The Don't Diet Diet Lose Weight With Ang

How to Follow The “Don’t Diet” Diet

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Today, I have a post that’s been long in the making and I’ve been very excited to share. By the title, it sounds like I’m pitching the hottest new weight loss fad. Don’t worry, I won’t share a fad diet on my site and never will. This “diet” has helped me lose 40 pounds and counting since starting this blog. In a healthy, sustainable way. Let me tell you about my new diet…The “Don’t Diet” Diet.

Sounds amazing, right? Do you think it will catch on? Maybe I should write a book about it (ha)!

Firstly, I’d like to start by stating I am in no way a doctor or dietician. The advice I offer here is from reading about overeating and binge eating and from my own personal experience with diet and weight loss. Several months ago, I learned that I can say no to overeating, and I’d like to teach you too.

The Typical Weight Loss Diet

Most diets give you some outlandish advice that sounds so restrictive that you just know it must work. And it does until you become fed up with it and give up. Let me tell you a little secret: most diets are not made to fix your problem. They’re made to make money off people like you. People who are unhappy with their bodies and will listen to any new and creative strategy.

In the book The Hunger Fix, Dr. Pamela Peeke refers to overeating as a disease similar to drug addiction. She encourages her readers to replace food with other, healthier activities, but also to restrict “trigger foods.” Her 3-step guide to overcoming the addiction includes a total detox, eliminating all foods which “cause you” to overeat.

Notice I put quotations on “cause you.” I refuse to believe food makes me or anyone else overeat. While the lower, more primitive part of our brain is crying for sugary, high-calorie foods as a way of survival, I know that it has no control over what we put in our mouths. I also know we don’t need to eat ice cream to survive.

Empty Plate Diet Restriction

The “Don’t Diet” Diet

All of the weight loss that I’ve documented on this blog so far has been lost following this very lenient eating plan. I still indulge in snacks, Halloween candy, and fast food. But I choose to eat nutritious food 90% of the time. That’s it! When I started off, I had one meal a day that wasn’t healthy. Now I do once or twice a week, with snacks thrown in whenever.

Yeah, I know what you’re thinking! Moderation…seriously?! You were hoping for some miracle diet plan, weren’t you? But before you shake your head and click away, have a good listen to the advice I have. It’s more effective than you think. I’ll show you how to keep the weight off for good.

In this diet, the focal point is healthy, nutritious food. Eat a healthy diet following the food guide, but also allow yourself to eat what you want, in moderation. If you know you’ll be eating out one night, plan to eat well the rest of the day. Try not to let any more than 10% of the food you eat be junk.

Making a Sustainable Lifestyle Change

Often, when I hear someone talk about making a lifestyle change, it’s never something sustainable. They don’t allow themselves to enjoy life to the fullest because they’re always saying no to themselves. To me, enjoying the foods I love is a part of a happy life.

You’ll still be able to try those cookies you baked for the kids, or have a few drinks at a party. You can enjoy special occasions with your friends and family, without being the one avoiding the food table all night. The best part is, people won’t want to invalidate your goals as much or worry about you, seeing that you’re still indulging.

I know this sounds like advice that you hear everywhere and never listen to. But I’m serious, IT WORKS. Just as you would plan out your elaborate, restrictive diet to try out (and likely not find success), plan out a healthy diet where you allow yourself a treat each day.

"Healthy habits are learned in the same way as unhealthy ones, through practice." -Wayne Dyer Click To Tweet

How to Keep Weight off Without Restriction

Even though I still let myself eat junk food, my weight has been slowly dropping. I lose around 1 pound a week, which is a very sustainable number. I also try not to check my weight too much as some weeks I lose nothing, and other weeks I’ll lose 2-3 pounds to “catch up.”

As for the other 90% of the time, each day I like to aim for 5-6 servings of fruits and vegetables, 3-4 servings of protein, and 3 servings of whole grains. This is just what I do, you can follow whatever food guide you like. Try to be balanced and mix up the foods you’re eating so you don’t get bored. I also recommend you exercise at least 3 times a week for 30 minutes. Going for a brisk walk is a good start.

The restriction is what causes us to want to give up our weight loss goals. When we restrict, our lower brains will set off an alarm in our heads screaming for food. Once the nagging gets strong enough, it wears down our willpower and causes us to give up entirely, or worse, overeat.

Shirtless Guy Healthy Food

The “Don’t Diet” Mindset

Once you’ve made a plan and stuck to it, you’ll be proud of yourself. But there will be times when you have a slip-up. If you allow yourself to believe you’ve failed, you’re more likely to give up and kick yourself when you’re down. Don’t do this! Keep carrying on with your plan.

You are stronger and smarter than that little voice in your head. You have all the control and motivation that you will ever need. Treat your lower brain like it’s a child throwing a tantrum. You’ve been giving it what it wants and now it’s a spoiled brat. Remind it that you’re the one in charge!

In Summary

Following the “Don’t Diet” Diet involves taking care of your physical health with nutrition. But, it also takes care of your mental health by allowing you to eat the foods you love in moderation. This is a sustainable lifestyle change. It may take a bit of trial and error, but you’ll figure out what works for you.

Allow yourself small treats, choosing to limit yourself to one or 2, then eating well the rest of the day. Do not aim for total restriction, or huge weight loss each week. Remember, restriction leads to bingeing. Take it slow and you’ll get to where you want to be. You’ll be stoked when you learn how to keep weight off without giving up the foods you love!

Have you been successful in losing weight without a restrictive diet? Share your story in the comments!

That’s it for now everyone. If you’ve found some value in this post, please share it to inspire others too! Thanks!

The Name Ang in cursive black text. There is a magenta heart next to it. Ang Signoff Heart

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References:

Extra Help with Healthy Eating:

Are you looking to stop overeating and finally get your life back? I have the perfect recommendation for you! Never Binge Again by Dr. Glenn Livingston is a book that effectively teaches readers how to take control of their eating. This book gives you the power to stick to any eating plan you choose.

The Never Binge Again method has helped me finally stop binge eating and move on with a healthy life. Glenn himself reads the audiobook, so you hear it the way it’s meant to sound. If you’d like to learn more about Never Binge Again, I wrote an in-depth and honest review here.

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57 thoughts on “How to Follow The “Don’t Diet” Diet”

  1. Love the advice, Ang! I try to do the same everyday. I’ve noticed too that if I put restrictions, I crave that particular food so much moreee. While I have gained weight this year I think that has to be because of my on-off workout regime which I’m trying to fix. 😊

    1. I have found that putting restrictions on your eating is one of the worst things that you can do. I’m glad you’ve figured it out too 🙂

  2. Sounds like a good approach. In my mind what differentiates a “diet” from a sustainably healthy eating plan is the restriction element.

    1. It’s usually the restriction which makes people quit as well. Or makes people like me start bingeing. So many things wrong with restricting 😐

  3. I couldn’t agree more with this! Whether you’re trying to lose weight, gain weight, or maintain weight, moderation is key. I’ve had to learn this the hard way but now I’ve gotten to a place in my life and my recovery where I recognize the importance of balance, as well as the harmfulness of restriction and that “diet mentality” that I just wrote a post obout. Thank you for sharing, truly great advice!

  4. Great advice, Ang. I think you are on the money with what you have posted here. My biggest issue is always letting the plan lapse. You have given me some serious thinking to do re developing a new plan!

  5. I love this! There’s this YouTuber called Stephanie Buttermore that did a diet she calls “all in”. She basically ate everything she wanted, gained a bunch of weight then plateau’d and started losing weight. You should check out her videos!

  6. well done. I think advice is always more helpful when it is so personal. You have given some practical, useful diet advice in this post. slow and steady wins the race…

  7. Oh, excellent points. You are right – the more restrictions we put on ourselves, the harder it will be to manage our weight. I say yes to cookies and yes to veg, too!

  8. Great points and yes, I agree, mindset is everything, that has always been my downfall, once I fell off the diet I just gave into that little voice and it was down hill from there.

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  10. Love this and how you prove that fad diets don’t need to be a thing! Eating more smartly and intuitively really is the way forward and nobody should be deprived of treats they love!

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  12. Hi Ang, I see you’ve already had an Ashley comment before but I’m male and generally don’t worry about what I eat, except that we are slowly shifting to a vegetarian diet. 🙏

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