My Mom and I recently started the 131 Diet. It’s a bit of a misnomer because it’s not a diet like you are probably thinking of; no one is telling us what to eat or not eat. Rather, it’s more of an educational program and phased eating approach that helps you understand which foods make you feel good and which foods do not. The idea is that each person’s body is different, and not everyone finds success the same way with nutrition.

So far, it’s amazing and I can’t even begin to tell you how much I love it and all that I have learned. However, this post is not a review of the program (I WILL post a review of the program once I complete the 12 weeks – promise), but rather a post on repairing Dysfunctional Food Relationships and how to deal with the ever-present holiday foods.

Right now I am on day 5 of no dairy, coffee, gluten, grain, eggs, soda, processed, fried or fast food. I chose which foods I wanted to remove, some of them will stay out of my diet after 3 weeks and some I will test to see if I have food sensitivities. Don’t worry, coffee is the first thing coming back in, and in case you are wondering, Daniel is alive and well!

In the past (and I mean in the recent past… like last month), the idea of removing certain foods from my diet made me want to break down crying over the biggest slice of pizza I could find. In fact, when I got pregnant, I remember feeling incredibly depressed over the fact that I wasn’t able to binge on ice cream or some other dessert – like “normal” pregnant women can (or at least the way they do in movies.)

However, after 2 weeks of the 131 program and 5 days of removing these foods from my diet, I feel freakin’ AMAZING and I have had a serious mind shift.

Guys – I TURNED DOWN PIZZA AND CAKE! Not once, not twice, but THREE times this week!

Now, I’ve got your attention, right?! I wasn’t even sad about turning it down. I felt amazing with my other food choices. And here’s where I felt the most empowering. I could have had a piece if I wanted. There was no “I should” or “I shouldn’t”. I just suddenly realized that I am the freakin’ boss of what goes in my body! Food works for ME, I am the boss in this relationship, not food!

And I also realized that choosing to avoid the food that makes me feel bad is NOT deprivation. If anything, eating food that makes me feel bad deprives me of feeling good!

I asked my Mom if she felt deprived when she quit smoking many years ago. She said yes. But, my next question was, isn’t smoking itself really the deprivation? It deprives the smoker of living a full life, being able to be as active, having gorgeous skin, being able to take deep full breaths, etc. And I think food is the same way.

So, that brings me to holiday foods. In the past, I’ve struggled with hardcore FOMO about not trying everything. Because this food only comes around once a year! But, then after I would indulge, I would feel like crap for the next 3 days, or week, or month. Because let’s be real, I don’t just have these things on the holiday itself, but at every holiday party and Christmas party, and Thanksgiving, and New Years event. When vendors send food to work or when someone bakes a special treat for the office. It’s not a day of indulgence, but weeks of it. Then I spend the first part of the New Year trying to recover. And honestly, it just doesn’t feel worth it to me this year. I’m not willing to sacrifice all that time in 2018, trying to make up for the end of this year.

So, maybe I’ll indulge a little bit on Christmas day. But, honestly, right now I just feel good about feeling really good.

XOXO,

Danie

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