For years I would go on one diet or another. I would try this program or that program and I learned a lot from all of them. Since I gave up dieting in 2015, I’ve been at my most consistent and stable weight and I also no longer find myself obsessed with food.

What works for me is to look at my nutrition as a lifestyle and just as there are certain rituals I have quarterly to optimize other parts of my life, I do the same with my nutrition.

There are times when I know that I’ve been eating too much sugar, ordering takeout because I am too lazy to cook, having too much wine, and not making good nutrition a priority.

In order to get back on track, I make it a point to either do a fast or nutritional tune-up every quarter.

I don’t believe in diets and I also don’t believe in those “detoxes” that people like to promote. Our liver and our kidneys are excellent detoxification centers. Nutritional tune-ups are not diets and while you more than likely will lose weight, that is not the focus nor primary goal.

The primary goal is to reduce inflammation in the body and also to exchange some of our bad habits for good habits.

Nutritional Tune-ups can help us get back into good habits like meal preparation, help reduce our addiction to sugar, and give us a chance to try new recipes.

Fasting

Fasting in my spiritual life is a practice that I engage in to build discipline, practice self-denial, and energize my prayer life. At the beginning of every year and every Fall, my church embarks on what’s called the Daniel Fast where we eat no meat nor sugar. It’s basically fruits, vegetables, and some grains.

Your reasons for fasting may differ but there are numerous studies that show the physical benefit of fasting such as

Reducing Inflammation in the Body
Improved Blood sugar levels
Improving Brain Health
Improved Metabolism

Intermittent Fasting

Johns Hopkins neuroscientist Mark Mattson, Ph.D., has studied intermittent fasting for 25 years. He says that our bodies have evolved to be able to go without food for many hours, or even several days or longer

Mattson says that after hours without food, the body exhausts its sugar stores and starts burning fat. He refers to this as metabolic switching.

“Intermittent fasting contrasts with the normal eating pattern for most Americans, who eat throughout their waking hours,” Mattson says. “If someone is eating three meals a day, plus snacks, and they’re not exercising, then every time they eat, they’re running on those calories and not burning their fat stores.” (source John Hopkins Medicine)

Intermittent Fasting is very flexible and you can find what works for you. You may want to fast for 24 hours or fast for 1-2 meals. It really depends on what works best for you and your lifestyle

I do the 8 Hour window choosing to eat between the hours of 12p.m.-8 p.m. For more info on this refer to my Blog on Intermittent Fasting at the end of this post.

During my Nutritional Tune-ups, Intermittent Fasting is one of the main weapons in my arsenal.

Cut the Sugar and Go Au Naturel

I’ve tried different programs in the past like Whole30 and my main takeaways from those programs was that I stopped eating so much processed food, started preparing meals again, cut the excess sugar in my diet, and reduced inflammation in the body.

This isn’t a bad thing so now when I find that I’ve gotten off track with too much-processed food, non-existent meal preparation, and my energy levels are lacking.

I do at least two weeks of Au Naturel when it comes to food.

I love what the authors of the Whole30 said in their book, It starts with food:

Don’t try to make things too complicated because making bootleg versions of brownies, ice cream, and other treats is like having sex with your pants on. LOL! You can always have it after the tune-up is done.

I keep it simple.

No more sugar and cream in the coffee
Water and Tea only with no Honey
No Wine or any alcohol
Focus on Whole Foods: Protein, Fruits, and Vegetables
No Grains, Legumes, or Dairy

This in combination with Intermittent Fasting gets me right back on track. I lose sugar cravings and I also get back into the swing of food preparation again.

It’s awesome to get out of food ruts and remember some of my favorite meals that I forgot about.

It’s all about the Lifestyle…

I’m all about the sustainable lifestyle. It’s been proven time and time again that diets don’t work. The only thing that will work is a balanced approach to food. We live in a society where hyperpalatable food is readily available so it’s up to us to build habits that will promote our well-being.

I always find these nutritional tune-ups are super helpful right after holidays, vacations, and times of high stress.

Once a quarter is a great way to make sure you establish a rhythm and to emphasize that you’re focused on lifestyle change instead of a short term quick fix.