My mind is telling me no … But my body … My body is telling me yes.
Some of you probably read that as just a normal sentence.
And some of you read it as it’s intended to be read.
More so like this …
My miiiind is telling me nooooo. But my bodyyyy … My bodyyy is telling me yesssss.
When your mind says no but your body says yes …
That phrase right there is the perfect summation of one of the most common struggles that I see.
Let’s ignore the fact that it’s an R Kelly lyric.
Because if you focus on that part it’ll send your brain into a rabbit hole of inappropriate and disturbing thoughts.
Instead, how about we address the issue I’m referencing.
Most of you know by now that you can’t diet forever.
You can’t restrict calories 365 days per year.
You can’t even restrict calories for the majority of the year.
So, you being the intelligent individual that you are … you understand that you have to eat at maintenance for extended periods of time.
You understand that you have to get your calories up.
That you have to restore homeostasis.
That you have to remove stress from your system.
That you have to support your metabolism.
BUT … you also still want to lose more fat.
You also have been dieting so long and have been conditioned to believe that eating less = good and eating more = bad.
Therefore, your mind is telling you no. But your body … your body is telling you yes.
The restrictive dieting cycle
Mentally, it’s hard for you to commit to eating more. It’s hard for you to take a break from fat loss. It’s hard for you to think that the scale may not go down for however long it takes for you to restore maintenance and prime your metabolism.
Physically, your body is telling you yes.
The hunger, the cravings, the fatigue, the poor sleep, the moodiness, the low sex drive, the digestive issues, the brain fog.
The writing is on the wall.
Here’s the biggest issue I see, repeatedly.
You listen to your body and commit to doing what’s uncomfortable.
You start eating more.
Then, one of two things happen.
You either …
A. Over indulge because even as you’re trying to eat more, you’re still subconsciously erring on the side of less, or
B. The scale goes up a bit and you freak out and starting eating less again.
In either scenario, the result is often the same.
You go back to eating less, your body keeps fighting back and then you over indulge again.
Then you try to compensate for over indulging (or for the scale going up a bit) by restricting again.
Round and round it goes and guess what …
You never actually get consistent with eating more and accomplishing the goal of priming your metabolism.
I’ve seen this pattern play out time and time again.
Most of the time, it’s because you’re trying to do this on your own but that’s a whole different topic as to why you want to make things more difficult than they need to be.
When you’re in that pattern of mentally not wanting to eat more but physically knowing you need to … and then never actually being consistent with it …
Usually what happens is this …
In your mind, you ARE eating more.
Because you keep having those moments of over indulging.
But you are filling in the gaps with more restriction so your body has zero consistency to adapt to.
And then, enough time goes by and you’re frustrated by the lack of progress.
Which leads you to the conclusion of …
Yup, you guessed it …
Another diet phase!
Only, nothing has changed.
So, you jump into a dieting phase and add insult to injury because you’re still making no progress.
Or, you can’t stay consistent on your diet because your body is still fighting back because it needs more food and you’ve never actually given it what it’s asking for.
So you remain in the restrict/binge cycle.
Sound familiar?
Maybe it’s time for a different approach
I’m sure plenty of you right now are coming off an indulgent weekend.
And your instinct is to cut, slash, restrict, deprive.
My advice … don’t.
Of course, you don’t have to listen to me.
I’m just one dude with an opinion that I have no problem voicing.
You have to make your own decisions.
But, if anything I mentioned above sounds way too close to home …
Then maybe it’s time to consider a different approach.
If you’re feeling like …
Well, I don’t even know where to start or what to do or how to break out of this cycle …
That’s even more of a reason to stop handcuffing yourself by trying to figure this all out on your own.
It’s actually really simple when you get some help and guidance.
Our clients can tell you that firsthand.
As always … it’s a choice that you have to make for yourself.
I just hope you don’t let too much time pass by and realize how much time, energy, money, and effort was wasted that didn’t need to be.
We’re always here when you’re ready.
