Ready?
We’re about to take a 7 hour flight across the Atlantic, land in London for a layover at Heathrow, and then jet to Nice.
I still remember hastily putting on make-up as the plane circled the coast preparing for landing. Sitting next to me was a woman who epitomized style and grace, and she smiled at me and my messy make-up application with a knowing kindness. I wanted to look chic! Too bad I had on my school polo and my mom’s jeans!
The first comment my host dad had when he picked me up at the airport was ‘Wow! You’re tall!’ (If I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting you in real life yet, please note that I am 6 feet tall. Actually, slightly over. It’s slightly terrifying. But I’m great at cleaning the top of the fridge!)
Unfortunately, this may have had something to do with their lack of awareness of how much food six feet of human being needs to consume.
I was STARVING.
But I was passionate about France, and I had vowed to ‘live the French way,’ toast-only breakfast and all.
So I got up, got dressed, had my three little slices of French bread with the tiniest topping of butter and honey, and walked to the hospital where I was shadowing neurologists.
At lunch I busted out the little sandwich (read: two thin slices of bread with a sign that there might once have been something between them), bag of cherry tomatoes and cookie that my host mom had packed for me, and devoured it. GONE. And I was definitely not satisfied. But for the sake of fidelity to what I assumed was authentic French culture, I sucked it up and headed to the second half of the day: classes on the French medical system.
Finally I could head home for dinner. I practically ran. But then, the killer! The family’s three adorable little sons ate two hours before the ‘adults’ (myself and the parents). I usually sat at the table to joke with them and chat with the mother. And it was PAINFUL to not be able to swipe their food (heck, sometimes I even had to cut it up for them!). Two more hours to go.
Then, finally, dinner!
Or rather, dinner: a little bit of meat, a little bit of a few different veggies, a piece of bread, and a piece of fruit for dessert.
Now, full disclosure, this is pretty much what I eat for dinner on any given evening now. And had I eaten what I now eat for breakfast every day, I would have been more than fine with this. But for reasons we’ll go into in future posts, by dinnertime, there was no amount of food which could appease me. I was past the point of healthy hunger – I was like a black hole. No matter what I threw in my mouth, it made no difference: I was still famished.
Needless to say, my dedication to ‘authentic French culture’ lasted a full week. And then it was game over.
You would think I’d have learned my lesson, but I’ve revisited variations on this style of eating several times – and they have all taken me down in weak, hungry flames.
Which leads me to ask – have you been as crazy as I was? Maybe multiple times?
Many a well-written book cover or sales page has convinced me to try – yet again – a very calorie restrictive diet, for the sake of ‘detoxing,’ more energy, weight loss, better sleep, etc, etc, etc.
It has never worked for me.
The only way I can imagine it being effective is if the rest of my life stopped, and I could spend the time lazing around all day at a spa. But waking up at 6 to quickly get ready for school or work and then commuting, stressing, and running around all day? Nope. That takes energy, and energy means calories.
Even if I did do a ‘low cal retreat,’ what happens when I reenter the real world? Life starts back up and I return to the lifestyle I had before and my wellness returns to the level it was at previously. Bummer.
The bottom line is this: the only healthy lifestyle that works is the one you can maintain. If it’s only going to last a week, it’s not going to allow you to make the kinds of changes in your life you are seeking, whatever those may be.
Any lasting lifestyle plan must be three things:
1. Affordable: This is such a deal breaker. Unfortunately, many healthy foods and practices are far from free! Pace yourself and add in new practices bit by bit so you can see which ones you enjoy and which ones stick before you dump a ton of money into a new idea. If budgeting is key, write a list of all the habits you’d like to change and figure out how many you can do for free. Want to go to Pilates class? How about just following along to some YouTube videos of Pilates routines at home to see if you like it?
2. Enjoyable: If you really don’t like kale, don’t buy it and try to force yourself to fit it into your diet. If you can’t stand running (join the club!), don’t plan to get in shape with a daily run. Figure out what you love that is also good for you, and stick with that. No guilt, no shame – just enjoy doing what you love!
3. Sustainable: By this I’m not referring to environmental sustainability (though I am a huge supporter of that!) so much as personal sustainability – can you really get up at 5am to go to the gym for the rest of your life when you know you tend to go to bed late and hate early mornings? If it flies in the face of the structure of the rest of your life, it probably won’t last!
Needless to say, my French ‘fast’ was not enjoyable or sustainable. And the end results of trying to stick to it….weren’t pretty! But more on that next time!
So tell me, have you been tempted into a drastic lifestyle model for the sake of a big or quick change? Did it last? Let me know in the comments!
Love and Freedom,
Jackie
