Written by: Karisa J Adkins, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
People seek confidence through diets, yet diets destroy confidence. Diets have a 95% failure rate leaving many people frustrated and feeling like a failure. With a 95% failure rate, why do people still attempt diets?
Who knows! My name is Karissa Adkins, I am a Weight Loss Expert and Habit Change coach and I encourage my clients to ditch the diet lifestyle and take an intuiting eating approach when it comes to healthy nutrition and losing weight. In 2014, I started meal planning, prepping, and preparing my weekly meals and I would claim that this has been a huge key to my weight loss success.
Before I talk about why busy professionals should adopt the weekly habit of meal planning and prep, I would like to talk about why people need to ditch the diet lifestyle for something healthier and more sustainable.
The Reality Is… The Fitness and Weight loss industry is a BILLION-dollar industry, and global wellness goes beyond a TRILLION. The media and big corporations are using their huge marketing budgets to sell you on “quick fixes” (fad diets, pills, detoxes, shakes, expensive surgeries, etc.,) using your emotions to sell you on the latest quick fix. Most people have been conditioned since birth that if they want a sexy, fit, and healthy body they need pill, shake, or diet to help them achieve their weight loss or health goals. People have forgotten how to listen to their own bodies' wisdom and intuition.
This is the truth and nothing but the real truth… It’s all BS. What the weight loss and fitness industry don't want you to know, is that if you build healthy lifestyle habits such as clean eating, nutritional moderation, daily exercise, reducing your stress levels, mediation, and listening to your body’s needs you won't need their quick fixes, pills, or BS products.
There are thousands of “Fad Diets” on the market and despite their popularity, 95% of diets are often ineffective. In fact, two-thirds of individuals who hop on a fad diet will regain more weight than they intentionally lose.
Here are two HUGE reasons why people should ditch the diet lifestyle
1. Slowed metabolism. Despite what doctors say about aging and slower metabolisms, the fact is, when we eat more, our metabolism increases. When we eat less, our metabolism decreases. On a typical diet, you reduce caloric intake, slowing down your metabolism. Yes, weight loss will occur at first due to the caloric restriction, however as time passes, your weight loss will eventually plateau leaving you feeling frustrated and looking for the next quick fix.
2. Easier weight gain “after a diet.” Diets don’t teach people how to eat balanced meals, control portion size, or eat mindfully. Diets teach us which foods to restrict, the foods to avoid, and the fastest way to lose weight. Here’s the biggest issue with the diet approach, Calorie restricting, and low carb diets aren't sustainable. I have found out what people really want when it comes to their health. They want long-term stability; they want to lose weight not just for today but forever. Once a person realizes that the diet that thereon isn't sustainable, they jump back into their old eating habits, which then leads them back to being overweight and, in most cases, weighing more. This is what we call yo-yo dieting which causes more harm to the body in the long run.
So, what's the solution?
My personal and direct approach to losing weight and keeping it off forever is this… build healthy lifestyle habits and you will never need a diet, pill, or quick fix again.
When it comes to nutrition, I personally take the “Karissa” approach. Over the years I have figured out what works for me, my body, and my busy professional lifestyle. I use a combination of intuitive eating and macro tracking to keep my sexy six-pack year around.
What is Intuitive eating?
Intuitive eating is an approach to health and wellness that can help you to reconnect to your inner body signals and heal your relationship to food as well as your body! With intuitive eating, you are reintroducing how to eat outside of the diet mentality, putting the focus on your internal cues like hunger and satisfaction. This method of eating moves the perspective away from external cues like food rules and restrictions. To give it to you straight…Intuitive eating is mindful and intentional eating.
So how do you make intuitive eating a part of your lifestyle? Download my How to become an Intuitive eater in 7-days eBook so that you can learn the 10 Key Principles of Intuitive Eating which will help you ditch the diet lifestyle and live with food freedom. Along with Intuitive Eating, I also meal plan and prep on a weekly basis.
Here are 3 reasons why busy professionals need to start food prepping:
1. MEAL PLANNING SAVES YOU TIME. No more worrying about what you are going to feed your family after a long day at the office. With a plan, you know just what you are going to make so you can get right into the kitchen and get it done. It also makes a trip to the store faster because you aren't wandering the aisles trying to see "what looks good" that day. Instead, you have a shopping list and a solid game plan. for the week.
2. MEAL PLANNING SAVES YOU MONEY. You can plan around sales, what is in season, and what's still left in your pantry. When you plan your weekly meals, you also eat out less. Meal planning also helps to cut down on food waste in your kitchen because you know what's in the fridge and how/when it is going to be used.
3. MEAL PLANNING REDUCES STRESS; this is the biggest reason you should meal plan. Even if you have money and time, everyone needs less stress in their life. When you choose to plan your weekly meals you free up so much mental space. No more last minutes scrambles to get dinner on the table. No more text messages from the kids asking, "mom what's for dinner" and No more dreading what's sounds good for lunch which also helps you stay focused on your nutritional goals.
Here are Three Easy Ways to Start Meal Planning and prepping on a weekly basis:
Pick one night out of the week to write down your plan.
Shop for your groceries or pre-order online
Set aside time on your "down day" to prep your weekly meals.
"I love having Karissa as my coach, she is a food prep ninja, and she has taught me how to break down the completed system of meal planning, and now I am able to prep 30 meals every week for less than $3.00 per meal"
-Justine
Karissa is hosting a Food Prep 101 + Cooking Live Cooking Class on April 23rd, 2022. CLICK here to learn more about this fun event.
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Karisa J Adkins, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Karissa Adkins is a former Marketing and HR professional turned 2x Entrepreneur, Certified Coach, Personal trainer, and Champion for women's mental and physical health. Karissa is the voice behind the BossUp Babes Podcast, TV Personality, Award-winning International Speaker, and 2X International Best-Selling Author. She is a Senior Coach and Trainer for Power HER Alliance, and she is a member of the 100 Most Powerful Women's organization. Karissa has been featured in networks such as ABC, CBC, USA Today, and NBC for her expertise in empowering and motivating women to get fit and stay healthy. Karissa is an Executive Contributor for Brainz Magazine and has been featured on the cover of 2Inspire Health Magazine.
