Congratulations, you made it! You learned how to eat clean, made major changes to your diet, and jump-started your weight loss. Now it’s time for the training wheels to come off. So how can you keep on applying what you’ve learned from Eat Clean, Stay Lean once you’re no longer following the plan? If you’re trying to lose more weight, how can you deal with the dreaded plateau? And most importantly, how can you maintain your momentum once the initial enthusiasm of eating clean wears off?
Maybe you’ve already reached your goal weight by following the Eat Clean, Stay Lean plan and are looking to maintain that loss. Or maybe the plan was more of a kick-starter to help you lose those first 10 or 20 pounds quickly, and now you’re ready to continue losing weight at a more moderate pace. Regardless of what your plans for the future might be, you’ve learned the skills you need to eat clean and are ready to try doing it on your own.
Which, sure, might seem a little scary. Without a set of expert-designed menus and meals to guide you, who’s to say that you’ll be able to keep eating clean? Who’s to say that you won’t cave to an intense craving that throws you off the wagon for the rest of the day—or even longer? Worst of all, who’s to say that you won’t regain the weight you worked so hard to lose—and then some?
Well, you, of course! You strove to learn all of the ins and outs of eating clean. You made the effort to plan your weekly menus. You dedicated the time to shopping for groceries and preparing all of your meals and snacks. You sought to understand the difference between true hunger and a craving. You put strategies in place to surround yourself with support, resist temptations, and make clean choices even when the situation was less than ideal.
You cleaned up your diet, took control of your health, and lost the weight. Nobody did it for you! So give yourself the credit you deserve, and start practicing a little bit of self-trust. You’ve already proven that you’re a pro at eating clean and getting lean. And as long as you keep on planning, cooking, eating, and moving by those same principles, things won’t suddenly change just because you’re flying solo. And that’s good news!
If you’ve ever lost weight on a diet only to regain it almost as soon as the diet was over, you might be wondering whether this time will actually be any different. It will, and here’s why: Eating clean is a lifestyle based around the very simple—but very powerful—principle of choosing real, nutrient-dense foods over processed, empty-calorie fare. When you eat clean, you give your body what it needs to feel energized and what you need to feel satisfied. To fight stress, boost your mood, and sleep well. And most importantly, to keep the (majority of) your cravings at bay. In short, eating clean makes you feel really, really good. And when you feel good, you want to do good. You’re motivated to keep choosing clean foods. To pay closer attention to your body’s hunger and fullness cues so that you don’t get up from the table feeling uncomfortably full. To enjoy your favorite treats in a moderate way that leaves you feeling happy, not guilty. To make physical activity a regular part of your life. To take responsibility for your weight—and your health.
Yes, the meals, snacks, and menus on this plan were calorie-controlled to help you lose the most weight you could as quickly as possible. If you want to get lean quickly, you have to make a strategic effort to cut back. But now that you’ve moved past the jump-start phase, it’s time to shift your focus more toward maintaining your healthy habits. Of course, that doesn’t mean that calories no longer count at all. When you consistently take in more energy than you need—whether it’s from chocolate ice cream or chicken breast—you end up gaining weight. But as you might have learned from trying to diet in the past, keeping track of all those numbers day in and day out isn’t sustainable.
What is sustainable? Committing to eating clean, paying attention to your hunger and emotions, and employing other behaviors that set you up for success. Healthy choices beget more healthy choices. Now it’s time to put the core principles that you’ve learned from Eat Clean, Stay Lean to work in your everyday life and let them act as both your motivator and your guide.
Planning ahead is, hands down, the number one step you can take to set yourself up for clean-eating success, whether you’re following a weight-loss plan or not. When you plan ahead, you give yourself the time and space to make a clean choice—and figure out exactly what you need to do in order to follow through. You can have all the good intentions in the world to eat clean. But when you get home after work and realize that the only thing in your fridge is leftover mac and cheese, or you’re ravenous and are stuck with whatever’s in the office vending machine because you forgot to pack a clean snack, the obstacle to actually making a clean choice becomes considerably more difficult to overcome.
The good news? You already know how to build your weekly menus and plan ahead. And because you’ve been doing it for weeks and taking notes along the way, you have a good idea of what works for you and what doesn’t. Maybe you’ve learned that yogurt and fruit for breakfast helps you stay fuller than a smoothie does. Or that you should time your afternoon snack so that you have something healthy to nibble on when the office manager brings in that mouthwatering pastry tray like clockwork every Friday afternoon. Or perhaps that it’s essential to rely on easy-assembly meals on nights when you get home later, because they let you get dinner on the table sooner and feel less tempted to snack on junk. Whatever it is, you’ve dedicated the time to getting to know yourself better—and you’ve reaped the healthy benefits.
So even though you’re finished with Eat Clean, Stay Lean, commit to being a habitual planner. Print out a year’s worth of weekly menu templates and stick them in a binder so you always have a fresh one handy—and so you can refer to menus from the past. Make a spreadsheet. Download a meal-planning app. Use a simple notebook and pen. How you make your plan doesn’t matter, as long as you keep on doing it. Not sure you’ll remember? Schedule weekly reminders in your calendar or phone.
Do you love having scrambled eggs, toast, and tomatoes every morning for breakfast? Look forward to that afternoon apple and peanut butter more than any other snack? Go ahead and enjoy! Having a core group of meals and snacks that are delicious, satisfying, and above all easy to prep makes clean menu planning a breeze. Plus, on those rare occasions when you don’t have a plan, you can turn to one of these old favorites rather than trying to figure out something totally new on the fly.
And remember, this holds for all the meals and snacks you ate on the Eat Clean, Stay Lean plan. If there were certain recipes that you kept coming back to over and over again during these last 3 or 6 weeks, make them mainstays on your future menus, too.
Sticking with your go-to meals makes clean meal prep a cinch. But you also know that variety is the spice of life—and good health! So when you can, find ways to make simple, low-stress swaps while keeping things familiar. Alternate between berries and chopped pear in your yogurt. Instead of the usual carrots, dunk red pepper strips in your hummus. Make a batch of quinoa for your dinner side one week, then do brown rice the next week. Different foods contain different nutrients, and switching things up ensures that you regularly hit all of your bases. And by keeping your taste buds engaged, you’ll also keep your cravings for sugary, salty, or fatty processed fare at bay.
Weighing and measuring every single thing you eat is pretty unrealistic. (Imagine bringing a measuring cup to the swanky restaurant downtown. Silly, right?) Still, making an effort to keep your portions in check is key to maintaining your weight loss or continuing to lose more. So how can you keep on being portion smart when you’re not eating Eat Clean, Stay Lean recipes? Keep these tactics in mind.
• Measure healthy fats. Tasty foods like olive oil, avocados, and nuts and nut butters are crazy good for you. But they’re also pretty caloriedense, so it’s important to pay attention to how much you’re eating. When you’re cooking, measure out these higher-fat ingredients (as well as butter and cheese) instead of adding them willy-nilly. When snacking on nuts, count them out or measure them with a measuring cup instead of just grabbing a big handful. (Measure those snacks in advance for easy grab-and-go options—and to make it easy to resist the temptation to mindlessly reach for a second handful.)
• Sleuth out the serving size. For packaged foods, get into the habit of checking the nutrition label to see what actually counts as a serving. If the label offers a specific number, like 8 crackers or 10 tortilla chips, count them out. If it gives a measurement, like 1 cup of yogurt or ¾ cup of cereal, measure out your portion so you know exactly how much you’re eating.
• Rely on your eyes. After 3 weeks of following the recipes on this plan, you’ve probably developed a sharper sense of what an appropriate serving size is, versus what’s way too big. When you’re dining out or are away from home, try to stick with the same sizes that you’ve learned to serve yourself at home.
• Check the recipe yield. You might be surprised to find out that the pasta salad or chili recipe you usually whip up for your family of four is actually meant to serve six or eight. So always check to see how many servings a recipe is supposed to make—and divvy it up accordingly. And trust your senses. If a recipe seems to yield unusually large serving sizes compared to the Eat Clean, Stay Lean recipes you’ve been making, the portions are probably too big. Trust your gut and make adjustments. Remember that the recipe yields are just suggestions from the cookbook author. You are in charge of figuring out the best portion size for your energy levels, weight, and health goals—so serve yourself accordingly!
• When in doubt, veg out. Loading up your plate with vegetables automatically leaves less room for the heavier stuff. Whether you’re at home, ordering off a restaurant menu, or enjoying a meal at a party or gathering, fill half of your plate with nonstarchy picks like leafy greens, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, tomatoes, string beans, asparagus, mushrooms, or peppers.
Notes from a Clean Eater
“A lot of times, I’d rely on my eye to serve myself the right portion. But then I’d put it on the scale and see that it was a little heavy. It’s a good reminder to check yourself with that.” —Mary Pat S.
Remember, food is meant to give your body energy—not entertain you when you’re bored, distract you when you’re stressed, or keep you company when you’re lonely. By now, you’ve had some practice at paying attention to your hunger and fullness cues, as well as uncovering some of the emotional triggers that send you straight to the pantry or fridge. And chances are, you’re getting pretty good at eating only when your stomach is grumbling and stopping when it’s satisfied (instead of stuffed). If that’s the case, keep it up! If you could use some more practice or feel like you could use a refresher course before striking out on your own, head back to Chapter 4 for some helpful practices and exercises.
We told you that eating clean meant that you could still enjoy the treats you love—and we meant it. And now that you’ve made it through the plan and jump-started your weight loss, you’re ready to reincorporate some of your old favorites. (Or cleaner versions of them, at least. For more on that, see “Old Favorites, Made Cleaner”.) Here’s how to do treats without overdoing them.
•Make them occasional, not everyday. Whether your indulgence of choice is a mint chocolate chip ice cream cone, a plate of cheesy nachos, or a glorious glass of wine, you can have it. Just remember that these are once-in-a-while foods and drinks, not everyday ones. Go ahead and enjoy up to two of your favorite treats in reasonable portions every week. That’s often enough to leave you feeling satisfied and like you’re not missing out—but not so often that eating them becomes a habit or you end up regaining lost weight.
•Look forward to them. Sure, it’s fine for your treats to sometimes be spontaneous—like when your neighbor stops by with a fresh batch of your favorite cookies or your family makes an executive decision that tonight needs to be fried chicken night. But in general, make an effort to plan your treats when you plan your weekly menu. Having that homemade chocolate cake or margarita to look forward to all week will make your treat that much more enjoyable. Anticipation is part of the fun, and more importantly, deciding on your splurge beforehand means that you’re less likely to feel guilty after you indulge.
•Have one helping. If you’ve decided that you’re going to have one slice of pie or a cookie, have one slice of pie or a cookie. We know—easier said than done! If you struggle with knowing when it’s time to stop, make it harder to keep on munching. Buy a single pastry from the best bakery in town instead of an entire box from the grocery store. If you make something yourself, bring the extras to a friend or neighbor. When you order an indulgent meal, pass on bringing home that doggie bag, or give it to someone else. If it’s not around, you can’t keep eating it.
We’re willing to bet that following the Eat Clean, Stay Lean plan has helped you sharpen your mindful eating skills in a major way. But why not check your progress for yourself? Flip to “How Midnful Are You?” and revisit the mindful-eating checklist you filled out back before you started getting lean. How many of your answers have changed?
BEFORE
Kathy had always been the kind of person who thought about what she ate. The problem was, she didn’t pay much attention to how much. Sure, she’d reach for dried fruit–and nut-filled trail mix for an afternoon snack. But instead of serving herself a quarter cup, she’d pour herself a full cup.
Committing to eating clean meant scaling way back on her portions. But because she was eating whole, nutrient-dense foods, she found that her new, smaller serving sizes were still plenty satisfying. “It’s surprising how little food you need,” says the 50-year-old. “My snack would be 10 walnuts and 3 dried apricots. Before, I would’ve said that wouldn’t have done anything for me. But it really did.”
Of course, choosing clean foods was easier some times than others. A mom to teenage athletes, Kathy’s schedule—and therefore, her food—is sometimes dictated by her kids’ sporting events. If the gang was headed off to a tournament for the day, Kathy would bring along an easy-to-pack option like the Turkey Cuban Wrap. “I’d just eat it as a simple wrap so it wouldn’t have to be heated,” she says.
And when the kids had a sports banquet, she resolved to do what she could to eat as cleanly as possible by eating salad and chicken instead of bread or pasta. And because the piece of chicken was clearly too big, she only ate half. “I was really proud of myself because that’s not what I typically would have done,” she shares.
Kathy enjoyed walking for exercise before she started eating clean. And while she continued to do so afterwards, she admitted that she didn’t make an effort to walk any more than she had been, which means that her impressive weight loss was largely the result of being more mindful about her portions. “Just the little bit of food that I really needed to eat to not be hungry was pretty amazing to me,” she happily says.
Dr. Wendy Observes: Portions matter even when we’re eating clean. But the thing that Kathy really realized was that smaller portions were plenty satisfying! Experimenting with eating a bit less food can sometimes be challenging, so I always tell clients to try it for just a few days. I always assure them that it’s enough and that they’ll be satisfied and energized, but they have to prove it to themselves. Kathy did!
TOTAL POUNDS LOST
16lbs
TOTAL INCHES LOST
13
MOST NOTABLE IMPROVEMENTS
After eating clean, Kathy became significantly more aware of how much food it actually took to fill herself up—and she was satisfied with less.
•Be social. Make it a point to have your treats in the company of others instead of eating them alone. Eating socially can help you stick with your intentions regarding how much and how often you have dessert. And anyway, food is just more fun when the experience of eating it is shared.
•Enjoy it—and move on. Put your treat on a plate or in a glass. Sit down at the table. Savor every bite or sip. And when you’re finished? Close your eyes, smile, and say to yourself, That was wonderful. Sure, it sounds a little cheesy. But taking the time to acknowledge how much you enjoyed something makes you feel good and appreciative—not guilty or like you need to have more.
You made major changes to your diet and followed the Eat Clean, Stay Lean plan to a T. You moved more—both through traditional exercise and by building more activity into your day. And for a while, the number on the scale was inching downward. All of your hard work was really paying off. But now, your weight loss seems to have stalled.
Of course, you’re still doing your part to lose weight. So why isn’t your body holding up its end of the deal? Plateaus are insanely frustrating, and they might leave you feeling like you’re suddenly doing something wrong. You’re not—you just need to shake things up. Here’s how to push on through.
This might make you feel a little better—or it might make you feel a little worse. Either way, plateaus are completely normal. At some point or another, the vast majority of dieters find that their weight loss starts to drastically slow down or stop altogether. But don’t worry—it’s temporary!
What’s more, hitting a plateau is actually a sign that you’ve been doing an awesome job of getting lean. When you clean up your diet, eat less, and move more, you lose weight. (Of course!) But here’s the catch: As your body gets smaller, it needs less food to function. So the amount that you needed to eat when you were 10 or 20 or 30 pounds heavier might be more than what your lighter frame needs now.
Plus, because you’ve been exercising, your fitness has likely improved by leaps and bounds. But if that workout you’ve been doing for weeks or even months feels a heck of a lot easier than it used to, your body isn’t pushing itself as hard as it was when you were first starting out. As a result, even though you’re walking the same 10,000 steps or bicycling for the same hour as before, you’re burning fewer calories while you do it.
That whole thing about choosing real, whole foods over processed, artificial ingredient–laden stuff? It applies to your treats, too! Next time you’re thinking about indulging, keep these clean swaps in mind.
●Instead of: A processed or packaged baked good or ice cream
●Have: A homemade baked good or a treat made by real people (like one from a local bakery, ice cream parlor, or farmers’ market)
●Instead of: Movie theater popcorn or microwave popcorn with artificial flavors
●Have: Organic, non-GMO bagged popcorn or popcorn you pop yourself and flavor with real ingredients, such as smoked paprika or Parmesan cheese
●Instead of: A fruity cocktail made from a mix that includes artificial colors or artificial sweeteners
●Have: A glass of wine or a cocktail made with real ingredients, such as fresh fruit or real sugar, and a splash of sparkling water for some bubbles and to cut the calories a little bit, if you’d like
●Instead of: A conventional candy bar
●Have: An organic candy bar, chocolate bar, or peanut butter cup made from real-food ingredients, or dark chocolate with dried fruit
●Instead of: Conventional chips
●Have: Organic, non-GMO baked chips (potato chips are fine, but sweet potato, corn, or bean chips are even better), or homemade tortilla chips (made by slicing and baking a corn tortilla or whole wheat pita)
If it sounds kind of unfair, well, we won’t argue with you on that. Hitting a plateau can sometimes feel like the weight-loss gods (or even your body itself) are actively working against you. And that sort of frustration can drive you to take extreme or counterintuitive measures that might end up backfiring. You might be tempted to skip meals or drastically cut back your portions, which can leave you hungry, miserable, and prone to cravings. Or you might think about jumping ship altogether and heading to your favorite burger joint or ice cream parlor—which is a guaranteed recipe for feeling worse, not better. So instead of doing either of those things, stay calm. It’s time to start thinking about some real, effective ways to get your weight loss moving again.
Ready to push through that plateau? We won’t lie—you’ll have to put in some more work to get things moving again. But you’ve already lost weight, and with these plateau-busting tactics, you can keep on losing more.
You probably felt energized and enthusiastic when you first started eating clean, and you followed your weight-loss plan to the letter. Of course, that kind of gung ho attitude is great—and it helped you get to where you are today. But it’s tough to maintain that type of vigilance forever. Maybe after a month or two, you realized that you missed having a glass of wine with dinner, so you added that back in. Or you got into the habit of grabbing a dark chocolate square from your coworker’s desk every time you went to talk to her.
Enjoying the occasional splurge isn’t a bad thing. Always having to say no isn’t fun, and treating yourself once in a while can strengthen your commitment to eating clean and keep you from feeling deprived. The thing is, it’s easy to let even small indulgences go from something you have every so often to something you have all the time—especially once you’ve lost weight and feel like you have some wiggle room.
Start by taking a look at your weekly food record. Have you been getting a little bit looser with your splurges? Are you still planning all of your meals and snacks, or have you started sometimes ordering takeout or relying on less healthy midday nibbles from the office break room? Are you stealing an extra couple of bites at dinner? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, make an effort to tighten up. And if you’ve stopped recording the foods you eat, get back to it! Writing everything down will give you insight into what you’re actually eating.
• Eat a little bit less. Think small changes, not skipping meals or trying to eat like a bird. If you’re having two or three snacks a day, can you cut back to just one or two? How about serving yourself slightly smaller portions at mealtimes, having raw vegetables instead of crackers with your bean dip, or making an open-faced sandwich with one instead of two slices of bread? Everyone’s “little bit less” is a little bit different, and the key is finding tweaks that you’re comfortable with and that don’t leave you hungry. So start by trying one or two small changes for a few weeks to see whether they’re enough to make a difference. If those don’t seem to be enough, you can decide whether you feel comfortable making some other adjustments to your eating pattern.
• Fire up your workout. If you’re meeting your daily movement goal, give yourself a pat on the back. By exercising regularly, you’re already worlds ahead of most people—and you’re doing great things for your health. Still, it might be time to think about kicking things up a notch. Can you increase your daily step count by a few thousand steps? Or ramp up the intensity of your exercise routine by adding in intervals or strength-training sessions? Remember, your body has gotten pretty comfortable with whatever you’re doing now. Find a way to shake things up!
• Get more sleep. Think that extra hour or two spent watching Netflix or scrolling through your phone couldn’t possibly have that much of an effect on your weight loss? Sorry, think again. Remember, getting enough nightly shut-eye gives you more energy to make healthy choices and keeps your hunger hormones and blood sugar levels in check. You might even burn more fat while you sleep. Dieters who got less than 6 hours of sleep a night lost as much as 55 percent less fat while they snoozed than those who got a healthy 8½, according to one Annals of Internal Medicine study.1 If you’re not getting a full night’s rest on the regular, it’s time to start.
• Get serious about lowering your stress levels. Is the mere thought of hitting a plateau leaving you anxious? Heightened stress levels can nudge you to nibble on junk, so find a way to calm down that doesn’t involve a sugary snack-fest. One option to consider is meditation. Sure, it might sound a little woo-woo.
But in a recent review that looked at meditation’s effect on eating behaviors, a whopping 86 percent of studies found that the practice improved behaviors including binge eating, emotional eating, or eating in response to external cues (such as sight, smell, or taste) instead of in response to physical hunger.3 Can you take 5 minutes to pause, breathe, and let that busy brain clear out a little bit? You might find that afterwards, you feel a whole lot more optimistic about your ability to reignite your weight loss.
It’s human nature to want to let loose a little bit on the weekends. But make a conscious effort to keep that desire from thwarting your weight loss! Research shows that dieters tend to eat more calories on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays than they do during the workweek.2 Rather than reward yourself with food on the weekend, think about other ways that you can relax and treat yourself. Can you book a massage or a manicure? Enjoy some much-needed time outdoors? Curl up with a great book or go see a movie? How about taking a luxurious afternoon nap? When you dedicate more time to self-care and activities you enjoy, you might find that you’re less likely to want to splurge on extra food.
Anyone who’s resolved to lose weight before knows that you can be crazy enthusiastic about a diet or plan in the beginning. But after a few weeks or months, all of the excitement is pretty much gone. You’d rather chill and watch TV than take time to plan out another weekly menu or—even worse—actually get up and exercise. You’re bored with eating the same stuff all of the time. You sometimes start to wonder whether you can really keep getting leaner and whether eating clean is something you can actually do for the rest of your life.
All of these thoughts are completely and totally normal. You can even spend a few minutes letting yourself worry about them, if you really want to. But after that, you have to set them aside and find a way to regain some of that lost zest so that you can keep on keeping on. And happily, doing that might be easier than you think. After all, the impressive clean-eating efforts you’ve already made are proof of how far you’ve already come!
• Set another goal. Maybe you set out to lose 5, 10, or 25 pounds on the Eat Clean, Stay Lean plan. These are all admirable goals—but now what? Even though you’ll no longer be following a formal diet plan, you still need to have an idea of what the next step in your weight-loss journey will be. Having a goal in mind gives you an endpoint to actively work toward and encourages you to lay out specific steps to get there. More importantly, it offers you a clear-cut way to measure your success so you can savor the pride and satisfaction of achieving what you set out to do.
Losing more weight or getting healthier might be your overall goal. But what, specifically, do you want to achieve next—and by when do you want to reach that mark? Do you want to lose 10 more pounds over the next 2 months? Fit into smaller jeans by the time your high school reunion rolls around? Lower your cholesterol, blood pressure, or blood sugar numbers by a certain amount in time for your next doctor’s visit? Maybe you’re happy with the amount of weight that you lost, and you just want to focus on strengthening your healthy habits. Perhaps you want to become a person who walks for a full hour, 5 days a week. Or you want to ramp up your vegetable intake from five servings a day to seven or eight. Virtually any health or weight-loss goal is a good one, as long as it’s realistic (read: not, “I will lose 50 pounds in a month”) and it keeps you committed to eating clean.
“I’m going to focus on making good choices. If I go out on a Saturday, I’ll pick something clean, like chicken or fish. Day to day, [eating clean] is the only way to lose weight. It’s really not a program or a diet, it’s a way of life.” —Gigi D.
• Try new things. When it comes to losing weight, routines can be a really good thing. Knowing that you’ll wake up to exercise at 6:30 every morning or make chicken-and-vegetable fajitas for dinner every Friday frees up your brain from having to make those decisions every day or every week, so you have the energy to deal with more important stuff. Still, it’s no secret that too much predictability can lead to boredom. And when you’re bored, your motivation can start to dwindle fast.
This means that in order to keep your eye on the weight-loss prize, you’ve gotta find ways to keep the doldrums at bay. Don’t worry, your brain gets excited about almost any new thing; that’s why we’re compelled to constantly check our phones, in-boxes, and social media feeds for messages. So you don’t have to make sweeping gestures or overhaul your entire daily groove. Just pick a few small ways to change things up. Chances are, that slight shift in course will go a long way toward keeping you committed to eating clean and getting lean.
Wondering how to inject some excitement into your weight-loss routine? Whenever you sense yourself starting to get antsy, try one of these easy tweaks.
• Find fresh recipe inspiration. Scroll through Pinterest, swap clean recipes with a friend, or pick up a new cookbook. Or how about experimenting with a new-to-you herb or spice combination?
• Eat somewhere new. Can you take your lunch to the park? Plan an indoor picnic in your living room on a rainy day? Bring dinner to a place where you can watch a fantastic sunset? Indulge in breakfast in bed?
• Hit the farmers’ market. Chances are, seeing all of those piles of just-picked, peak-freshness produce will spark some serious culinary inspiration. You might even find a brand new fruit or vegetable to add to your repertoire.
• Change your route. Walk, jog, or bike a different path than usual when you exercise. Or throw in some speedy intervals to keep your metabolism firing optimally on all cylinders.
• Listen to a new playlist or podcast. Been working out to the same 10 songs for who knows how long? Switch up that mix!
• Update your workout wardrobe. Because let’s face it: Nothing gets you more excited about lacing up your sneakers than a brand new outfit.
You probably don’t need us to tell you that losing weight is hard work. But it’s worth repeating because it’s something every clean eater should keep in mind when he or she is having a rough day. Losing weight is hard work! But it’s also good work. And remember: You’re doing a great job.
If you step on the scale and don’t see the number that you were hoping for, or you buy a sugary, processed candy bar during a momentary lapse of judgment, or you wake up one morning and just can’t deal with the thought of exercising, instead of putting yourself down or allowing yourself to feel like a failure, remember this: Losing weight is hard—but good!—work.
Of course, the fact that it’s hard doesn’t mean that you can’t do it. You can, and you are. But a little bit of self-kindness can go a long way toward convincing yourself that getting lean is a journey that’s worth continuing—even when you’re feeling tired or burnt-out. If a friend who was trying to slim down told you that she was having a hard time staying motivated, you wouldn’t tell her that she was a failure. You’d listen, then you’d acknowledge her struggle. Losing weight is hard—but good!—work. Maybe you’d even commiserate for a few minutes or swap stories about your own challenges with your weight. But after that, you’d encourage her to keep at it—not to abandon her goal just because of one bad day. You’d tell her to start looking on the bright side by feeling good about all of the things she’s achieved so far. You’d tell her that she’s already succeeded! And so will you.
When the going gets tough, treat yourself exactly how you’d treat that friend. Don’t beat yourself up. Don’t fill your brain with negative talk. Be kind, and acknowledge all of the effort you’ve made so far—and all of the effort you’ll continue to make in the name of taking control of your health and feeling great. Losing weight is hard—but good!—work. And I know you can do it.
Putting It All Together
1 Put your new skills to use. You’ve learned how to plan your menus effectively, be smart about portions, and pay attention to your hunger and fullness signals. Now that you’re striking out on your own, use these skills! They’ll go a long way toward helping you continue to eat clean and get lean.
2 Renew your relationship with treats. As you reincorporate some of your old favorites, such as dessert or alcohol, commit to enjoying them moderately and mindfully. You can do it!
3 Power through plateaus. If your weight loss is stalled, you can make changes to get unstuck.
4 Eat clean to stay lean. When your motivation wanes, set new goals and experiment with trying new things to reignite your energy. And above all, be kind to yourself. You deserve it.
