to create instead of the weight? The habits that I have found helpful for simple, sustainable, and kind weight loss are only eating when I am hungry, stopping when I am full, and mostly eating the foods that make my body feel good. What are the healthy body habits you want to incorporate?

Learn how to enjoy all food.

I used to believe that I had to eliminate certain foods from my life in order to lose weight. I told myself carbs were bad. The thing is, I didn’t eliminate them. I restricted them from my diet and then overate them when I was feeling deprived. Instead of getting healthy and feeling connected to my body, I developed the unhealthy relationship of deprivation and binging. Now, instead of saying carbs are bad, I have learned how to eat them without going overboard. I know how much carbs in a meal or day make my body feel great. I mostly try to stick to that. Not because carbs are bad, but because I am focused on how I want to feel. 

If you want to stick to your healthy body goals this year, focus on how you want to feel, make the habit (not weight) your goal, and learn how to enjoy all foods.