While I love displaying amazing transformation photos and highlighting a client’s success, nothing hits home more than sharing a person’s dieting struggles because we all have at one point or another. Dieting isn’t easy and most of us just can’t turn it on like a switch because going in with that attitude only sets you up for failure. There will be struggles.

When I design a program, the first few weeks are all about creating dietary structure. Food prep is so integral in the success of a diet that this can’t be reiterated enough. While I’m all about food flexibility I really shy away from that in the beginning with a new client because I believe there needs to be an appreciation with preparing food, creating structure, and understanding food in almost it’s purest form for the purpose of change (yes it’s probably going to be boring from Day 0 to Day 14).

Some individuals embrace this concept right away while others might find the process overwhelming. For those that struggle, you’re not alone and it’s not a race so it doesn’t have to be perfect. To me a strategized diet program is about long term but to get there it’s imperative to get back to basics. I have a handful of clients that struggle with letting go of flavourful foods, rich sauces, a quicker lifestyle, and even also the environment of eating out. While there is nothing wrong with these choices it’s worth noting that these lifestyle behaviours no longer add quality to health and it’s important to start implementing behaviours that do and I’m not going to sugarcoat it – it can be a shock.

The key is to i) take a breath and ii) do the best you can over the first few weeks. Changing your lifestyle and choices that usually come second nature is not going to happen overnight so there’s no need to be discouraged. The initial stages in your program is like “FOOD BOOTCAMP” and once we’ve established some forward momentum, the food flexibility will open up and (most importantly) we’ll have a better understanding of RESPONSIBLE food choices and portion sizes FOR YOU.

“Being Healthy” isn’t about plain chicken breast, dry fish, and steamed asparagus (by the way, yuck!!!) because there’s so much food to enjoy in this world. A great diet brings about wonderful results but it should also be more about understanding how food works with your body and also understanding the difference between “FOOD USE” and “FOOD ABUSE”. It should also be about continuous learning (because we need to continuously eat to stay alive) and not just reverting back to an old “diet plan”. Embrace the challenges and the changes for the purpose of long term health and happiness.

“Growth and change may be painful sometimes, but nothing in life is as painful as staying stuck where you don’t belong.”