Indulge: to allow oneself to enjoy the pleasure of _______ and to treat with excessive kindness .

It’s a New Year, and we are all goal setting and doing our best to “get back to it” in a fast way after a season of indulging with friends and family. But, before we can dive into the topic of #livingourbesteveryday, we must first remove “good and bad” labels from our vocabulary, today… right now! Truth is this, if we want to help ourselves, we need to be kind to ourselves and enjoy the life we have been given.
For many of us that struck a chord on something buried deep within, because often times, our harshest critic is the one living within ourselves. In this blog, I am going to discuss the myths versus the truths when it comes to the hot topic of “fad dieting” and arm you with information so you can learn how to lose weight in a healthy and sustainable way while creating lifestyle changes the Liv Well Daily style. My hope is that you will walk away from this blog, with an awakened sense of self confidence that you were created to live in freedom and that freedom is found when we are armed with education, equipped with the proper tools for success, and covered in kindness.

True or False
When it comes to “fad dieting,” there are many myths that we desperately want to believe to be true but are in fact false. These hot diets give us a false security and leave most of us losing weight in fast unrealistic, non-science backed way. As a result, we unfortunately end up gaining the weight we lost back + some extra, increased feelings of depression and anxiety, less energized, and unfortunately malnourished than before we started this crazy rollercoaster. So, why do we do this?
Personally, I believe it is because we do not understand the difference between what is true and what is false.



Myth: Drinking this five day juice cleanse that I bought will make me skinny.


Fact: Juices that are purchased from a local juice bars or online, typically have high amounts of sugar in the form of fructose, no healthy fats, and little to no protein sources. Drinking a 6-8 oz glass of juice that is majority vegetables may help balance your blood sugar and turn off sugar cravings promoting self-control and healthy weight management.


Myth: Eating high amounts of animal protein and unsaturated fats while limiting carbohydrates to 10% of my overall diet while cutting out all fruits promotes a healthy, fit lifestyle.


Fact: The brain needs carbohydrate to function properly and so do you. Eating high amounts of fats and animal protein daily can cause high cholesterol, imbalanced hormones, and heart disease. Choosing complex carbohydrates rich in dietary fiber, amino acids, and antioxidants in conjunction with healthy fats and limiting animal protein and fruit to mindful portions gives you flexibility and freedom while promoting a healthy, fit lifestyle that’s balanced.


Myth: If I eat “gluten free,” I am making healthy dietary choices.


Fact: Gluten is a sticky, binding protein that is in our wheat products and if an individual has celiac disease, gluten sensitivity, or a gluten allergy, they should not consume gluten containing products. However, if you are eating whole, nutrient rich fruits, veggies, and legumes while avoiding wheat products, then I would say you are making healthy dietary choices. But, most who choose processed foods labeled “gluten free” are actually falling for a marketing scheme of the company trying to trick the consumer to buy their product to promote a “healthy” lifestyle when in fact they are eating highly processed foods containing refined oils and sugars.


Myth: If it says “low fat” then I won’t get fat.


Fact: Many low-fat or no-fat foods have added sugar, starch, or salt to make up for the reduction in fat. These “healthy” foods often have many calories, or more, than the regular version and can leave you gaining weight instead of losing weight.


Are you catching my drift? When we are armed with information and knowledge, we have a new understanding of what is actually true and we can’t go back. This is the power of education my friends, and it is time we start doing our homework and reading our labels or consulting with our nutritionist before making these “lifestyle” changes.

Fad diets, what does this actually mean?
A licensed registered dietitian said it best when she said, “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” Meaning if someone or something is promoting an overnight fix, it is too good to be true. Fad diets are typically popular in the media, promote unreasonable weight loss in a short time, often require pills or supplements, and are not heavily researched or even a proper dietary recommendations.
There is no overnight capsule or quick fix, instead there is a journey that requires hard work, small steps, mistakes, green leafy veggies, physical rest, intentional body movement, more water than coffee, and a lot of laughter. This journey is called LIFE and when we can make the decision right now to start enjoying who we are and all that we have, kindness will overflow and healthy steps will follow.

How do I begin to take my first step towards a healthy lifestyle?
I want to encourage you by saying this, asking for help does not mean you are a failure or are ignorant or thought of as less than, asking for help means you understand that you were created to live in community surrounded by others who can point you in the right direction and hold your hand along the way.
In order to find that mental freedom we are all searching for, we have to choose kindness. I have found that kindness is an overflow of what I believe to be true of me. For example, when I believe Jesus loves me, I am kind. When I believe Jesus will provide for me, I am kind. When I believe Jesus will protect me, I am kind. When I believe Jesus, I am kind. The first step is understanding who we are and what we believe to be true of ourselves. This is when genuine healing can occur and something pure can be created and maybe what needs to be healed for you right now is your gut microbiome.
I bring all of this up, because I believe it is powerfully true. For those who have been following along where I hangout most aka Instagram @livwelldaily then you know I have recently taken my fasting mimicking journey publicly and I am overwhelmed with the results I have seen not only in myself but others around me. I am also blown away with the amount of women who are reaching out and sharing stories of how they are truly seeking healing from the inside out. So, what if I told you I have found answer?
Sunday evening, I chose to unplug. I turned my phone off, literally **POWER OFF** swipe and as a result, I experienced physical rest, and I indulged. Your probably thinking, “I thought you were practicing a fasting mimicking diet?” Remember our definition up there ^^ maybe write it down, so you will kick the labels to the curb and choose to be encouraged instead.
I indulged in the relationships I was around, I indulged in the food that I ate, I indulged in the sleep I got, and I indulged in my Savior, Jesus Christ! Monday morning, I got on the scale and weighed myself, and you know what I found? I lost 3 ponds in one week. To say that I was shocked would be an understatement. I wasn’t expecting this, but it just goes to show that #livingyourbesteveryday is NOT found in a perfectionistic mindset that sees failure when not continually striving and achieving that fad dieting promotes and sells. Instead, #livingyourbesteveryday is found when we make that shift from perfectionism to enjoyment. A switch from inflicting mean thoughts upon ourselves and showing kindness instead. What a difference that would make!

How do I learn more?
I want to invite you to Liv Well Daily, a space I have created to welcome HER in her truest most beautiful self. As a believer, speaker, author, nutritionist, and certified health coach, I believe I am called to transform the way women think about wellness and what it means to live a well balanced life both on and off the plate. My goal as a nutritionist and Certified Health Coach is to eliminate the drama associated with food by educating, empowering, and equipping all women to make each meal #betterNOTcomplicated so they can reach and sustain their personal health and wellness goals while enjoying every day life! What I am inviting you to is a lifestyle change that begins and ends with you.
You are here for a reason and you have read this far, because you know what I am saying is true not fad, and you want to know more. If that is you, I want to encourage you to reach out HERE. I am currently offering a discount on my eight week nutrition program where we create lifestyle changes and sustainable results and would love for you to be apart of it.
If you take anything away from this blog, I want you to take this: enjoy the life you have been given and be kind to yourself and the people in it.
Until nest time— xo Liv!