If dieting was the solution to lasting weight loss, you would have lost weight eons ago and kept it off, right? If that was the answer, it would have been one and done. But here’s the reality: most people I work with have been trying different diets since they were young! For some, starting as early as 9 or 10 years old—when a well-meaning parent first expressed concern about their weight.

As a Certified Holistic Nutrition and Health Coach, I’ve spent several years helping people break free from the cycle of dieting and find a sustainable approach to weight loss. What I’ve discovered is that the change that results in lasting weight loss requires doing the inner work first—it’s about so much more than just the food we eat.

The Problem with Traditional Dieting

The weight loss industry has taught us that we need to cut out everything we love, restrict calories to lose weight, and move more. But this approach is precisely why so many people end up sabotaging their progress. When you have this restrictive mindset around food and eating, you’re setting yourself up for a cycle of loss and regain.

Think about it:  How many times have you lost weight only to gain it back? The problem isn’t you—it’s the approach. Traditional diets never address what got you to be overweight in the first place. They don’t help you understand your habits, behaviours, or the thought patterns that drive your eating decisions.

Lasting Weight Loss Requires Nourishment Over Restriction

Here’s my perspective:  While there’s technically nothing you can’t eat, it’s important to understand that consistently choosing processed foods and sugar-laden treats won’t get you the health and lasting weight loss results you’re looking for. The key is finding balance – eating nutrient-dense, whole foods most of the time while allowing for mindful indulgences occasionally. This isn’t about racing to the finish line by cutting out everything you enjoy! Rather, it’s about creating a sustainable, livable approach to eating that works in the real world while supporting your health goals.

When I first started working with clients, I noticed some patterns. Many would immediately ask for detailed meal plans, wanting someone else to make all their food decisions for them. They’d also frequently ask about snacks – what snacks were “allowed,” how many snacks they could have, etc. But here’s the thing: most snacking isn’t about hunger at all. It’s about habits, emotions, and ingrained patterns of behaviour that typical diet plans never address. When we dig deeper, we often discover that these requests for meal plans and snack lists are actually masking a deeper disconnect with our own hunger signals and food choices.</p>

Understanding Your Inner Dialogue

We all have two voices in our heads when it comes to food choices. I call them the “saboteur voice” and the “voice of reason.” The saboteur voice gets you to eat stuff you’re not hungry for. It drives emotional eating, and convinces you to clean your plate even when you’re full. The voice of reason is the one we’ve trained ourselves to tune out! Its that quiet whisper asking, “Are you sure you want to do that?” when you’re standing at the refrigerator late at night.

The dieter’s mindset can be particularly destructive. Have you ever thought, “I ate a couple squares of chocolate I wasn’t planning to eat, I’ve blown it, so I might as well eat the whole bar and start fresh tomorrow”? This was so me! When you say it out loud, it doesn’t make sense, does it? Isn’t consuming 50 calories better than 500?

Lasting Weight Loss Requires Reframing Your Relationship with Food

Let’s talk about the concept of deprivation. When you’re trying to lose weight and choose not to eat chocolate every day, does your brain immediately protest, “But I don’t want to feel deprived”? Here’s a perspective shift:  What are you really depriving yourself of? When you automatically equate not eating certain foods with deprivation, you’re actually depriving yourself of the weight loss you desire. You’re depriving yourself of optimal health, feeling better in your body, and being able to wear the clothes you love.

It’s also crucial to stop using food as a reward. Puppies get rewarded with food—not people. If you want to reward yourself, buy a new top, get a haircut, treat yourself to a massage. These are lasting rewards that don’t leave you feeling regretful afterward. You’ll enjoy the pleasure of these rewards much longer.

Building Sustainable Habits

Your body knows exactly what to do with real, whole food. I advocate focusing on protein, healthy fats, and adding in some low-carb vegetables to your meal. While I’m not carb-phobic, I understand what too many carbs does to our blood sugar—they spike it and increase cravings.

Remember:  How you eat to lose weight is how you need to continue eating, for the most part, to maintain that weight loss. This isn’t about “arriving” at your goal weight and then reverting to old habits. It’s about establishing a way of being around food and eating that you can sustain forever. This is also why I suggest small steps, to ease into the transition if you’re struggling with going “all in”.

Reconnecting with Your Body’s Wisdom

We’re born with the natural mechanism to eat when we’re hungry and stop when we’re content. Watch any young child eating—when they’re done, they’ll turn their face away or push the plate aside. But somewhere along the way, many of us learned to override these natural satiety signals with messages like “just one more bite” or “clean your plate.”

The good news is that we can relearn to listen to our bodies. True hunger lives in your belly, not in your emotions or habits. By paying attention and reconnecting with your body’s cues, you can start to distinguish between physical hunger and emotional or habitual eating patterns. You can also learn what makes you feel good and what leaves you feeling sluggish, sleepy and bloated.

Creating Real, Lasting Change

Lasting Weight loss is an inside job because it begins with your mindset—in your head. It’s about understanding what you think, how you feel, and learning to recognize true hunger signals. If you’ve been struggling with your weight for years or even decades, understanding these deeper patterns is key to creating lasting change.

Think about the way you approach the problem. Often, the problem isn’t the problem—the problem is how you’re thinking about the problem. By shifting your perspective and developing a sustainable approach to nourishing your body, you can create real, lasting change that comes from the inside out.

Your body is meant to carry you through your entire life. Treating it with respect through proper nourishment isn’t just about weight loss! It’s also about preventing health issues like arthritis, pre-diabetes, type 2 diabetes, and chronic inflammation. “Let thy food be thy medicine” and learn to indulge mindfully and occasionally while still maintaining your progress toward your goals.

Lifestyle Change = Lasting Change = Lasting Weight Loss

Remember, this isn’t a diet with an end date—it’s about creating a lifestyle you genuinely enjoy and can maintain forever. When you shift your mindset from “I’m on a diet” to “This is how I choose to live,” everything changes. You’re not working toward some future end point where you can go back to your old habits. Instead, you’re building a new relationship with food, one that serves both your health goals and your enjoyment of life. The choices you make today aren’t temporary sacrifices. These choices are the stepping stones toward becoming the healthiest version of yourself. Create sustainable habits that feel natural and enjoyable rather than restrictive and punishing. That’s the true key to lasting weight loss and lasting success: building a lifestyle you love, not just a diet you can tolerate.

If you’re ready to start your journey toward a healthier relationship with food? I offer 1:1 coaching programs designed to help you create lasting change from the inside out. Sign up for my twice weekly emails with insights, tips, and strategies for sustainable weight loss.