If you've been a serial dieter your whole life then you understand how miserable it is. It's a prison. Your life revolves around food and not in a good way. It's time to find food freedom.

You can't enjoy vacations because you feel guilt for indulging, you spend hours of your life counting calories and tracking macros, you stand on the scale in tears feeling miserable because no matter what you do, it's not changing.

It doesn't have to be like that. 

That's why I've put together my top three simple steps that you can start to implement today to start finding food freedom.

Step 1: Stop the counting. 

This was the biggest step for me in my diet addiction Maybe the hardest because I'd been doing it for so many years.

Stop counting macros and calories, tracking meals, and weighing food. Not only did it free up actual time in my day but brain space too. You don't realize how much of your day and your mental space is taken up planning your days around meals because of counting. When you finally let go of that you feel liberated, you start to feel that first taste of food freedom.

There is science behind calorie deficit, yes, you will lose weight if you reach that deficit. BUT you can also lose weight without counting and I PROMISE YOU, the weight it takes off your shoulders is just as heavy.

Now, it's important to remember that super restrictive tracking do often show quick results (in the short term) but the weight comes back as soon as you slip up or deviate from the plan. A lifestyle change and shift away from counting takes more time BUT the weight stays off and you added benefits as well.

So, I know it's going to be uncomfortable to let go, but if you're staying consistent 80-85% of the time you will see changes that last.

Step 2: Make peace with your food. 

This was another massive step for me because all of my life was spent viewing food as GOOD vs BAD.

This translates into, "if I eat this food I'M good, if I eat that food I'M bad."

That's a huge mental block and the main reason so many of us have terrible relationships with food.

This mentality truly affects the way you see yourself. When you look in the mirror and see something you don't like you relate it to the BAD food you ate. You tie your self-worth to these foods. You start to feel guilt and shame around food.

You're a grown ass woman, you can eat what you want.

You just have to start changing your mindset of good vs bad and start seeing for how it will make you feel after. If the answer is, good because I need a treat and I want a damn donut', then eat the damn donut and get back to your day.

If the answer is, "I think the sugar will make me feel icky and I'm probably just craving it because I'm stressed", then find a good snack to fill you up and move on with your day.

It really is as simple as understanding your body's cues and listening to them.

You may surprise yourself with how often you don't want the food you associate with guilt and how good it feels to be able to treat yourself WITHOUT the guilt.

Step 3: Give yourself some grace.

Listen mammas, being a woman is hard work. We have enough pressure on us from every other are in life, we don't need it from ourselves too.

This is a learning process. You took a lifetime to learn bad habits, it's going to take time to unlearn them.

It's time you start loving yourself and understanding that you don't have to feel guilt and shame and anxiety around food.

You can feel good again, feel confident again, love food again.

When you set yourself up for perfection, and you buy into super restrictive diet plans and counting, you're setting yourself up for failure. No one can stay on track 100% of the time and when you keep telling yourself you have to in order to succeed, you're going to be miserable when you inevitably do fall.

There is no falling off track in a lifestyle You understand you are doing your best most of the time, and if you do overindulge you just reflect on why. Were you stressed, let's figure out how to bring those stress levels down. Were you not getting full enough with your meals, let's add some more protein next time so you're staying fuller longer Maybe you weren't getting enough sleep, your hormones are out of whack causing cravings to spike, let's work on getting more sleep.

Each step is a learning process and you will start to learn to listen to your body and understand how to make the changes it needs.

Thank you for reading along today and if you're not already, make sure to join my FREE Facebook group so we can help support you through your wellness journey.

Also, tune into this episode of my podcast, The Wellness Revolution where I dive deeper into each of these steps.