The first thing to understand about the Anti-Diet Lifestyle is that it will change your paradigm* about dieting and weight loss.  You do not need to worry about how you will do that because if you follow the Anti-Diet 4 Crazy Steps to Weight Loss Success, it will happen even without you realising it.  I have broken the Crazy Steps into clear instructions and the very act of following them will create the shift that’s needed.  The time it takes to make this change varies from person to person.   Since we are all different and unique at some level or other, so is our reaction and response to change.  What I do know is that for me, the change has been gradual and permanent.  In case you are wondering, I can say with sincere honesty that I have been slim and fit for over ten years now and the word diet does not even enter my thoughts, not once.  I am only human though and during times of stress (be it a low mood, a difficult or painful life event or a time of excessive celebrations) I am prone to be drawn to my old ways (not always but sometimes), much like a drug addict!  That’s why, in my book and weight loss plan, I have included the ‘Survival Plan’ that contains tools and actions that will equip you to deal with your own life at times when you face challenges.

For me, I found the transformation from a hard and fast overweight dieter to a slim and fit non-dieter took a period of about 2 years to complete.  Weight loss was so gradual 1. Because I wasn’t weighing myself and 2. Because I didn’t think I was restricting my food intake.  It is very important to me that I document my journey so that you too can find success through my footsteps.  I have therefore painfully delved back into my past to recapture as much information as I possibly can for you.  What I have found is that it happened to me in sort of stages:

‘I stopped dieting’

1. I stopped dieting and this meant that I let go of the pressure of restriction, denial and guilt.  If I’m truly honest, I think this happened not through decisive action on my part but because I had simply given up.  I had become so disillusioned with my dream of being slim and had accepted that dieting just made me gain more weight.
2. I concentrated on loving myself more, to the extreme in fact.  I used affirmations, pampered my body, read inspirational books/quotes and blogs as if they were going extinct.  I believe that I did this because I was determined to find peace with myself, to stop struggling and to be able to concentrate on other life goals.
3. I stopped weighing myself – this allowed me to stop the constant self-judgement and shed my innate fear of either not having lost weight or worse having gained it.
4. I began to focus on what my body needed.  I was mindful when I was eating, I made sure I could taste and enjoy food without feeling intense guilt and self-loathing.  I read about other foods that up until then, I thought were ‘rabbit food’ lol!  I searched and researched for information on herbs and spices and how the simple additions of these nourished me.  I began to naturally gravitate towards foods that were better for my body and soul while still enjoying some of the other foods I used to eat.  I also added vitamins and supplements to my meals and I chose these after carefully analysing what I felt was lacking in my body which immediately gave me the sense of self-care and self-love that I must have really lacked at the time.
5. I focused on what to INclude in my life and not EXclude.  This allowed me to focus on abundance and not scarcity.  I didn’t realise the sheer power of this simple act but looking back, the change in focus opened a new gateway of hope because I enjoyed the act of inclusion.  It seemed effortless and natural.  Things that didn’t support and nurture me had less and less room in my life and without the feelings of denial, I let them go.
6. I began to move more.  Really small changes at first.  The walk to my station (on my daily commute to work) was just over a mile each way.  I set myself a goal to walk there instead of driving and parking outside the station.  I began by driving only half way and walking the rest.  It was so difficult at first, I was out of breath, I was tired and had to stop multiple times along the way. In the winter, I was freezing, in the summer I was too hot and, in the rain, I got wet!  The difference this time was that something had shifted inside me and so I persevered until that walk became easy and I actually looked forward to it.  Now I walk the entire way to and from the station without thinking twice!

‘I think for the first six months or so, I just concentrated on

stabilising my thoughts, grieving my old life and shedding the beliefs that had

 kept me trapped in a life that I didn’t want to be in.’

I think for the first six months or so, I just concentrated on stabilising my thoughts, grieving my old life and shedding the beliefs that had kept me trapped in a life that I didn’t want to be in.  The lines between the stages is blurry and undefined but I know that these phases took place because I experienced each and every one of them.  The day I finally realised that I had reached my longed-for weight loss goal was probably about a year after I had already done it!  I think that was largely due to the fact that I hadn’t dared to change my wardrobe, was too scared to notice my weight loss for fear of gaining weight again and quite simply because I just couldn’t believe it!! 

I sincerely wish the same for you and wish you the best of luck in your own journey.  May you find your way there too!

If you are serious about losing weight but fed up of dieting, please like and follow my blog for great advice and tips to help you finally lose weight for good!

You can also read my book, The Anti-Diet Lifestyle – 4 Crazy Steps to Weight-Loss Success! This book contains all my weight loss secrets in an easy to follow formula. It’s available on Amazon in paperback and E-Book. I am serious about helping you achieve your weight loss goals!!

*Paradigm: a time when the usual and accepted way of doing or thinking about something changes completely

Written by Sherry Taylor

Author of The Anti-Diet Lifestyle