Why I Started Losing Weight When I Stopped Dieting

I was a chronic dieter for as long as I can remember. I’ve done everything from juice cleanses, to shakes, to points, to bars and everything in between. Most often my diets ended up in one of two ways. I was either miserable cranky and down a couple pounds before diving head first into a box of chocolates, or I was up a few pounds and in disbelief that eating green vegetables and chicken could possibly make me even more miserable and heavier than I was in the first place.

It wasn’t until I got real with myself and realized that diets just weren’t working for me that I finally found peace with my food and my weight. The dieter in me was still in shock that I was actually losing weight without any counting, measuring, and restricting. What was going on? Here are a couple conclusions I came to:
I was no longer labeling food “off limits.” 
Because of this, I wasn't dying to have that piece of bread or slice of pizza. We want what we can’t have, and the second food became off limits for me, the cravings came on full force.
I wasn't relying on fake foods to keep me full. 
Meal replacement bars, shakes and diet pills all have one thing in common: they’re not real food. I was trying to force my poor body to fill up on foods that it didn’t recognize, want or need. They weren’t satisfying, they were hard work to digest, and they left me craving more real food in the long run.
I wasn't hungry all the time. 
I was grouchy, irritable, and just plain mean because I was seriously hungry. Because of this, my body couldn’t focus on anything else other than functioning on a low amount of calories and fighting off cravings for food. When I stopped being a cranky dieter, my body could finally get back to work again and run itself like normal.
I had more energy. 
Don’t underestimate the power of your energy levels. When I was a chronic dieter, I was hungry, tired, and low in energy all the time. I didn’t want to be active, and let’s be honest — I didn’t really want to leave the house. This meant no activity, no fun, and no weight loss. The cycle continued. When I stopped dieting, I had energy to exercise, go out with friends, and just get out of the house, which by the way is a great way not to think about food 24/7.
These are just a few of the amazing benefits I saw when I stopped the diets for good. Are you trapped in a frustrating diet cycle of your own? I promise it's possible to get out and still lose weight. For more support, check out my guide to ditching the diets and ditching the misery, which you can download by signing up here.

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